Crypto.com is a Visa Program Manager and they issue MCO Visa Cards to customers around the world by partnering with local card issuers — such as collaborating with Metropolitan Commercial Bank in the United States to make cards available to its customers. The business claims to have over 1 million users — of whom not all are cardholders —, and with cards being available to users in Singapore and across the United States, the firm’s eyes are now set on Europe.

“Our vision is ‘cryptocurrency in every wallet’ and to achieve that we started with a financial product the average consumer is most familiar with; the Visa card,” Kris Marszalek, Cofounder and CEO of Crypto.com, tells Business Malta. “The card is linked to a wallet where you can not only buy, exchange, sell or track cryptocurrencies, but you can also satisfy all your banking needs with products that cover savings, investments, and loans. Users can easily convert their crypto to fiat within the wallet and spend it through the MCO Visa Card anywhere Visa is accepted,” the cofounder CEO adds.

The crafted metal card sports no periodical or delivery fee at the time of the publication of the present article. The service offers up to 5% cashback on all spending — local or overseas — up to 100% purchase reimbursement for Spotify and Netflix, and up to 10% purchase rebate on Airbnb and Expedia, according to the company.

Furthermore, the business says that holders of their Visa cards are entitled to free and unlimited airport lounge access, to free ATM monthly withdrawal up to US$1,000 and can earn up to 8% per annum on their crypto investments.

“With this bridge between the fiat and crypto worlds, crypto will finally be able to make an actual impact for everyday consumers in the real world.”

“All in all, we see ourselves as a ‘crypto super app’ that has every aspect relating to crypto covered, at the same time making it easy and not intimidating to people who are new to crypto. Every product we build is designed to accelerate the world’s transition to cryptocurrency. With this bridge between the fiat and crypto worlds, crypto will finally be able to make an actual impact for everyday consumers in the real world,” adds Mr Marszalek.

Crypto with KYC

Crypto.com says it is committed to compliance, and as such, they follow know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines; highly unlikely practices for a vertical that initially used to be stigmatised for its anonymity, as well as for shadow economy having been among the early adopters of Bitcoin — the very first cryptocurrency. Users of Crypto.com services, however, are required to identify themselves upon registration, and they are verified before gaining access to their accounts.

“As a fintech company, we enter markets in a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction process, which means that we must have a deep level of understanding of compliance with each jurisdiction’s local rules and regulations,” the cofounder CEO says.

The company has ISO27001:2013, PCI:DSS 3.2.1, Level 1 and CCSS certifications. As the Mr Marszalek says, the company takes the highest measures to ensure that customers are exposed to top-notch data security and privacy standards. At the end of the day, the company’s services are trusted with the very finances of users.

“We do understand that privacy is of utmost importance to users, which is why Crypto.com is fully General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant, and that our KYC and AML processes have been reviewed by a Big Four* firm to ensure we comply with local rules and regulations. We only retain personal data for as long as necessary, and users also have the option to request us to delete all their data if desired,” Mr Marszalek says.

Pivotal Malta

The company has an office in Malta and are currently in the process of being licensed here. “We are looking to expand our team here next year to focus on compliance and security efforts, as we are gearing up for expansion to Europe. This will be an area that can be spearheaded out of Malta,” Mr Marszelek tells BM.

Malta — that internationally markets itself as the “blockchain island” — is widely considered to have a well-established and thriving technology ecosystem. Having passed blockchain and distributed ledger technologies legislation roughly a year ago, Malta is often seen as a key player in the development of crypto and DLT solutions in the European Union, as well as globally.

“The cryptocurrency industry is going to be tightly regulated in the near future, so there’s plenty of opportunities in compliance and regulatory roles in this space. There is also a tremendous demand for cybersecurity professionals. Crypto.com is committed to working with local institutions to drive education efforts to help nurture local talent and allow it to thrive in the blockchain space,” the cofounder CEO says.

“We believe in giving people the ability to regain control of their money, data and identity via the power of blockchain technology. In order to help mass consumers gain access to crypto, we work hard to ensure our products are fully compliant in each market, which is where the KYC and AML processes come in,” Mr Marszalek underscores.

