Tangem Pay Reports Strong Demand in Latin America and the United States as Swiss Crypto Wallet Provider Launches First Physical Visa Card

Swiss cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider Tangem has revealed that more than 40% of its Tangem Pay payment transactions originate from Latin America, while over 30% come from the United States. The figures highlight a rapidly growing global appetite for spending digital assets through everyday payment cards, even as physical card availability remains restricted in various markets around the world.

The data sheds light on how crypto-funded payment solutions are gaining traction in regions marked by specific economic conditions and high demand for alternative financial rails. However, bridging the gap between decentralized digital assets and traditional financial systems continues to present unique hurdles for fintech providers navigating a complex web of international regulations.

Andrey Ilinskiy, the head of Tangem Pay, highlighted the intricate nature of rolling out crypto-linked payment cards across multiple jurisdictions in an interview with Cointelegraph. He explained that making a crypto card available to consumers is not merely a matter of identifying where demand is highest. According to Ilinskiy, it is fundamentally a question of where consumer demand, regulatory frameworks, traditional banking infrastructure, and strict card-issuing requirements happen to align. Today, he noted, those disparate maps do not always overlap smoothly.

The announcement coincides with Tangem’s official rollout of its first physical Visa card, designed for everyday in-store purchases, online shopping, and ATM cash withdrawals. For its initial release, the company has capped availability at a limited run of 5,000 cards, allowing early adopters to test the integration of physical payment rails with digital asset storage.

A key feature of the newly launched card is its direct integration with user self-custodial wallets. Tangem emphasized that users can fund the payment card directly from their own self-custody wallets without relinquishing control of their private keys to a third-party intermediary. Furthermore, if a physical card is ever lost, suspended, or closed, users retain the ability to easily move their funds back to the safety of their underlying wallet interface.

Explaining the philosophy behind this setup, Tangem noted that self-custody successfully removes one major boundary by ensuring there is no centralized custodian standing between the user and their digital assets. Yet, the company acknowledged that once those decentralized assets cross over into a heavily regulated traditional payment network, an entirely new set of boundaries inevitably appears.

Tangem Delivers the Cards in Nearly 200 Countries, Excluding Only 20

Despite the global reach of digital currencies, logistical and regulatory barriers mean that physical card delivery cannot happen everywhere uniformly. Tangem reported that it is currently unable to deliver physical Tangem Pay cards to roughly 20 countries worldwide. The exclusion list includes major nations and territories such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine.

The company clarified that these delivery and service restrictions do not necessarily mirror the domestic legal rules governing cryptocurrencies themselves within those regions. Instead, a combination of stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, international economic sanctions, local banking rules, and complex card-issuing compliance standards collectively determine where a crypto-linked payment card can legally and practically be made available.

Expanding on this paradox, Tangem pointed out that the very same economic or political conditions that often generate high local demand for cryptocurrency as an alternative financial rail can simultaneously make regulated physical card issuance significantly more difficult or entirely unfeasible. Financial compliance protocols require predictable legal frameworks and stable banking partnerships, which may be absent in restricted jurisdictions.

In tandem with the physical card launch, Tangem is introducing a new cashback incentive program for its users. The cashback rewards will be paid out in USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle. Under the newly structured rewards program, eligible purchases will yield a 1% cashback rate for Basic users, while Plus users will receive an enhanced rate of 2% back in USDC.

Tangem plans to showcase its pioneering physical Tangem Pay cards to the broader technology and financial community at the upcoming Token2049 conference in Singapore. The high-profile event is expected to draw industry leaders, developers, and investors interested in the evolving intersection of decentralized finance and traditional payment networks.