Blade Brings Bitcoin to Debit Cards; Microsoft Accepts Bitcoin Payments in U.S. (Dec. 11, 2014)
After a strong showing in consumer bitcoin spending on Black Friday weekend, Blade Financial yesterday launched what it’s calling the first B2B payment processing platform that extends traditional debit card programs to bitcoin businesses. Blade integrates digital currency companies with banks through an API to deploy white-label and co-branded debit cards that work over existing global payment networks. Blade transactions are instant; the digital currency is debited real-time at the point of authorization and no pre-funding of fiat is required, according to the company. “It’s the age-old chicken-and-egg problem: Which comes first, merchants or consumers?” said Ed Boyle, Blade co-founder and CEO. “Blade takes away half of the equation by fully solving for the merchant side.”
In other bitcoin news, consumers can add bitcoin to their Microsoft accounts as a payment option for apps, games and other digital content from Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music or Xbox Video stores. The payment option—which only is available in the U.S. right now—and instructions on how to use bitcoin have been quietly added to Microsoft’s Billing Help section of its Website, according to reports.
See related stories:
- i2c, Shift Payments Offer Card for ‘Cryptocurrency Adopters, Loyalty Points Junkies, Underbanked’
- Bitcoin: Currency or Commodity?
y. Just post for now and I’ll check with Loraine.
