The Shift Debit Card Makes Paying With Bitcoin Easy
The landscape of technology nowadays is moving at a faster pace. Creative and technological geniuses have come up with the most startling innovations that are seemingly ridiculous at first but end up being some of the things that a person just cannot live without. There are too many of these technological creations to mention but there is one particular invention that has started to pique the curiosity of a handful of financially savvy and technologically driven individuals.
A whole new kind of debit card
It is called the Shift debit card from Shift Payments. This amazing new card, which is still in its trial phase, lets you spend virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, use loyalty points, and pay with regular money, all with one amazing card. You can even monitor your account and change your fund source using the mobile app that comes with the card.
The Shift card works everywhere. You can spend virtual money like Bitcoin and Ripple, and in the future, once the technology reaches its final phase, users can also pay with regular money and loyalty points. Once all systems are in place, you will be able to spend virtual and regular currencies anywhere in the world as long as they accept major cards. Wherever you are in the world, whether you are doing transactions online or offline, you will be able to use the Shift card.
One of the best things about this card is that you get to have complete control of it. You can view balances and transaction details so that you can keep track of your spending. You can also transfer funds from any of your accounts. If you like having everything in one place then you will love the conveniences that the Shift debit card has to offer.
How the Shift Payment card came about
One of the major challenges that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies have experienced is that users have to juggle several different apps and cards to use these payment options. The question that needed to be asked was this: Wouldn’t it be more convenient if there were just one card that could handle all forms of payment? A group of creative geniuses led by Meg Nakamura tried to find answers, and after doing a large amount of research, experiments, and testing, the Shift Payment card’s beta phase came into existence. With this card, you could pay for your morning caffeine fix using Bitcoin and use the same card to pay for after-work grocery needs using real cash. The beauty behind this amazing card lies in its ability to provide convenience to anyone who doesn’t have the time or the patience to deal with a host of different payment options.
Shift’s founder, Meg Nakamur,a is joined by two other team players, namely Eugene Otto and Greg Kidd, all of whom have backgrounds in the field of telecommunications, regulation, and payments. With their combined expertise, the group came together to introduce the world’s first debit card that allows you to use digital currencies and loyalty points in the offline world.
The Shift Card’s Progress
As of writing, the card has now integrated both Ripple and Coinbase accounts. There are 100 pilot testers who can now pay for items and services through their existing virtual currency account. On the next phase, Nakamura and the rest of the group plan to include loyalty points programs as well as bank accounts.
The card comes with an accompanying mobile app. This is where users can keep track of their funds, monitor their transactions, and switch fund sources on the fly. Whether you are offline, online, or wherever you are located in the world, you can use the card for payments. This is made possible thanks to the participation of a major international card network.
In addition to these, Nakamura’s team is working with a currently unnamed payment processor to authorize the digital currency transactions. Traditionally, regular transactions go through an authorization process, which will end with a settlement. It will be the same when you use Bitcoin to pay for goods and services. Your transaction will be authorized through Shift Payment’s services, and at the end of the day, your money will be taken out of your Coinbase account.
Challenges and obstacles that lie ahead for Shift Payments
The process seems simple enough on the surface, but according to Nakamura, a lot of complications need to be ironed out. Payment trials are currently in progress however, it hasn’t been an easy journey. The earliest participants in the project would not even let Shift Payments have 10 cards. Banks in the country are jittery about supporting the project. No bank is willing to leap and put their reputation at such a high risk. Unless Nakamura and her team can provide a clear legal structure for Shift Payments, early users of the card might end up not being able to use the card to its maximum potential. Banks elsewhere in the world, however, have expressed more support for the project.
There is a lot of work to be done to get Shift Payments to its final stage. Nakamura assures the public, however, that banks in the country are excited about this latest innovation. They are just concerned about regulations and the legal aspect of this technology. Banks are keeping a close watch on the progress, and once things fall into place, they just might sign up to participate in the project.
Using Shift Payment for loyalty points
Excitement about the card lies mostly around the fact that you can pay using virtual currencies and regular money using one card. Another aspect that should not be discounted is the fact that you will also be able to spend loyalty points with it. The team believes that the loyalty points in itself is already a big deal and a lot of users in the future will benefit greatly from this function.
The future looks bright for Shift Payments and with things going quite well for the card as of the moment, it won’t be long before it will be introduced into the mainstream market.
