Despite various restrictions from legislators and the widespread stereotypes that cryptocurrencies are only used by criminals, the technology is actively developing and spreading. The American company ZELF, working in the field of NFT, Play-to-Earn and DeFi, actively contributes to the spread of cryptocurrencies to the masses. Mainly among young people.
ZELF has recently provided the opportunity to receive a Visa debit card that can interact with various crypto assets. To get a card, you will need to go through a simple registration procedure on the company's website. The cards can be used everywhere except the following countries: Albania, Balkans, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Darfur, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine including Luhansk and Donetsk, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe (list from ZELF FAQ).
Despite the fact that many media outlets have called the ZELF card anonymous, we cannot call it that, because its anonymity is extremely doubtful. Some data will have to be provided. Among them: name, email, verified phone number. In addition, the rule “one card – one phone number" also works. And ZELF actively encourage users to pass verification.
5\7 Most US prepaid cards can be refilled up to $750 with cash, without any identifying information or transaction constraints.
— ZELF (@zelfco) December 10, 2022
ZELF limited 💳 to $250, collected names, emails and verified phone numbers, limiting one card per number, incentivized customers to pass verification.
The card allows the user to use NFT (one NFT is issued free of charge upon registration), use popular cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, carry out P2P trading of game items, as well as use all the usual functions of a regular Visa debit card. In addition, as stated by ZELF that $250K is insured by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
ZELF is not the first company to create a Visa card with the ability to use cryptocurrency. Such a card already exists in a large company Crypto.com. A card from Crypto.com allows staking Cronos – a cryptocurrency by Crypto.com . Also, Mastercard has its own crypto program.
The card from ZELF is an interesting tool. They also give free NFT at registration. Sounds great. We decided to try the new product, but unfortunately, new users cannot register now. Telegram bot is now showing the following message:
The fact is that ZELF's banking partner suspended the program on December 10.
2\7 What this means for ZELF customers?
— ZELF (@zelfco) December 10, 2022
1️⃣ your ZELF card is currently not working
2️⃣ your funds are 100% safe at FDIC insured bank
3️⃣ you should be receiving a replacement card by Dec 16th
We are truly sorry for the inconvenience it caused you 🙏
Cardholders' funds are currently blocked. No new cards are being issued and it is not known how long this will last. On December 15, ZELF tweeted that cardholders can contact support to receive refund methods.
#customerupdate We are still waiting for our bank partner to propose a convenient way of accessing funds on suspended ZELF cards 💳
— ZELF (@zelfco) December 16, 2022
For payout methods cardholders are asked to email ZELF support at usdrequest@zelf.co ✉️
It is a pity that we were not able to test the new product due to ZELF problems with banking partners. But, we are glad that such products are appearing more and more often. And we continue to observe.
