~snip~
The article says you only need to give your email address. That is enough for you to get access to the Edge app where you will sign up for the Edge Mastercard. I'm also amazed at how they managed to be AML and CTF compliant when it's just a mere email address that's required.
Anyway, this must still be good news all in all even though the 10 million merchants that are said to be supporting the service will not really be accepting crypto payments but fiat.
Well, at a minimum they need to somehow create the card to some name, and have it delivered to some real world address, on top of the email. I'm assuming they must have some checks on the name and address to make sure it's a real person.
Reading a bit more it says it's using Patriot Bank as the issuer of the card:
Edge Mastercard will be issued by Patriot Bank, NA, under license from Mastercard International and powered by fintech company Ionia. Edge says that it has more than 1.7 million accounts across 179 countries on its self-custodial cryptocurrency trading platform.
Here's some information about Patriot's debit cards:
Monitored by Enfact
Enfact Advantages
“Watch dog” that monitors your debit card activity around the clock.
Notifies you of any unusual activity or suspicious transactions.
Temporarily blocks your debit card until you confirm or deny transactions.
Releases the temporary block once you approve the suspect transactions.
Blocks your debit card when you confirm fraud transactions.
Keeps an eye on your card when you travel. Just report your plans to your local branch and a travel notice will be added to your account to prevent your card from being temporarily blocked for unusual activity.
In order to verify customer transactions, Enfact may contact you by phone using an automated recording service. The automated call service will let you know that the call is on behalf of Patriot Bank and include your particular name. You will then be asked to verify the Zip Code for your account. No other account questions will be asked. If you receive a call requesting information other than your Zip Code, please DO NOT COMPLY and contact your financial institution immediately.