Uphold, a digital money platform, today announced its acquisition of Optimus Cards UK Limited, a debit and credit card issuer operating in the UK and Europe.
The acquisition will allow Uphold to launch a crypto-capable debit card across Europe.
An Electronic Money Institution (EMI) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Optimus acts as a primary card issuer and payments facilitator. Today, the firm serves customers in the fintech and Credit Union sectors offering a platform that supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, Open Banking, as well as contactless and virtual cards, IBANs, UK sort-code, and accounts, plus ‘cardless’ cash withdrawal.
“We’re delighted to have acquired an issuer with such a technically-sophisticated platform and a full EMI license. These attributes will shortly allow us to issue multi-asset, crypto-enabled debit cards across the UK and Europe. After passing the FCA’s rigorous ‘Change In Control’ process, we’re very excited to get to work and help scale Optimus’s thriving EMD agency business, which already supports several major crypto and fintech ecosystems. From April, we plan to start rolling out the world’s first, multi-asset, crypto-enabled debit card on the Optimus platform in Europe. The card has already proved a hit with our U.S. customers offering a unique combination of utility, convenience, and crypto-back rewards.”
– JP Thieriot, CEO of Uphold