Combining crypto payment and stablecoin savings, the prepaid crypto card Infini Card (also commonly called U Card in the community), unexpectedly announced the suspension of Infini Card services today at noon, with the official explanation as follows:
Dear Infini User,
We have decided to suspend card services. Effective immediately, all card functions (including Global Card, Lite Card, and Tech Card) will be completely stopped and no longer available for application. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
1. About Withdrawal, Deposit, and Earn Services
Core functions remain unaffected. Please be assured that you can still proceed with deposits, withdrawals, and participate in the Earn interest earning program. Your assets remain safe and can be withdrawn at any time.
2. About Card Fee Refund
We will automatically refund the actual amount you paid for applying for the card (after deducting discounts), and the funds will be returned to your Infini account balance. The refund is expected to be completed within 10 working days, and no manual operation is required.
3. Ongoing Refund Requests
Any ongoing consumption refunds will be directly refunded to your Infini account. These refunds are expected to be completed within 5 to 21 working days, and your funds will remain completely safe during this process.
4. Refund Requests Not Completed Within 21 Days
If you have submitted a refund form or the refund progress has exceeded 21 working days without completion, please rest assured that we are actively processing it. Once the funds are processed, they will be refunded to your Infini account balance.
If you have any questions or wish to receive the latest progress updates, please feel free to contact us through the customer service button in the App or join the official Telegram group to directly communicate with the team:
https://t.me/Infini_official/
Thank you for your trust and understanding.
Official Response on Why Not Doing It
Regarding the decision to cease operations, the official responded earlier:
1) Infini is no longer doing to C card business. The reason is that compliance costs are extremely high, profits are extremely thin, and operations are extremely heavy. (Oh, I forgot it's also easy to be mocked in the industry 🤣) We have made a strategic adjustment and removed the to C card part of the business.
Currently, the to C card business occupies 99% of the time and cost, but contributes 0 revenue.
2) Financial management and deposits/withdrawals are normal. Financial management and asset management business have become the focus. The financial balance treasure function is stable at around 5% APR.
3) The current path of crypto card is still offramp UT and UC and then realize stable to fiat payment through traditional payment networks. It's too complicated, too long, and the fees are too expensive. Without subsidies, it's difficult to match web2 rates and cashback.
And I've always said that the U card is not the ultimate solution for web3 pay with stablecoin. It's somewhat like Apple Nano being replaced by iPhone.
4) The company hasn't changed, the team hasn't changed, the brand hasn't changed. Just like Teacher Yishi, after walking the U card path for a year, we found it's still not worth doing 🤣.
Thinking back to when we started Infini last July and learned a lot from Teacher Yishi, the conclusion a year later is the same, which is quite emotional.
5) Currently, Infini is a centralized product. In the future, we will fully embrace decentralization and think about decentralized payment solutions. We will absolutely not follow the old centralized path anymore.
