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It's a sign of mistrust in their own currency. The easiest way to use crypto is to load a debit card with it and pay in your local currency as needed. Layer 2 n
by trixie_ 5y ago
It's a sign of mistrust in their own currency. The easiest way to use crypto is to load a debit card with it and pay in your local currency as needed. Layer 2 networks provided by debit card providers avoid transaction fees and waiting for transactions to clear.
- skybrian 5y agoTheoretical arguments aren't very convincing. We need more real-world reports. How long do these transactions take, compared to credit card transactions in the same shop? What's the total cost for each?
- trixie_ 5y agoIt's not theoretical - coinbase, crypto.com, gemini, blockfi, etc.. all have debit cards. Use your crypto to buy stuff, get % rewards back in crypto as well.
- oh_sigh 5y agoDo any of those companies offer debit cards in Lebanon?
- el-salvador 5y agoBinance and Coinbase cards are not available for cardholders in Lebanon according to the FAQ on their sites. They are mostly for EU and US cardholders.
- trixie_ 5y agoThe cards should work wherever visa/mastercard is accepted. Here's one the specifically calls out Lebanon - https://spectrocoin.com/en/bitcoin-in-Lebanon.html https://spectrocoin.com/en/bitcoin-in-Lebanon.html
- googlryas 5y agoYes, because they go over a common network, Whether they can be used in Lebanon is different from whether they issue cards to citizens in Lebanon
- el-salvador 5y agoI remember reading that Lebanon had been experiencing a dual exchange rate phenomenon. In which the official one is much less than the market rate. This has happened in other countries like Argentina and Venezuela before too If this were the case. The benefits of using a foreign card would depend on the exchange rate in which card payments are settled. Are Lebanon's card transactions with foreign cards settled at the official or at the market exchange rate? Is the difference between both rates still significant?
- skybrian 5y agoThat's still not a concrete comparison by direct observation. Someone needs to actually use these cards and describe how the user experience differs. That is, the sort of thing people do when writing a product review.