Paxful marches on in its mission to use crypto to serve the unbanked

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Paxful has continued to use cryptocurrencies to serve the under-banked regions of the world. While in most western countries, over 90% of the population has access to banking services, it’s a very different narrative in regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. In its latest partnership with The White Company, Paxful aims to bridge this gap using cryptos.

The White Company offers its users a platform on which they can trade their cryptocurrencies for prepaid debit cards in their native currency. The virtual card can be used online to make purchases, with the company also offering to ship physical cards to those that apply.

And it’s not just the fiat on/off ramp that will be available to Paxful users. Speaking to CoinGeek, the company revealed that its users will have all the products offered by The White Company at their disposal. These include the White Market, a luxury items marketplace where items such as designer watches, luxury cars and high-end art are available for purchase by crypto. However, “the fiat on/off ramp is directly integrated into Paxful,” the company tells us.

The partnership will also not be limited to any geographical region. While initially focused on the American and European markets, the White Company has expanded its reach to become a global company. Paxful users from across the world will therefore have the White Cards available for purchase with some of the top currencies, including Bitcoin SV (BSV), which the company started supporting this year.

The cards can be denominated in 10 fiat currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, JPY, CAD and CNY. Paxful commented, “The cards can be used internationally, so for example a user in Africa could order a USD denominated Visa card and be able to use it to pay local expenses.”

This is just the latest development in the crypto revolution, with crypto-enabled payments becoming more of a norm than an exception. Despite the industry only existing for one decade, it has impacted the payments and banking industries tremendously. Converting from a crypto to fiat and paying at a retailer is now a click away, with platforms such as The White Company making this possible.