Two payment giants are collaborating to tackle one of crypto’s pain points regarding mass adoption: swapping digital assets into fiat currencies.

On Jan. 30, Transak and Visa announced a partnership to bridge the gap between the worlds of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance by offering direct crypto-to-card withdrawals in over 145 nations.

Visa is a world leader in digital payments, while Transak specializes in building payment infrastructure for crypto and NFTs. Together, the pair noted that on-ramps that allow users to change fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar into crypto like Bitcoin (BTC) have garnered more attention than off-ramps that allow participants to cash out their digital assets.

In a statement, the companies said this situation often leaves users unable to exit crypto markets or incentivizes withdrawal methods that may run contrary to local regulations. 

Yanilsa Gonzalez-Ore, North America Head of Visa Direct and Global Ecosystem Readiness, remarked that real-time payments through a secure regulated channel solve this.

By enabling real-time card withdrawals through Visa Direct, Transak is delivering a faster, simpler, and more connected experience for its users — making it easier to convert crypto balances into fiat, which can be spent at the more than 130 million merchant locations where Visa is accepted.

Yanilsa Gonzalez-Ore, Head of Visa Direct, North America Division

Transak co-founder and CEO Sami Start added that his firm’s support for over 40 cryptocurrencies translates to many options for crypto-to-fiat conversions. Transak also has a presence on over 350 web3 wallets and defi platforms, such as MetaMask and Decentraland.  

The partnership comes when crypto ownership has grown in leaps and bounds over the past year. As Coin Insider Daily reported, global crypto usage increased by 34% in 2023, with Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) recorded as major catalysts behind the ascent to 580 million users worldwide.