Wirex Turns 10: A Decade of Innovation in How the World Pays

It all began in 2014, in one of the few thousand London coffee shops. Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, fintech visionaries with a shared dream, dared to imagine a world where crypto was as accessible and functional as traditional money.

Back then, cryptocurrencies were niche—trapped in the realm of tech enthusiasts and speculators. But Pavel and Dmitry envisioned something groundbreaking: empowering people to manage and spend crypto as easily as cash.

Fast forward to today, Wirex is a global powerhouse in digital payments, serving over 6 million customers in 130 countries. From its humble beginnings, it has redefined the intersection of traditional and digital finance, making crypto practical for everyday life.

2015: Changing the Game

The journey started with a bold statement. In 2015, Wirex unveiled the world’s first crypto-enabled debit card, allowing users to spend Bitcoin (and later other cryptocurrencies) anywhere Visa or Mastercard was accepted. This wasn’t just a technical feat—it was a cultural shift.

“At the time, crypto was still seen as speculative,” recalls Pavel Matveev, Co-Founder of Wirex. “We wanted to make it tangible—something people could actually use every day.”

As a principal member of both Visa and Mastercard, Wirex has been able to offer secure and seamless payments worldwide, bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto.

The debit card blurred the line between fiat and digital currencies, bringing crypto out of the shadows and into coffee shops, grocery stores, and travel agencies worldwide.

Revolutionary Features: Cryptoback and Wirex Pay

Wirex has consistently introduced groundbreaking features, such as Cryptoback rewards, offering up to 8% cashback in crypto on purchases. The X-Accounts product brought decentralized finance (DeFi) to the masses by enabling high interest rates on savings without the complexity typically associated with DeFi platforms.

The latest innovation, Wirex Pay, builds on this legacy by simplifying crypto payments for merchants and users alike, and grants end users full control over their assets with the first non-custodial card. Powered by advanced blockchain technology like Polygon’s CDK, Wirex Pay ensures fast, secure transactions while converting crypto to local fiat currencies instantly for merchants. This seamless integration eliminates barriers to crypto adoption for businesses and consumers

What’s Next?

As Wirex celebrates its 10th anniversary, it’s already looking ahead. The company plans to expand its offerings, continue refining its user experience, and find new ways to break down barriers between traditional and digital finance.

“The last ten years were about building bridges between two financial worlds,” says Pavel. “The next ten will be about making those bridges invisible—so seamless that people don’t even notice the transition.”

Dmitry adds: “Our work isn’t done. There are still financial systems that are too complex, too expensive, or too inaccessible. Wirex is here to change that—one innovation at a time.”

From introducing crypto-enabled debit cards to creating an ecosystem that simplifies financial management, Wirex has spent the last decade at the forefront of innovation. And as it steps into the future, one thing is certain: the best is yet to come.

Here’s to Wirex—a decade of making financial freedom a reality and the promise of much more to come.