SafePal announces a strategic investment in Swiss bank Fiat24 and the launch of a banking gateway and Visa virtual cryptocurrency card.

The new offering is designed to accelerate the transition of cryptocurrencies into the real world.

Cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider SafePal on Thursday announced a strategic investment in Swiss bank Fiat24, launching a banking gateway through which users can pay with digital assets and transfer funds to other eligible banks.

CoinDesk has learned from the release that the companies have launched Visa cryptocurrency card and in-app banking with the dollar-linked stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) as the default deposit currency. Users can exchange their coins for USDC through Arbitrum. USDC can then be stored in US dollars, euros and Swiss francs for use in transactions and expenses.

Users can open customized, fully compliant bank accounts after going through the KYC process and registering with Fiat24 on the SafePal mobile wallet app without incurring any fees for account creation or management.

“While this seems like an extraordinary step for a decentralized wallet, inaccessibility is a pressing issue for cryptocurrency users that needs to be addressed for better usage and adoption,” said Veronica Wong, CEO and co-founder of SafePal, in a statement to CoinDesk.

“This will be the first truly crypto-friendly banking experience for retail users that will eliminate the excessive checks and restrictions of traditional banks, as accounts created through the mobile wallet will support transfers to accounts at other banks in their name seamlessly and compliantly,” Wong added.

Once bank accounts are created in SafePal’s mobile wallet, the credentials are mined as NFTs on the Ethereum-based Arbitrum network, providing a secure and transparent record of all relevant transactions on the blockchain.

Visa’s cryptocurrency cards are also linked to third-party payment platforms such as Paypal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

The Visa card will initially be available in select regions of Europe before expanding to the rest of the continent, and the in-app banking gateway will be available outside the United States and in all countries not under U.S. sanctions.