VALR, the largest South African crypto exchange by trading volume, and Visa, the world’s largest card network, have announced a strategic partnership for the issuance of Visa cards and delivery of other digital payment solutions.

Established in 2018, VALR is a digital asset platform that allows customers to buy, sell, store and transfer Bitcoin and 60 other cryptocurrencies – the widest selection of any platform in Africa – seamlessly and securely. 

The company raised a US$50 million Series B funding round in March 2022, recently obtained approval to offer crypto services in Europe, and is in the process of obtaining licenses in Dubai, Mauritius and South Africa. 

“Visa is a household name in payments, with vast experience and global reach. A partnership with Visa was a natural step for VALR as we bring more innovative products and services to our customer base. We are very excited to work with Visa to continue to bring the very best technology and services to our global audience,” said Farzam Ehsani, VALR co-founder and CEO. 

The partnership between VALR and Visa follows other Visa partnerships with leading global crypto asset service providers such as Coinbase, Crypto.com and Circle.

“Visa is excited to work with VALR to issue Visa credentials to VALR customers. With this partnership we will work on innovative payment and card products that empower VALR customers to utilise the Visa network to make and receive payments globally. The use cases are vast and we’re looking forward to the collaboration with VALR to provide customers with a unique value proposition,” said Lineshree Moodley, general manager at Visa South Africa.