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Visa Makes Investment in Credit Card Tech Startup Deserve

The credit card giant has made an undisclosed investment in Deserve following the success of its crypto rewards card issued in partnership with BlockFi.

Updated May 11, 2023, 7:04 p.m. Published Oct 27, 2021, 1:26 p.m.

Deserve said it received a strategic investment from Visa Inc. after an earlier report from Bloomberg on the relationship.

Deserve launched a Visa credit card in partnership with cryptocurrency financial services provider BlockFi in July. The card allows customers to earn rewards in the form of bitcoin.
Visa chose Deserve last year as a partner for its Fintech Fast Track program, which supports digital payment innovation, according to the statement
Mastercard previously invested in Palo Alto, California-based Deserve in June in a $50 million funding round that valued the company at more than $500 million, according to Bloomberg.
Visa also joins additional investors including Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Mission Holdings
Transaction volume for the card is approaching $2 billion on an annualized basis, and BlockFi cardholders are projected to spend roughly $30,000 per year, 50% above that of average credit card holders, Deserve’s co-founder and CEO Kalpesh Kapadia told Bloomberg.

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Michael Bellusci is a former CoinDesk crypto reporter. Previously he covered stocks for Bloomberg. He has no significant crypto holdings.