Visa Terminates FTX Debit Card Program

The world’s largest payment processor – Visa – has terminated ties with FTX less than a month after introducing a new debit card program.

Deeming the situation with the debt-ridden cryptocurrency exchange “unfortunate,” Visa’s spokesperson told Reuters that the company is “monitoring developments closely.”

• The financial services company’s official statement read,

“We have terminated our global agreements with FTX and their U.S. debit card program is being wound down by their issuer.”

• Visa announced a collaboration with FTX in October this year to launch account-linked Visa debit cards in 40 new countries.
• The focus of the partnership was the expansion of the debit card program to Latin America, Asia, and Europe after its introduction to US customers.
• FTX and 130 affiliated companies, including its sister trading firm Alameda Research, filed for Chapter 11 Proceedings in the United States on November 13.
• Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of the company. His position was taken over by the veteran Wall Street bankruptcy lawyer, John J. Ray III, who notably served as the chairman of the disgraced energy behemoth – Enron – in the early-mid 2000s.
• SBF, on the other hand, has faced tremendous backlash from the crypto community as the drama unfolded last week.
• FTX started the year with a $400 million Series C funding round, taking its valuation to over $32 billion.
• In yet another related development, US-headquartered crypto exchange Kraken announced freezing the accounts associated with “FTX Group, Alameda Research, and their executives” after engaging with law enforcement agencies.