The search for global acceptance remains a central theme in the cryptocurrency space, and the crypto debit card is a good way to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital currencies.
Bitcoin debit cards allow you to integrate both cryptocurrency and fiat currency, and cardholders can transfer their funds to them and make payments and purchases at restaurants, movie theaters, stores and more.
It's a lot easier to spend cryptocurrencies with cards, and you don't need any special knowledge of crypto-trading.
But because card providers rely on VISA and MasterCard services, any problems (conflicts) with the credit card giants can lead to serious delays, and a problem between VISA and Gibraltar-based WaveCrest Bank in 2019 led to a ban on VISA payment system WaveCrest Holdings from using Visa® cards; both inside and outside the European Economic Area.
Since WaveCrest has dealt with many crypto debit card companies, this has been a major embarrassment to the sector, but a number of projects have been launched and allow people to spend their money through physical and/or virtual debit cards.
Choosing a crypto debit card
When choosing a debit Bitcoin card there are a number of factors to consider:
- Jurisdiction: Because of the way the cryptocurrency industry is regulated, some Bitcoin debit card services will be available in certain places. Users should double check that their region is supported by the debit card provider, as well as staying within the regulatory realm and trying to keep up with any changes in your country's laws.
- Easy to use: Bitcoin debit cards should be easy to use; however, funding methods, fees and spending limits can complicate the process. Virtual cards help make spending much easier.
- Security: With more security you get more peace of mind, and protocols like site encryption, two-factor authentication, and email/SMS notifications keep user accounts secure. Integration with major credit card providers enables customers to use verification protocols like MasterCard 3D Secure.
- Security: Bitcoin is twelve years old, this sector is still young. And it is worth trying to choose the most reputable service providers. Cards delivered by projects that are transparent and integrated with the traditional banking system as well as with Visa and MasterCard have a good chance of surviving in the long run, and of suddenly disappearing or ceasing their service.
- Tariffs: While the world of digital assets is unstable, Bitcoin debit card users are still interested in finding the best rates, and card costs should not be hampered by excessive fees. Projects that support transparent and simple payment structures are also well positioned to retain their user base.
- Features: all Bitcoin debit cards have the same basic features: simplify online/offline spending, and cardholders can withdraw money through ATMs. Additional features: altcoin support, banking, payment / transfer services, and foreign exchange functions will also be useful.
- incentives: New projects aim to attract new users by offering discounts, cashback programs, and referral programs that make their services more interesting.
Using a bitcoin bank card
The average bitcoin cardholder can pay with cryptocurrency at non-crypto stores, buy mineral water, or pay for dinner at a restaurant at a regular bank terminal.
Paying not only in bitcoins and withdrawal in any of currencies solves the problem of conversion in the absence of computer and Internet access. Binding to multiple currencies is required. This provides fast and profitable exchange and withdrawal of "crypto" into real money.
Few users are interested in the anonymous Bitcoin debit card which services provide. No bank, other than the bitcoin card issuers, provides such an opportunity. Working with confidential or anonymous cards has limits on withdrawals and transactions, and transaction fees are usually higher. But there is no need for scans of documents and the fundamental principle of cryptocurrency payments - confidentiality - is respected.
Bitcoin cardholders have constant access to their funds, and they can use them regardless of their internet connection.
But automatic conversion of cryptocurrency has its disadvantages. Cryptocurrencies have high volatility and it is possible that at the moment of settlement in the store the rate will be unprofitable for the holder. That's why many people exchange and withdraw bitcoins for regular cards at the moment of maximum rise of the rate.
Bitcoin cards are also disliked because of the high withdrawal and payment fees.
Best crypto debit cards
Coinbase Card
The Coinbase Card allows its customers in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands to instantly spend the funds they have in their accounts.
Visa debit bitcoin card is linked to the user's crypto account balances at Coinbase, and when the card is applied, Coinbase instantly converts the cryptocurrency into fiat currency, which is then used for purchases.
|
Characteristics |
Coinbase Bitcoin |
|
Supported currency |
EUR, GBP, BTC |
|
Card parameters |
physical |
|
Type of card |
Visa |
|
Commission |
Average |
|
Native token |
No |
|
Benefits |
No |
As expected, the card can be used wherever Visa payments are accepted, and customers can use the card for contactless purchases, chips and PINs and for cash withdrawals at ATMs.
Users can spend any balances they hold in their accounts (BTC, BCH, ETH and LTC). The card supports fixed currencies GBP and EUR.
The mobile app is available on i0S and Android versions, and provides instant receipts, transaction summaries and expense categories.
