Coindesk Logo

Binance Joins Argentina’s Crypto Prepaid Cards Boom

Binance Joins Argentina’s Crypto Prepaid Cards Boom

Binance Joins Argentina’s Crypto Prepaid Cards Boom

Local exchanges Lemon Cash, Buenbit and Belo have introduced similar offerings in recent months.

Local exchanges Lemon Cash, Buenbit and Belo have introduced similar offerings in recent months.

Local exchanges Lemon Cash, Buenbit and Belo have introduced similar offerings in recent months.

AccessTimeIconAug 4, 2022, 4:09 PM
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:19 PM
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CoinDesk)
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance launched a crypto prepaid card in Argentina in partnership with Mastercard, the company announced Thursday.

The product is in beta phase and will be widely available in coming weeks, said Binance – which is headed up by CEO Changpeng Zhao – noting that all exchange customers in Argentina with a valid ID will be allowed access.

Card users will be able to make purchases and pay bills globally with cryptocurrencies at physical and online merchants accepting Mastercard. Crypto will be converted to fiat in real time at point of purchase. Customers can also earn up to 8% in crypto-cash back.

Argentina is the first Latin American country to debut a Binance crypto card. The company rolled out a similar offering in the European Economic Area in August 2020.

“Payments is one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto, yet adoption has a lot of room to grow,” Maximiliano Hinz, general director of Binance in Latin America, said in a statement. “By using the Binance card, merchants continue to receive fiat and the users pay in cryptocurrency they choose.”

Argentina is a competitive location for the crypto-card segment, with three local exchanges having begun their own offerings in recent months.

In December, Lemon Cash – with 1.3 million users – began offering a crypto card in partnership with Visa that pays 2% cashback. Earlier in 2021, Buenbit – an exchange with 700,000 users – partnered with Mastercard and digital wallet BKR on a card.

Also last year, Belo – teaming with Mastercard – began offering its 170,000 customers a card with cashback ranging from 2% to 21%.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Andrés Engler was a CoinDesk editor based in Argentina, where he covers the Latin American crypto ecosystem. He holds BTC and ETH.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.