The availability of encrypted cards does not always keep up with global demand, Tangem indicates. As this Swiss cryptocurrency wallet provider expands its self-hosted payment products through Visa, the supply of physical cards remains limited in certain markets.
Tangem indicated to Cointelegraph that more than 40% of its Tangem Pay payments come from Latin America, and over 30% come from the United States.
“This is not just a matter of where people want to use encrypted cards,” said Andrey Ilinskiy, the person in charge of Tangem Pay, to Cointelegraph, and added, “The key lies in whether the demand, regulations, banking infrastructure, and card issuance requirements happen to align – and today, these aspects do not always overlap.”
On Wednesday, Tangem announced the launch of its first physical Visa card, which can be used for in-store and online purchases as well as ATM withdrawals. The initial batch is limited to 5,000 cards.
The company stated that users can directly top up the card from their own self-hosted wallets; if the card is suspended or closed, the funds can also be transferred back to the wallet.
"Self-hosting eliminates one major boundary: there is no longer a custodian between the user and their assets. However, when these assets enter regulated payment networks, another boundary emerges," Tangem noted.
According to Tangem, its physical cards currently cannot be sent to about 20 countries, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine.
The company stated that these restrictions may not necessarily be in full compliance with the regulatory rules governing cryptocurrencies themselves. Understanding the requirements of your customers ( KYC ), sanctions, local banking regulations, as well as card issuance compliance requirements, will determine whether an encryption-related card can be issued in a particular region.
"The same conditions that may drive people to use encryption as an alternative financial channel could also make it more difficult for regulated card issuers," Tangem stated.
Relevant report: Visa A survey suggests that if stablecoins in the US could benefit from similar protections as banks, their adoption could surge.
Tangem will also launch a rebate program denominated in the stablecoin of USDC, which is based on Circle. The rebate rate for eligible Basic users is 1%, and for Plus users, it is 2%.
The company plans to showcase the first batch of physical Tangem Pay cards at the Token2049 conference to be held in Singapore.