Tariffs, limits and incentives
Coinbase operates a transparent fee structure. There is a fee of £4.95 for issuing the card, however, domestic transactions are free and transactions within the EEA are subject to a fee of 0.20% of the POS amount. Transaction fees and international purchases are capped at 3% of the POS transaction value.
International cash withdrawals (both at ATMs and through the OTC) of up to £200 per month are free, and over that amount a 1% fee is charged. International cash withdrawals are also free up to £200 a month, with a 2% withdrawal fee above this amount.
It's also worth noting that Coinbase charges a crypto liquidation fee of 2.49% per transaction, as the charges activate the sale or "liquidation" of digital assets held in a customer's account to fund a dummy transaction.
This makes the card slightly more expensive, it has a daily ATM cash withdrawal limit of £500 and a daily spending limit of £10,000.
There is a monthly purchase limit of £20,000 and an annual purchase limit of £50,000.
The Coinbase card contains no incentives, but when the card launched, the exchange waived the £4.95 fee for issuing the card to the first 1,000 people who ordered it.
As expected, the Coinbase card is good for those already using the Coinbase exchange. Coinbase is an established operator and a transparent project in the industry, but you have to have a Coinbase account to use the card, and the fees are slightly higher.
Wirex
Based in London, Wirex provides a full range of personal and business solutions focused on cryptocurrency, and has offices in Kiev, Ukraine and Tokyo, Japan.
Wirex is a reputable project, with $2 billion in transactions and close to 2 million users.
Wirex provides a contactless Visa card and allows to connect credit and debit cards, store cryptocurrencies and buy Bitcoins and individual altcoins with competitive exchange rates and high limits.
|
Characteristics |
Wirex Bitcoin |
|
Supported currency |
USD, EUR, GBP, BTC |
|
Availability |
EZ |
|
Map parameters |
Physical/Virtual |
|
Card type |
Visa |
|
Commission |
Low |
|
Native token |
WXT |
|
Benefits |
0.5% crypto-back (like cashback) |
You can exchange between crypto and Fiat, as well as make direct money transfers with low fees. Supported cryptocurrencies include: BTC, LTC, ETH, XRP, XLM, DAI, NANO and WAVES, while GBP, EUR and USD are supported fiat currencies.
It is possible to instantly exchange between these supported currencies using transparent live prices and exchange rates. To do this, you need to create a Wirex account, fund it, and then add funds to your Visa Wirex card. You can fund your account by making a bank transfer, using a credit or debit card.
Wirex provides different wallets for each cryptocurrency and you can order the card in pounds, euros or U.S. dollars.
Tariffs, Limits and Incentives
Wirex has a low-fee service, while a number of features remain free. There are no commissions or transaction fees, and deposits, regardless of the method, are also free. Many transactions are free: online card purchases, in-store purchases and cashback, as well as cryptocurrency or fiat exchange and Wirex crypto/fiat transfers.
The card issuance and delivery is free, there is no charge for using the mobile app, but there is a small fee for managing the card, which is about 1.00£ / 1.20€ / $1.50 per month.
When you use the card, you usually only pay the price of each service, product or exchange type, although there is a fee for using the ATM, which is about £1.75/€2.25/$2.50 in Europe and $2.25£ / 2.75€ / $3.50 outside Europe, plus a monthly maintenance fee of 1%.
Wirex also assigns a £7,500/€8,000/$10,000 purchase limit for online and in-store purchases, and a £50 per day cash back limit for in-store returns.
Cash withdrawals from ATMs are limited to £250/€250/$250 per day, while there is also a transfer limit of 10 Bitcoins per day, and Bitcoin credit and debit card deposits are limited to £5,000/5,000 euros/5,000 USD per day. Users must adhere to a maximum card balance of 15k £/16k €/20k $.
Wirex has a "Cryptoback" rewards program that allows you to earn cryptocurrencies when you use your Visa debit card. You can earn 0.5% of your spending back in Bitcoins when you make payments and/or purchases.
The Bitcoin you earn with this program is automatically credited whenever you spend from your card, and can instantly be redeemed and can be spent and/or converted. The team has also released its WXT token, which gives additional discounts on fees and a cryptocurrency protection level of 1.5%.
Wirex is a decent choice for travelers to spend their funds at any stores that accept VISA cards, with a range of available currencies as well as competitive exchange rates. The service is not available in the US. The company is focused on the European market, but plans to expand in the U.S. and Asia in the future.
Revolut
Revolut was a successful Fintech example and started disrupting the financial industry with its mobile banking app. Revolut's services are available in the EEA, Switzerland and Australia. In addition to mobile banking services, the British company lets its customers buy cryptocurrencies.
