The difference between fiat currency and investments like stocks and ETFs is that you can easily trade fiat currency for goods and services. Stocks have to be sold (often during certain hours of the day) before the money becomes available for use. Even then, you may have to transfer the money to an account if your broker doesn’t allow you to use a debit card to access cash on hand immediately.
This has been the battle for cryptocurrency. For years, it has functioned more like an investment than actual currency. I’ve even heard some investors refer to how many “shares” of a certain cryptocurrency they have, rather than calling them coins (or tokens, depending on the currency). The Flexa Network is working to overcome this hurdle. One way is by means of the SPEDN app.
SPEDN Lets You Spend Your Crypto
First of all: no, that is not a typo. The app is actually called SPEDN. It is fairly simple to use if you understand how crypto wallets work. Here’s the quick version of how to fund the app with crypto to spend.
- Download the app from the App Store or Play Store
- The app will prompt you to log in to your Flexa account or create one
- Select Add Funds to choose the cryptocurrency you want to spend
- Accept the warning message that you can’t move money out of the app – never send more money to your SPEDN wallet than you intend to use
- Your money is now in the wallet and can be spent at any store that accepts Flexa payments
- Keep in mind that you will need to allow the app to access your camera in order to scan the code for making crypto payments
What Stores Accept Flexa Payments?
Of course, the more stores that allow you to use the app, the more effective it becomes. While Flexa has been in use since 2018, it is just starting to pick up speed when it comes to adding retailers who accept crypto payments. Here is a list of some of the more popular places you can spend your crypto using SPEDN.
- Baskin Robbins
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Express
- Famous Footwear
- Hot Topic
- Lowe’s
- Nordstrom
- Nordstrom Rack
- Office Depot
- Petco
- Sheetz (starting in late summer 2021)
- Ulta Beauty
- Whole Foods Market
How Does Flexa Work?
Flexa uses the Amp cryptocurrency as collateral to guarantee payments to retailers. Now, retailers don’t have to be worried about being scammed or having to wait hours for a payment to be verified. Payments are made instantly and are guaranteed with Amp that has been staked. Those staking Amp to make the system work are rewarded with more Amp, which encourages plenty of collateral for payments to be available.
What Cryptocurrencies Can You Use for Payments?
The SPEDN app currently allows you to load the following cryptocurrencies into your wallet for payments.
- BCH
- BTC
- CELO
- DOGE
- ETH
- GUSD – This is a stable coin run by the Gemini Exchange – sign up with this link, and we will each receive $10 in Bitcoin after you buy or sell $100 in crypto.
- LTC
- ZEC
You Can Also Use Flexa to Accept Cryptocurrency
Flexa isn’t just for making payments but also for receiving them. I’ll discuss how to use Flexa to accept cryptocurrency in a future article.
Amp, the collateral coin used by the Flexa Network is now tradable on Coinbase, and $3 worth of Amp (about 50 coins at the current value) can be earned through the Coinbase rewards program. When you use these links to signup for Coinbase and buy or sell your first $100 in cryptocurrency, we both receive $10 in Bitcoin.
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*screenshots from the SPEDN app © Flexa Network Inc.
