US Bank Quontic Launches Bitcoin Rewards Checking Account With Debit Card

Quontic Bank is launching a bitcoin rewards checking account with a debit card. Customers can earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on their debit card purchases. “Bitcoin is gaining massive momentum both as a digital currency, an asset class, and as a store of wealth,” the CEO of the bank said.

Bitcoin Rewards Checking Account

Quontic digital bank announced on Tuesday the launch of its “bitcoin rewards checking account.” The announcement states:

Quontic is the first FDIC-insured financial institution in the U.S. to go live with a bitcoin rewards debit card. Quontic customers can earn 1.5% in bitcoin on eligible debit card purchases.

“Quontic’s bitcoin rewards checking program offers consumers a debit card, mobile app, access to over 90,000 surcharge-free ATMs, Applepay, Googlepay, Samsungpay, Zelle peer-to-peer payments, and more – all with no monthly service fee,” the announcement continues.

The bank has partnered with NYDIG, that company that recently helped Massmutual insurance giant buy $100 million worth of BTC. NYDIG provides Quontic with a secure custody platform to manage bitcoin rewards.

The bank’s website explains that its Bitcoin Reward Checking account is a non-interest bearing personal checking account. A minimum of $500 is required to open the account but it does not have a minimum daily balance requirement to earn bitcoin rewards. The website further clarifies that the balances of bitcoin rewards or the cryptocurrencies in customers’ NYDIG accounts are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections.

“Bitcoin is gaining massive momentum both as a digital currency, an asset class, and as a store of wealth,” Quontic CEO Steven Schnall commented, elaborating:

This is of particular importance today given that the federal government printed an additional $3T in money in 2020 in response to Covid-19 and the accompanying risk of inflation and dollar devaluation.

In addition, Quontic has partnered with NYSE-listed Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) to build a mobile app with “bitcoin rewards tracking, reporting and functionality which is set to launch in Q2 of 2021.”

Interested customers can sign up to be added to the waitlist for the bitcoin rewards checking account on the Quontic website now. However, the program will only be available to a limited number of people initially, and only to residents of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The bank plans to increase the availability of the program in the coming months.