You have to sign up for one of the paid monthly subscription plans, and the Premium subscription costs 6.99£ / 7.99€ per month.
Paid subscriptions give you access to digital assets integrated into the platform and buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple. Revolut maintains a standard rate and adds a 1.5% premium to the final purchase price.
But Revolut may not be useful for everyone. Here you don't own your private keys and can't transfer your cryptocurrencies outside of the Revolut system, the mobile bank retains custody of your digital assets. Therefore, many cryptocurrency supporters may not see this as a «real» way to buy Bitcoins.
BitPay
BitPay is an established operator and American cryptocurrency payment provider. It has been operating since 2011 and has already connected over 10,000 merchants. BitPay offers a prepaid Visa card for U.S. citizens which can be funded via a Bitpay account.
The debit card is fully functional and available throughout the U.S. and accepted worldwide. BitPay users can make payments and purchases with their debit card at multiple Visa locations.
|
Characteristics |
BitPay |
|
Supported currency |
USD, BTC |
|
Availability |
United States of America |
|
Map options |
Physical/Virtual |
|
Card type |
Visa |
|
Commission |
Low |
|
Native token |
No |
|
Benefits |
No |
Since the service is only available to U.S. citizens, a KYC must be provided in order to use BitPay. The company provides a number of business services to integrate Bitcoin into daily business operations.
Bitwala
Bitwala is a European cryptocurrency exchange that works with German company Solaris Bank for users to buy and sell Bitcoins and make cryptocurrency and fiat transfers. Bitwala customers can make payments via POS and online via MasterCard debit card.
The company's services are not available to US citizens. But those in the EEA can open a Bitwala account if they are over 18, provide a valid ID and proof of address (KYC).
As expected, Bitwala has also focused on maintaining compliance and credibility, and deposits up to €100,000 are protected by the German Deposit Guarantee System (DGS).
|
Characteristics |
Bitwala |
|
Supported currency |
EUR, BTC |
|
Availability |
EZ |
|
Map parameters |
Physical |
|
Card type |
MasterCard |
|
Commission |
Low |
|
Native token |
No |
|
Benefits |
No |
With the Bitwala contactless debit card, you can instantly exchange your cryptocurrency account balance for euros, shop online or in stores, and withdraw money at the nearest ATM. The Bitwala contactless debit card allows you to exchange your cryptocurrency account balance for euros, store online or in stores, and withdraw money from the nearest ATM.
Cryptopay
Cryptopay is an honest and open bitcoin debit card. Cryptopay was founded by a Russian development company in 2013, the services are already used by more than 167 thousand active users from all over the world, and in total more than 37 thousand cards have been issued. Cryptopay is one of the largest bitcoin debit card platforms, with about 100,000 transactions every month. The Cryptopay is one of the largest bitcoin debit card platforms.
Similar to the other Bitcoin debit cards on this list, Cryptopay exists in plastic and virtual versions, but unlike many other platforms, Cryptopay openly informs its customers about fees and card terms and conditions. The Cryptopay platform provides its services to unverified users, though there are restrictions for such accounts. The Cryptopay platform is not a single card.
The Cryptopay plastic card belongs to the Visa system and is accepted wherever Visa is supported. The base currency of these plastic cards is EUR, GBP, USD and the price of each card is €15. Cryptopay cards are delivered by post everywhere free of charge, but for express delivery you have to pay extra €70.
There's a $2.5 fee for cash withdrawals at a home country ATM, and $3.5 for ATM services abroad. Verified Cryptopay users can make unlimited online transactions, but there is a $1,000 limit for unverified users. Non-verified users can withdraw no more than $400 per day from an ATM, but only $1000. Verified users can withdraw up to $2,000 per day, and total cash withdrawals are unlimited.
The fee for a foreign currency transaction is 3%, and another 1% is charged for converting funds from bitcoin to fiat and back. Cryptopay fees are slightly higher than the market average, but this platform is fair to its users and delivery of their cards is free worldwide.
Wagecan
Wagecan is a MasterCard debit card issued by Transforex. It's a popular bitcoin debit card among digital nomads and independent freelancers because it has a 1.5% foreign currency conversion fee, while many other cards have a 3% fee.
Wagecan has an ATM cash withdrawal fee of 1%. Many BTC cards currently on the market take a flat fee of $2.5 to $3.5, so the one percent fee at Wagecan is cheaper.
Wagecan was established in 2014 in Taiwan. There are both mobile and web wallets synced to this debit card. The wallet address is printed on each of their cards: it's convenient to both deposit bitcoins into an account and instantly convert them into fiat currency.
