Why I am Excited for the Monaco Card
Just reserved my Monaco Card. The card is not yet ready for the U.S., but it appears to be approved for use in Singapore (see: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/monaco-card-program-receives-green-light-654236203.html). You can download the Monaco App now on Android or iOs here: https://www.mona.co/
It appears that Monaco jumped the gun by stating they had a deal with Visa (see: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-02/cryptocurrency-gained-695-on-deal-with-visa-that-didn-t-happen), but as for now it seems that the trial market will soon first be in place in Singapore before they expand to the rest of Asia and the world.
The app is pretty easy to use. You enter your e-mail and phone number for two –step verification, and then because of “know-your-customer” rules (to avoid money laundering and tax evasion I assume), they ask for verification with either a driver’s license or passport. I could not get my New York license to work, so I used my passport and that worked on the first try through their ID verification partner. By the way, for those new to cryptocurrency, this is is a standard process if you want to use Coinbase.com or Bittrex.com with their full capabilities (buy, sell, exchange, deposit, withdraw).
If successful, I will be excited as it would be nice to merge blockchain and credit cards. I believe Ark is working on this too, specifically, how to connect blockchains with one another. A cryptocurrency is only as valuable as it is useful, and problem solving is useful.
As Monaco states on its website:
*Always Free Account
*Hold multiple currencies and crypto (you can HODL them too)
*Exchange (to fiat money) at the real rate
I personally like the idea of swiping a card to pay with a cryptocurrency rather than a fiat currency. Or being able to withdraw fiat currency at a local ATM with a VISA sign from cryptocurrency that I hold.
I am not sure the future state of regulation, but this Monaco card when successfully rolled out (err, should I say *if), should make traveling easier and less expensive than going just with a traditional credit card. It could also be a convenient way to effortlessly move between cryotocurrency and fiat currency. Stuffing your pockets with gold coins is so démodé.
I am holding fifty Monaco coins (MCO) to reserve my Ruby card. Very excited!
They have a referral program and if you use my link, you get $10 USD. Here it is: https://app.mona.co/referral?_branch_match_id=453966797372010820
None of this is investing advice. If you want to learn more about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, I recommend these podcasts on Fred Wilson’s blog: http://avc.com/2017/11/hashpower-podcasts/
Thanks for reading.
MONACO BRANDS was informed of the launch of a payment card called “MONACO VISA®” by the company FORIS Limited.
The company FORIS Limited (previously called “MASTERFUND TECHNOLOGY LIMITED”) is a very new Hong Kong company, registered on 30 June 2016. It appears to operate the “MONACO VISA®” via the Swiss company “MONACO TECHNOLOGY GMBH”.
MONACO BRANDS recalls that the name “MONACO” is protected worldwide and indicates that it has not issued any authorisation to use the name “MONACO” to the companies FORIS LIMITED and MONACO TECHNOLOGY GMBH.
Furthermore, MONACO BRANDS stipulates that these two companies do not exercise any activity within the territory of the Principality of MONACO. The payment card “MONACO VISA®” therefore has no link to the territory of the Principality of MONACO.
MONACO BRANDS, whose role is to protect, increase the value of and defend all of the worldwide portfolio of the brands “MONACO” and “MONTE CARLO” associated with the Principality considers that the launch of this payment card infringes its rights.
It takes the actions of the companies FORIS LIMITED and MONACO TECHNOLOGY GMBH and intends to take all of the measures necessary to preserve the intellectual property rights which it owns. For this purpose, it has already initiated opposition proceedings against the applications to register the trademarks by FORIS LIMITED as part of this activity.
Is Monaco Brands affiliated with the Principality? If so, how? And has Monaco Brands been using a payment card with the name "Monaco" in it?