Head, Product at Patricia, Oluwaseun Odusanya has said that his goal is to make sure that the newly launched Crypto debit card provides users with the ability to spend their cryptocurrencies anywhere, anytime, making it a convenient and practical solution for those who prefer using digital assets over traditional fiat currencies.

Cryptocurrencies are gradually gaining traction, and the Patricia Luxury Card, Africa’s first Bitcoin debit card, is a reflection of that trend.

In his words: “To launch a debit card, you must work with a commercial bank or an institution that has a relationship with one. In Patricia’s case, we partnered with Rubies, who had an existing relationship with a commercial bank, to obtain the necessary authorization to issue the card.

“We created a design for the card and submitted it to Rubies for tweaking, who then sent it to Verve for approval.

Speaking on obtaining a Bank Identification Number (BIN), he said: The BIN number, which is a 16-digit identifier, is sponsored by the bank and is necessary to issue the card. The cost of obtaining a BIN can be steep, but Patricia was able to leverage Rubies’ existing BIN, though setting up your own BIN allows for greater customisation and control over the card.

“To give the card a luxurious feel, Patricia worked with a creative company to choose the plastic material, ultimately selecting black plastic. A card management system is essential to map card transactions to the user’s account or wallet, so, Patricia used Rubies’ existing system, but an ideal situation would be to work with a bank that has FEP on-premise.

In addition to the steps mentioned, I also ensured that we set up an authentication system for the card, implemented a fraud detection system, and created a customer support system to ensure that users can access the help they need when needed.
After all, this was done, it was time to run a successful marketing campaign to promote the card, reaching out to potential customers and creating awareness of the product.

The Patricia Luxury Card project was a unique and exciting challenge for me, as I sought to ensure that we offered something different and provide their customers with a compelling reason to choose the Patricia platform. I was able to ensure that I carved out a pioneering role in the market for Patricia, which in turn provided us with valuable lessons and insight along the way.