Blade

Blade Payments operated in the financial technology sector as a business-to-business (B2B) payment processing platform with a focus on digital currency transactions. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York, NY, the company developed a platform as a service (PaaS) solution to bridge the gap between legacy payment systems and the emerging blockchain space.

The core of Blade's business was an API-accessed platform designed to make traditional payment infrastructures interoperable with blockchain technology. This enabled its clients, specifically digital currency companies, to issue white-label or co-branded debit cards that functioned on existing global payment networks. A key feature of the service was its ability to allow end-consumers to use digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, for purchases at merchant checkouts. The system was built for real-time transactions, debiting the digital currency at the moment of authorization without requiring pre-funding in fiat currency. The business model centered on providing the technology that allowed a single payment card to draw from multiple accounts, which simplified international and foreign exchange payments for suppliers.

During its operation, the company secured $800,000 in a seed funding round in March 2015. Blade Payments aimed to increase the utility and acceptance of digital currencies by integrating them into the ubiquitous debit card payment ecosystem. The company ceased operations in March 2019.

Keywords: digital currency payments, cross-border payments, B2B payment processing, financial software, fintech, blockchain interoperability, PaaS, API-accessed payments, legacy payment system integration, cryptocurrency debit cards, Bitcoin payments, real-time settlement, white-label debit cards, New York fintech, financial technology, payment gateway, merchant checkout, digital assets, out of business