Canadian firms Coinkite and Virtex are beta testing their bitcoin debit cards and point of sale (POS) terminals, marking a step forward towards bitcoin adoption in the country.
Both the firms will follow a different approach in terms of product and fees structure, according to publication CoinDesk.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Coinkite is planning to offer customers a three-part ecosystem: a POS service, debit card, and ‘cryptobanking’ infrastructure, while, Virtex is testing its own debit card that is designed to work with ATM and POS terminals in Canada.
Coinkite will provide retailers with a traditional POS terminal that will accept a Coinkite debit card, which uses chip and pin technology.
However, the card itself will not hold any bitcoins as it happens in with conventional fiat chip and pin. Instead, bitcoins will be held in a central Coinkite account.
The POS will scan the chip when presented with a debit card and ensure that the pin used is legitimate. Post verification, details of the transaction will be sent to Coinkite for authorising the transaction, according to the publication.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataVirtex’s approach is to allow users to exchange the bitcoins in their account into Canadian dollars using its debit card from the 58,000-machine Canadian Interac ATM network.
The converted coins can be used to make purchases at 753,000 Interac-based POS terminals. Virtex’s card, which is in first phase of trials, requires to be manually loaded by the administrative staff.
The cards can be loaded automatically and instantly using an online Virtex account, after completion of second phase testing.
As far as fee structures for these cards are concerned, Virtex will charge $2 ATM cash withdrawal fee, along with an ATM partner withdrawal fee, which averages around $1.50.
While, Coinkite intends to offer a free account at 2.47% withdrawal charge, or paid accounts starting at 0.5BTC per year, with free withdrawals.
