American Express will offer a new card in conjunction with the company Abra, specialized in products related to the use of cryptocurrencies, which will allow its users to receive rewards in bitcoin for each purchase they make.
The announcement about the new card was made within the framework of the Consensus conferences, in the city of Austin, Texas. There, the CEO of Abra, Bill Barhydt, gave details about this new product to different media.
This card is expected to have its official launch this year, although a specific date was not commented on, nor which users would be eligible to opt for it.
What was clarified is that, although the rewards will be in cryptocurrencies, the consumption will be in fiat currency. In addition to this, it was also stated that any purchase will generate rewards, regardless of the amount spent and the good or service that has been paid for.
In addition to Bitcoin, users of the new American Express card will be able to exchange their rewards for one of the more than 100 cryptocurrencies available on the Abra platform. According to Abra’s CEO, such exchanges will not require the payment of transaction fees.
Additionally, American Express customers who have this card will have the benefits that their products traditionally offer. Some of them are offers when paying for products and trips, as well as protected purchases.
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Barhydt commented that the launch of this new product in conjunction with American Express “represents another step towards Abra’s goal of eventually offering an instant line of credit at the point of sale.”
Abra will enable NFT trading in its app
Added to this announcement is the a new tool on its platform that will allow buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFT). The custody of the NFTs acquired by the users of the Abra application will be in the hands of the company. This means that the buyer will not have full control over the token.
A bitcoiner saying goes “if it’s not your keys, it’s not your bitcoins”. In this case, the same thinking could be applied to holding tokens on these types of platforms. However, those who feel comfortable with this system will be able to count on that option soon.
Other bitcoin rewards cards ahead of American Express
The American company that issues American Express cards is not the first to offer Bitcoin and cryptocurrency rewards to users of its products. CriptoNoticias reported in November 2021 that the Argentine company Lemon would reward its users with BTC.
It is an international debit card called the Lemon Card, which would allow its holders to obtain a return in bitcoin of 2% of their consumption. The card could be used at any business that accepts Visa cards and payments could be made in Argentine pesos, as well as USDT and DAI stablecoins.
The Gemini exchange, founded by the Winklevoss brothers, also announced the launch of a bitcoin rewards card for its users. In this case, it is a Mastercard credit card with which its users could opt for BTC refunds of up to 3% of their purchases.