Huobi Group (Huobi) has expanded support for Visa and Mastercard transactions on its digital asset exchange Huobi Global. Huobi Technology (Gibraltar), a regulated DLT firm by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, is providing the new payment service which enables users to use their credit or debit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies direct. This happens through the Huobi Global user interface — without the need for redirection to or through a third-party portal.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the user experience for crypto users. Our goal is to make digital assets more accessible to a much wider audience,” said Ciara Sun, Vice President of Global Business at Huobi Group.
“By removing an extra step in the user journey, we’re creating a frictionless experience that makes it incredibly easy for anyone to buy crypto without leaving our exchange.
“In the seven years Huobi has been around, the company has witnessed many changes in the industry but we’re constantly evolving to give our users a safe, intuitive, and reliable trading experience. We know what it takes to build secure and scalable products, so the decision to bring Visa and Mastercard payments directly onto our interface aligned perfectly with our broader brand goals.”
Before and after the expanded Huobi Visa and Mastercard support
Huobi Global previously supported Visa and Mastercard transactions through other payment service providers. But the onboarding process required users to complete Know Your Customer (KYC) via a separate interface.
In contrast, the new user onboarding, including KYC, is performed by Huobi Gibraltar. In consequence, the newly implemented integration enables users to register and transact through one interface. The result, Huobi claims, is a seamless user experience which makes it quicker and simpler to start trading digital assets.
Services and currencies provided
The payment integration provides Huobi users with access to a seamless fiat-to-crypto gateway via the two most widely-adopted payment networks. Visa cardholders in most European countries and Australia, as well as Mastercard cardholders in the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Australia, can now use the integrated payment service to buy direct with their credit or debit cards:
- BTC
- ETH
- XRP
- LTC
- USDT
- EOS
- BCH
- ETC
- BSV.
Supported fiat currencies include:
- ALL
- BGN
- CHF
- CZK
- DKK
- EUR
- GBP
- HRK
- HUF
- MDL
- MKD
- NOK
- PLN
- RON
- SEK
- TRY
- UAH
- HKD
- AUD
- USD.
Enterprise Times: what does this mean
Huobi Group is a major blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider. Its financial product suite includes one of the larger digital asset exchanges (if measured by liquidity and real-trading volume). By simplifying the user experience, Huobi’s decision to integrate payment services through Huobi Gibraltar confirms a parallel shift for Huobi. It reduces its reliance on unrelated third-party platforms.
In effect, as one of the crypto industry’s earlier entrants, Huobi is leveraging its own expertise for both core and ancillary trading technology. But this move also may raise some regulatory eyebrows elsewhere. KYC regulated under the auspices of Gibraltar Financial Services Commission could become an Achilles Heel. Gibraltar may be a bastion of a rock but has yet to earn that for the reputation of its financial services. Nevertheless, this marks another step in the melding of conventional financial tools and digital ones.