*EDITORIAL NOTE: On the query of Business Malta, Crypto.com did not disclose whether it is was Deloitte, EY, KPMG or PwC that reviewed its KYC and AML processes as the official public announcement has not yet taken place.

The post Crypto.com marries Visa card with crypto wallet, eyes Malta expansion first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

This visa is given to students once they collect ten different stamps in their passport during visits to ten different Heritage Malta sites and museums. Two adults may accompany each student for this special occasion, Heritage Malta says.

Four sessions will be available at 9:15 am, 10:15 am, 11:15 am and 12:15 pm, for a maximum of ten children per each session. Each session will be divided into two parts: starting with a short tour of the site of San Pawl Milqi, followed by an activity related to bee-keeping and honey making techniques.

Heritage Malta emphasises that anybody allergic to bees should not participate, due to the presence of bees on site. At the same time, participants are recommended not to wear open shoes, heavy perfume and gel. The activity related to the bees will be only for the 10 children wearing protective clothing. No adults or small children will be allowed near, for safety reasons.

The site of San Pawl Milqi gets its name from the small chapel of San Pawl Milqi that replaced the 15th century chapel of St Paul Bindichi in the mid-17th century, both of which were built on the remains of a Roman villa. This villa is traditionally connected with the house of Publius, and therefore the place where St Paul was welcomed by the First Citizen.

Although the event is free of charge and is open only to Heritage Malta Passport Visa holders, tickets have to be booked. Tickets are available on a first-come-first-served basis from all Heritage Malta sites and museums. No tickets will be available on-site and admission is subject to presenting pre-issued tickets, together with the Heritage Malta Passport and Visa.

The post San Pawl Milqi offers exclusive tour for HM Passport Visa holders first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Similarly to last year, Henley & Partners finds that countries with citizenship-by-investment (CBI) hold strong positions on the index programs. On this note, the report underlines Malta’s 9th position, as well as the 27th and 28th spots of St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, respectively. Moldova was able to hold its 46th place, with citizens offered access to 122 countries.

Japan is at the 1st place on the Henley Passport Index offering visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations, Singapore and South Korea now are jointly at the 2nd place with access to 189 destinations, while Germany and France are at the 3rd place with a visa-free score of 188.

“The enduring appeal of investment migration programs shows that more and more people are embracing alternative citizenship as the best way to access previously unimagined opportunities and improve their passport power,” says Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners. “Additionally, it is no surprise that countries are increasingly looking to launch CBI programs, which attract talented individuals and bring enormous economic and societal benefits,” he adds.

“For some people, a passport is a portal to the world. For others, it is a barrier to the travel freedom they seek,” Henley & Partners says on its website. Their passport index is considered by many to be one of the most rigorous and sophisticated measures of global access.

“The general spread of open-door policies has the potential to contribute billions to the global economy, as well as create significant employment opportunities around the world,” says Dr Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the Passport Index concept. “South Korea and the United Arab Emirates’ recent ascent in the rankings are further examples of what happens when countries take a proactive foreign affairs approach, an attitude which significantly benefits their citizens as well as the international community,” he adds.

The Henley Passport Index is based on IATA data, enhanced by extensive in-house research, supported by expert commentary, and updated regularly throughout the year, making it the most robust, credible, and reliable index of its kind, according to the official website of the index.

Citizenship by investment schemes

Malta launched its Malta Individual Investor Programme (IIP) at the beginning of 2014, which is an investment citizenship program. “Successful candidates will be granted citizenship in Malta by a Certificate of Naturalization, which can also be extended to include their families,” the official website of Malta Immigration says. Those who receive citizenship can set up businesses in Malta and have the right of establishment in all 28 EU countries and Switzerland.

Up to the date of publication, as the IIP has received more than 1,000 Malta passport applications on behalf of investors from more than 40 different countries, and submission is still open.

However, lately, controversy has arisen in related to investment by citizenship schemes in the European Commission in general. In January, Věra Jourová, the European Commissioner for Justice said that “the European Commission does not endorse the cash-for-passports scheme”, in reaction to Nationalist Party MEP Roberta Metsola’s question criticising such programmes, the MaltaToday reported.

Beyond Malta, Cyprus, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Portugal also offer such schemes.

The post Malta ranks 9th on Henley Passport Index first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.