Bitstamp Now Accepts Credit Cards for Bitcoin Purchases In The US

Bitcoin exchanges are trying to make the process of buying cryptocurrency more convenient. Bitstamp, one of the world’s leading exchanges, recently enabled credit card support. This means customers in the US can buy Bitcoin with their credit card right now. Given Bitcoin’s recent upswing, it is only to be expected demand for cryptocurrency would increase.

Bitstamp Enables Credit Card Support in the US

It is always interesting to see exchanges enable credit card support. Given the security risk associated with the payment method, very few platforms enable payment card support. Bitstamp decided now is a good time to do so, though. Bitcoin’s recent price gains result in increasing cryptocurrency demand. Enabling support for credit card payments is quite significant in this regard.

Bitstamp is partnering with Simplex to process these payments. That also means users will need to go through some verification before making a payment. In this case, it appears to take a selfie while holding up the card is sufficient. Do keep in mind users can block part of their card information for security purposes, though. All things considered, the process should be rather straightforward.

One thing to take into consideration is the processing fee. According to one Reddit user, there is a 8% fee for the entire conversion process. That is a rather steep amount, yet it is the price to pay for convenience. Using a credit card to buy an irreversible payment solution carries certain risks. Charging a high fee ensures all parties are protected from these risks at any given time.

Bitcoin Demand Continues To Grow

For the time being, the Simplex gateway is only available to customers in the US, though.  Users can buy Bitcoin with their Visa or Mastercard debit and credit cards alike. Customers in the EU and various other countries have been using a similar feature for quite some time now. It is evident this traditional payment method has been rather successful in those parts of the world. 

All of this shows demand for Bitcoin will continue to increase. Even though the price is correcting itself right now, there is nothing to worry about yet. The 8% fee is quite steep, although the BTC price can [easily] gain a similar or higher value to offset the costs. An interesting move by Bitstamp, to say the least.