Wagecan operates in many countries and offers various bonuses on purchases. It's popular with tourists, and Wagecan is used at more than 30 million ATMs worldwide to withdraw more than 210 different currencies.
Monaco
Launched at the zenith of the 2017 cryptocurrency boom, the Monaco ICO project experienced a downturn in investor interest, a cryptozyma and a drop in the value of the platform's domestic MCO token, but coped with the challenges and continued to exist. In 2018, the project rebranded and acquired the Crypto.com service, under which cryptocurrency cards are now issued, available to residents of the United States and Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom, as well as Singapore.
The Visa MCO card runs on the VISA payment system and can be used at VISA-connected points of sale and ATMs around the world.
The Crypto.com Card (MCO) has multiple plans. Five levels of cards are available to cardholders depending on the number of internal CRO tokens the customer owns. The basic tier offers cardholders a 1% cashback on the value of a transaction, and a $200 per month limit for no-cash ATM withdrawals. Level 5 cardholders will get 8% cashback and a limit of up to $1,000 per month for cash withdrawals from ATMs, as well as many other bonuses including a 10% discount on popular booking platforms, an affiliate program with a business jet booking service and access to airport business lounges.
For depositing Crypto.com MCO it is necessary to register on the platform, deposit the current account with the help of cryptocurrencies or wire transfer, and then send the required amount to the card account. Cryptocurrency is converted to U.S. dollars when depositing to the card account.
Crypto.com (MCO) is only available in plastic and not as a virtual card.
|
Card issuance |
Free |
|
Subscription fee |
no |
|
Commission for ATM withdrawals |
No (up to $200 per month on the basic rate and up to $1,000 on the platinum rate). After that, it's 2% |
|
Transaction fee for in-store payments |
no |
|
Recharge limit |
Depends on country of holder's residency (for USA - $25,000 per month, for EU - €25,000 per month) |
|
Maximum balance |
no |
|
Supported cryptocurrencies |
BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, MCO, BAT, BNB, TUSD and ENJ |
|
Referral Program |
Its for CRO token holders |
TTM Bank
The virtual bank TTM Bank, registered in Estonia, launched cryptocurrency cards in 2020, which work on the VISA payment system and can be used wherever cards of this system are accepted. The TTM cryptocurrency card has two advantages that set it apart from other counterparts. First, TTM cryptocurrencies do not require digital assets to be stored in the service's wallet. The owner can fund the card account directly from their wallet, rather than first transferring coins to their current account and then from that to their card account. This keeps control over cryptocurrency assets in the hands of their owners, who do not need to entrust coins to other services for safekeeping. Secondly, this is the only Bitcoin card available to Russian residents for processing.
Fill the TTM cryptocurrency card account with four digital assets (BTC, ETH, USDT and TRX) or with a regular bank card, which will be debited with the necessary amount in fiat. Funds are converted to euros when credited to a card account. Card accounts are distributed, delivered and maintained by the company's partner, UAB Walletto, a financial services operator, a member of the Visa payment network registered in Lithuania. Deposited funds are kept in a licensed bank. It is possible to issue both a plastic card and its virtual equivalent.
The TTM card allows instant transfers to the accounts of other TTM Bank cryptocurrency cardholders without fees. Transfers are made in euros. The sender needs to provide the recipient's card number and the full name of the receiving user.
The number of active users of TTM issued cryptocurrencies exceeded 40,000 at the end of 2020.
|
Card issuance |
From €20, free delivery in Russia |
|
Subscription fee |
€2 every month |
|
Commission for ATM withdrawals |
€2,5 +2% |
|
Recruitment fee |
1% |
|
Trading commission |
€0,25 |
|
Transfer commission between card accounts |
€2 |
|
Cross-Conversion Fee |
1.5% |
|
Recharge limit |
€5000 one time limit |
|
Cash withdrawal limit at ATMs |
€500 a day, not more than €2500 a month |
|
Expense limit at POS-terminals and Internet shops |
€2500 per day/€5000 per month |
|
Maximum balance |
€5000 |
|
Supported cryptocurrencies |
BTC, ETH, USDT and TRX |
|
Referral program |
Is |
How to sign up for a Bitcoin card
Rules for various btc cards:
- user registration at the site of the service that issued the card;
- receipt of a bitcoin wallet or linking to an existing one
- production and issuance of plastic card;
- activation of the received card through a financial transaction. You can use the virtual card almost immediately after registration.
- Activation of the received card with a financial transaction.
Certification
The choice of a Bitcoin debit card is different for everyone. It is influenced by cost, location, supported currencies, reliability and security.
Bitcoin users in the United States and Europe have good service and a range of cards to choose from.
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