We have seen some interesting developments in the world of Bitcoin these past few years. There have been multiple partnerships between Bitcoin and the traditional financial sector, despite some major hurdles along the way. Debit cards linked to cryptocurrencies have been one of those interesting developments. SpectroCoin now provides account holders with an International Bank Account Number. Whether or not there is a demand for this service remains to be seen.
A Surprising Decision by SpectroCoin
Most cryptocurrency users have heard the name SpectroCoin before, even though the company has not been as widely successful as some others. The company built up a pretty solid reputation thanks to its focus on various Bitcoin-related services. It offers a wallet, an exchange, debit cards, and a payment processing option for retailers. All things considered, the company provides everything one could want, but there is a lot of competition in this market.
It is all the more surprising, then, to see this company launch an International Bank Account Number service all of a sudden. These IBAN numbers are – under normal circumstances – only issued by financial institutions with official banking licenses. It is a bit unclear how SpectroCoin can provide this service all of a sudden. This doesn’t mean the service isn’t legitimate, mind you, but there are some questions in this regard which aren’t easy to answer right now.
People who have ever had a bank account will know that these accounts have several numbers associated with them. They have a country code, followed by up to 34 numbers, depending on one’s country. The main selling point of IBANs is that they are a global standard which can be used by anyone and everyone. However, some people struggle to gain access to even that basic service because they don’t have the means to open a regular bank account. It seems those people comprise the main target group for SpectroCoin’s latest feature.
With an IBAN number, users can link their cryptocurrency and fiat funds. It becomes possible to make euro-denominated payments from one’s SpectroCoin account balance right away. Moreover, there will no longer be any identification of the company involved in sending money, as everything will be done under the user’s name. That’s an interesting feature, although US customers will not – and probably never – receive access to this service whatsoever.
Not only will this approach attract more users, but it also makes cryptocurrency more useful for regular payments. Paying bills with cryptocurrency has always been problematic and often requires the use of third-party service providers. While this IBAN service is still somewhat centralized, it seems to put the user in full control over his or her bank account as well. How this particular venture will be received by the general public remains to be seen. It will be available to corporations, which is pretty interesting.
Whether or not there is a need for services such as this one remains the big question. Cryptocurrency is often touted as “the end of banking as we know it”. Services like this one are almost a step backward in this regard. It is an interesting option worth exploring, but it remains to be seen if SpectroCoin is appealing enough to attract cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Paying bills with cryptocurrency has become a bit easier, at least, which can only be considered to be a good thing.
