- Two Israeli issuers of credit cards, MAX and Isracard, will begin offering bitcoin services and cashback to users of their credit cards.
- MAX will partner with Beats of Gold, allowing users to purchase bitcoin with credit cards.
- Isracard will partner with Altshuler Shaham to purchase bitcoin through the investment house.
MAX and Isracard, two Israei-based credit card companies, are collaborating to release a bitcoin cashback credit card solution, according to a report from local news agency Calcalist.
Each company will offer a separate card that will, for the first time, introduce their customers to bitcoin. MAX announced their partnership with crypto-broker Bits of Gold which will launch the MaxBack Crypto card. This function is similar to cashback offers currently supported by MAX giving customers a 0.625% cashback in the form of bitcoin on eligible transactions. In order to take advantage of the program, customers will need to be issued a new card.
MAX has also inked a clearing agreement with Beats of Gold which will allow customers to use their credit cards to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with any Israeli card as long as the transaction is cleared in Israel.
Isracard will be working with crypto-focused subsidiary Horizon, under the banner of Altshuler Shaham which is an investment house, allowing users of Isracard to purchase bitcoin through Altshuler Shaham. Isracard clears services through American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Isracard, making it one of the leading processors in Israel.
“As the leading crypto company in the country, we are proud to launch this innovative collaboration, which will allow the general public to join the digital currency arena,” Horizon CEO Ilan Stark said in a translated statement. “If in the past this field belonged to the exotic part of the capital market, today we see more and more interest from investors and customers.”
Altshuler Shaham made headlines in March of 2021 when a report from Globes said they invested $100 million in late 2020 into Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the world’s largest bitcoin fund.