Xapo announced that is will be shipping a bitcoin debit card by the end of June. The company has been in business for two years and already provides a convenient online bitcoin wallet and secure cold storage for your bitcoin. The Xapo Debit Card is global and will be accepted at any location that accepts debit or credit cards as a form of payment. The digital version of the card is free, but a physical card will cost $15.

The debit card is linked directly (and only) to your Xapo Wallet. The wallet and debit card can be used for everyday spending online or at brick and mortar stores. Xapo expects to use the payment networks of both Mastercard and Visa. “We are partnering with banks in the U.S. and Europe that use both MasterCard and Visa networks,” a Xapo spokeswoman said. “We anticipate it’s very likely that the banks will in many cases be using the MasterCard network. But this will be made final at the time of issue.”

Other companies have released what is similar to a pre-paid card. This is where customers must plan ahead, manually convert bitcoin before purchases themselves, and use the card to spend their local currency. With Xapo, a customer only deals in bitcoin and the debit card is the seamless extension of their Xapo Wallet. The Xapo debit card will be accepted by any business in the world that accepts debit or credit cards. The balance on your Xapo debit card is tied to the bitcoin in your Xapo Wallet.

This is different from any other bitcoin cards. There won’t be any changes for the business whatsoever. When a customer uses a Xapo Debit Card, the funds will be converted from bitcoin to the local currency in real time and pay the business their local currency. Merchants will pay fees (just as they do for debit and card cards), but there won’t be a fee for the customer. The only feature lacking in the Xapo Debit Card is the ability to withdraw cash from an ATM but the company plans to add ATM support in the future.

You can go to Xapo.com to sign up and be the first to receive a debit card when launched publically. To apply for a Xapo Debit Card if you are an existing customer just log in to your account and click on the red button that says “Pre-order Debit Card”. To apply for a Xapo Debit Card if you do not have a Xapo account, follow these easy steps.

• Go to Xapo Bitcoin Debit Card
• Enter your email address directly above the red button that says “PRE-ORDER NOW”
• Next, you will be directed to the registration page. Fill out the information and then click the red button at the bottom of the page that says “Pre-order and Create Account”
• From there you will be directed to a page that asks you to import contacts from your email account so you can invite them to sign up for Xapo Debit. By inviting 20 friends to pre-order a Xapo Debit Card, you can gain early access to Xapo Debit (this step is optional, and you have the option of bypassing this step)
• You will then be directed back to your Wallet where there will be a popup window confirming your registration.

In the coming weeks Xapo will send you regular updates on your Xapo debit card. The Xapo debit card is the first on the market and will make it simple and convenient for customers to pay for purhases with bitcoin using a card rather than a bitcoin wallet on their smartphone. This is an exciting development for bitcoin users and we encourage you to visit Xapo Bitcoin Debit Card and order your own.