London, July 9th, 2024 - Baanx, in collaboration with the Tezos Foundation, is set to innovate the financial landscape by introducing the first non-custodial on-chain crypto payments card. Leveraging account abstraction, this product empowers users to maintain custody over their crypto assets while being able to spend them on a debit card accepted by over 110 million global merchants.
Crypto cards are versatile and can be used for online purchases, in-store transactions, pop-up booths, and even transport, making them an attractive option for everyday spending. The Tezos-compatible card utilises account abstraction and delegation, enabling users to keep their funds in custody until they are ready to spend. This functions as open banking for crypto, allowing multiple sources to be linked to a single card.
The Baanx on-chain payment solution offers several distinct advantages over traditional fiat-based cards:
- Self-Custodial and On-Chain: Users maintain full control of their assets, adhering to the principle of "your keys, your coins, your card."
- Fast Transactions: Real-time on-chain card payments can only be achieved by subsecond blocktimes and Etherlink’s fast transaction speed enables this.
- Lower Fees: No FX surcharge, gas fees for cross-border transactions are significantly lower than the international transaction fees charged by traditional financial institutions.
- Decentralisation Taken Seriously: Tezos Smart Rollups are recognised as special entities and supported directly by the Tezos protocol, enabling high decentralisation. This eliminates the need for complex smart contract workarounds and centralised sequencers.
Etherlink, an EVM-compatible non-custodial Layer 2 blockchain powered by Tezos Smart Rollups technology, will be the default blockchain for this solution. In collaboration with Mastercard, Baanx has already launched the 1inch card in Q2 2024, marking a significant development in the crypto industry. Baanx's current partnerships include Ledger, MetaMask and Exodus.
“The use of cryptocurrency cards is growing, especially among the 25-44 age demographic. The potential market is vast, with the global payments industry valued at $2.4 trillion and approximately 1.4 billion people unbanked. Baanx aims to replace traditional banking with technology, offering financial services to anyone with a mobile phone,”
– Simon Jones, CCO of Baanx
Linking the card to a wallet is a straightforward process involving a quick sign-up and an on-chain transaction to delegate funds. Users can set spending limits and manage their card through an intuitive UI. The card supports multiple funding sources, making the wallet a super account. Although the native Tezos token tez is set as the default, the card can support any token.
“This partnership exemplifies the Tezos Foundation's commitment to driving web3 innovation across industries, particularly payments. Baanx's relationship with Tezos is over four years old, showing an early vote of confidence in the team back in their seed round. By integrating the robust Tezos blockchain infrastructure with Baanx's fintech expertise, we are taking a huge step forward, bringing the future of a decentralised, self-custodial card payment solution to users as an industry first!,” said Siddharth Singhal, the Head of BD, at Trilitech (Trilitech is dedicated to developing and elevating innovation in the Tezos ecosystem).
The on-chain debit card will initially launch in Europe and the UK, with plans to expand to additional countries throughout 2024. Baanx aims to add 1 million users in the next 12 months, focusing on markets such as Brazil, Argentina, and other regions facing significant financial exclusion challenges.
About Tezos
Tezos is an open source project and a scalable, energy efficient, public blockchain for assets and applications. It empowers builders, developers and businesses to deploy applications at low cost. One of the original Proof of Stake blockchains, the Tezos protocol is supported by a global peer-to-peer network and is valued for its long-term upgradability, open participation, and smart contract safety. As a result, Tezos is home to a thriving community of artists, scientists, developers and others who wish to create and transfer value frictionlessly in a digital-centric world.
About Etherlink
Etherlink is an EVM-compatible, non-custodial Layer 2 blockchain powered by Tezos Smart Rollups technology. It’s permissionless, inherits Tezos Layer 1 security, and features a decentralized governance model, fraud proofs, and censorship resistance. It’s fast, fair and (nearly) free with extremely low transaction costs, and features MEV protection by design.
About Baanx
Baanx is a leading force in crypto payments and B2B2C digital asset services whose portfolio includes major crypto card programmes including CL Card Powered by Ledger and 1inch Card. This full suite of services offers users full control over their assets. Using the Baanxcard, users are able to securely spend crypto assets globally with over 90 million merchants. By collaborating with those at the forefront of the emerging financial technology industry (such as Ledger, 1inch, and Mastercard) Baanx is able to elevate their customer experience through innovation.
Baanx.com Ltd is one of the first companies to receive approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), operating Fintech payment services which utilise an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license UK & EU/EEA and a Credit Broking License (UK).
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