Raise your hand if you’ve heard a thing or two about the Busha USDC Virtual Dollar Card. While there are other virtual dollar card providers in Nigeria, Busha has recently been in the spotlight. Is it worth the hype? You’re about to find out.
Busha virtual card is a dollar debit card linked to your USDC account. Anyone with the card can use it to make payments online anywhere worldwide, provided the biller accepts Mastercard. The card is virtual, meaning you don’t get a physical card, but you get important details you can use for payment, such as the card number and CSS.
Recently, word has gone around about this new card and how it can solve all your payment problems. But is it worth all the hype, especially compared to other alternatives?
Understanding the Busha USDC Virtual Dollar Card
The USDC (USD Coin) is a cryptocurrency whose value is tied to the US dollar. Hence it is called a stablecoin. Stability here refers to the fact that the price of the USDC stays the same as the value of USD. So it’s a one-to-one ratio. One dollar equals one USDC.
How Does the Busha Card Work?
The Busha virtual card is a digital card for dollar payments. You can get one by applying for it. Since it’s a digital card, you can’t hold it physically and can only use it to shop online. You cannot withdraw cash like you can with physical cards.
The Busha card works just like a regular debit card. It is linked to your USDC balance. This means users must connect their USDC wallet to Busha’s spot wallet.
You can create several Busha virtual cards, up to 10, for different purposes.
Features of the Busha Virtual Dollar Card
- It links directly to your USDC balance.
- It can be used anywhere Mastercard payments are accepted.
- There are no extra charges or fees accompanying the use of the card.
- It can be integrated with payment channels such as Paypal, Wise, etc.
Benefits of Using The Busha Virtual Card
- It is an easy way to shop or make payments with your Crypto (stablecoins).
- You can integrate it into different payment channels.
Pros and Cons of Busha Virtual Dollar Card
Pros
- Easy and convenient access to USDC.
The Busha virtual dollar card was created to link directly with USDC wallets. If you trade in stablecoins, you can easily swap your other coins to USDC and quickly use our virtual card(s) for all your online payments.
- There’s no need for a credit history or a bank account.
One of the numerous benefits of cryptocurrency is the elimination of personalisation in everything. This means you don’t have to provide all your details before you can conduct transactions. So since USDC is a cryptocurrency, there’s no need to link your bank account or provide your credit history to be allowed to use a Busha virtual dollar card.
- Can be used for online transactions and payments.
Say goodbye to having to whip out your physical card to add to your account on various online shopping platforms. You can just link your Busha virtual dollar card, and all your online payments will go through. Smooth like butter.
Cons
- It is limited to USDC transactions only.
This takes the bag as one of the most glaring limitations of the Busha virtual dollar card. You cannot link it to your other cryptocurrency balances. Even if you have other stablecoins, you cannot use them to make payments with your Busha card. You’re confined to USDC unless you want to try other virtual dollar cards.
- Fees may be higher than other methods of obtaining USDC.
While you can create a virtual dollar card for free, you have to pay a fee to buy USDC using Busha in the first place. Those with no USDC in their crypto portfolio might have to buy some with naira, dollars, or other coins. Any such transaction attracts a fee which may be higher than the cost of buying USDC on a regular crypto exchange.
- Limited acceptance among merchants and retailers.
Despite the hype surrounding the Busha Virtual dollar card, there aren’t many merchants who accept the card for payments yet. Busha is yet to be adopted by a lot of merchants and retailers. As a user, this can limit your access to certain goods and services online.
Busha Virtual Dollar Card Vs Other Virtual Dollar Cards
There are a myriad of dollar cards available to Nigerians. Some of these names include Chippercash, ALAT, PayDay, and Carbon, among others.
Chippercash Virtual dollar card is a visa-enabled card you can use to shop online. It is used similarly to a physical debit card. All you need do is fund your card from your Chipper wallet, and you’re good to go. It’s free to get the card, and your daily maximum withdrawal and funding limit of $1000, while your maximum monthly spending limit is $5000.
ALAT is another virtual dollar card, also visa-enabled. It’s an offshoot of Wema Bank operating as a digital bank where users can transact on mobile phones. Users can complete international transactions on platforms like Shopify, Facebook, and Amazon. You can fund your ALAT virtual card with your naira account up to $20,000 and convert it back to naira if you want.
Payday allows users to open free USD, EUR, and GBP accounts. With a Payday virtual card, you can make online payments anywhere a Mastercard is accepted. Currently, the Payday virtual card has no limits.
CashBuddy is another virtual dollar card you can use in Nigeria to transact on top global platforms like Facebook, Apple Music, Instagram, Binance, Amazon, Neteller, Skrill, Stripe, etc. But a $3 fee is attached to getting one of the virtual cards. The maximum daily funding limit is $10,000.
Compared to these other virtual dollar debit cards, Busha seems to be doing good but could do better in terms of versatility, like allowing users to fund their accounts with their local currency instead of just USDC. Another area that requires some improvement is getting more merchants to adopt the Busha virtual dollar card for payments.
You can use any of these virtual cards depending on the situation. Busha is an excellent choice if you want to use your USDC balance for your transactions and if you patronise major merchants only.
However, if you want a card with a higher fund limit or none, then Payday or Cashbuddy would be more suited to your needs.
Bottomline
Social media and some online forums have raised lots of dust about Busha’s virtual dollar card, and this has caused some analysts to wonder if it is worth the hype. After a detailed scrutiny of the card, we think it isn’t worth the hype. There are already lots of other virtual dollar cards offering the same service. But the Busha virtual card has an edge which is the USDC feature.
We recommend this card to anyone who wants to make payments with their cryptocurrency, especially stablecoins.
