Bitcoin wallet balance check

It will function like a normal debit card, except that Xapo Debit will be using bitcoin instead of fiat currency. The card will be linked to the customer’s Xapo Wallet. Currently, the company has two primary services—a vault where people can store their bitcoins and a wallet that facilitates transactions. The digital version of the card is free, but the physical card is around $5.

CEO Wences Casares said that their main focus is to make bitcoin “more secure and safer and making it easier to use” and that the debit card is something that their customers requested.

How it Works

Once the card is swiped, Xapo will receive the transaction and check the balance of your wallet. If you have sufficient Bitcoins, it will automatically convert the amount needed using the market price in your choice of currency and the transaction will be approved.

The process seems simple, but under the surface, it’s actually more complicated. For one thing, Xapo has not decided yet which payment network to work with, but they are currently testing Mastercard, Visa, and Discover.

Casares says that this debit card is a major improvement to the bitcoin cards available today. The cards currently in the market are basically prepaid cards that require customers to convert their BTCs manually to local currency before it can be used.

The company believes that bitcoin will be the global payment network in the future. This is the reason for their initiative – to create tools and infrastructure so users can experience and take advantage of bitcoin.