Crypto debit cards have seen an increase in demand as the number of Europeans holding cryptos sees an upward trend.
Such has been the surge in crypto interest that the ECB recently estimated that as many as 10% of households across the six large euro area countries own crypto-assets.
The increase in crypto debit card usage comes despite the ECB considering crypto assets as unsuitable for most retail investors (either as an investment or store of value or as a means of payment).
For Europeans holding digital assets, crypto debit cards provide an attractive alternative means of payment.
Crypto debit cards enable crypto holders to spend crypto and fiat for everyday purchases. Unlike crypto credit cards, popular in the US, crypto debit cards auto-convert crypto to fiat currencies to meet debit card payment obligations.
Crypto holders don’t need to sell their crypto to gain access to funds. An added feature is the crypto debit card rewards that are more rewarding than traditional debit cards linked to high street retail banks. As with traditional debit cards, crypto debit cardholders can make fiat ATM withdrawals.
While crypto debit cards all serve a similar purpose, crypto holders interested in applying for a debit card should complete the necessary research to select the most suitable card on the market.
Key advantages and considerations include,
Annual fees.
Foreign Exchange fees.
Multi-currency or single currency.
Transaction fees.
Card rewards, including cash back.
Interest rates on offer for holding crypto.
Card partnerships with networks, including Mastercard and Visa.
While there are numerous crypto debit cards to choose from, some stand out from the pack. These include,
Transaction fees (payment and ATM withdrawals) up to 0.9%, excluding any third-party services and network fees.
Earn up to 8% BNB Cashback on eligible purchases. The BNB cashback rate is based on the BNB monthly average balance of the Funding Wallet. Users with a BNB average monthly balance of 600 BNB receive 8% BNB cashback.
Additional benefits of the Binance Card include,
Holders can keep crypto in their Binance Funding Wallet and only convert when making payments.
Card holders can use Binance Visa Card in over 60+ million Visa merchants globally.
Binance security protocols and security measures give users adequate protection from fraud and theft.
Supported by Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Currently, Binance Card supports the conversion and spending of BNB, BUSD, USDT, BTC, SXP, ETH, EUR, ADA, DOT, LAZIO, PORTO, and SANTOS.
Negatives include,
Transaction fees (payment and ATM withdrawals) up to 0.9%, excluding any third-party services and network fees.
Cashbacks are based on Funding Wallet average monthly BNB balances and not on card spending.
Crypto.com Card
No annual fees.
Free monthly ATM withdrawal amounts that vary by card tier.
No foreign transaction fees.
CRO Rewards of up to 5% depending on card tier.
Additional benefits of the Crypto.com Card include,
Card benefits include a 100% rebate for basic subscription plans for Spotify, Netflix, and Prime.
Cardholders can use the Crypto.com Card at any store that accepts Visa.
Users can top up with fiat and crypto.
The Crypto.com Card supports the conversion and spending of more than 80 cryptos.
Negatives include,
Monthly ATM withdrawal limits on amount and frequency, with a withdrawal fee of 2% beyond the free withdrawal limits.
Debit/Credit card top-up fee of 1%.
To qualify for 5% rewards, cardholders need to stake $400,000 in CRO equivalent for six months.
Fluid Finance
No annual fees.
Simple to use Fluid app allows users to freely interchange between fiat and crypto to spend on the Fluid Card.
Fluid account holders earn interest of 4% on all deposits.
Deposits are fully insured.
Free ATM withdrawals of €400 per month.
Additional benefits of the Fluid Finance Card include,
Fluid Cards are available to Fluid and traditional bank account holders.
Cardholders can connect to a Web3 crypto wallet.
Enables users to spend fiat and digital currencies on a single card.
Multiple card types supporting different fiat currencies, including EUR, GBP, and USD, with CHF coming soon.
Cardholders can spend fiat and crypto at all locations accepting Mastercard.
Account holders can send and receive money worldwide and send Fluid tokens to get cards for other people.
Referral program, where account holders can win USD10,000.
Negatives include,
Fluid Card subscriptions run annually.
Users need to buy and send one Fluid token to a Gnosis Safe address to get a Fluid Card. Fluid tokens are available on Sushiswap or the Fluid app.
TRASTRA Crypto Card
€15 annual card management fee.
No transaction fees.
Cardholders can make ATM withdrawals, with a withdrawal fee of €2.25 per withdrawal. (ATM providers may charge additional fees).
A Personal IBAN connected to the card enables EUR deposits.
Additional benefits of the TRASTRA Visa Card include,
Borderless transfers across 36 countries, with an €8,000 daily limit.
No fees for receiving SEPA payments.
More than 46 million merchants globally accept payments in crypto and euros.
Cardholders can purchase cryptos with bank cards or via bank transfers with zero fees.
Strong focus on security, including 2FA.
Referral program gives an additional earning option. Referrers can earn €10 + 0.2% on crypto-to-cash transactions.
Negatives include
€3.00 fee for euro transfers throughout SEPA.
No rewards program.
WIREX Card
No annual fees.
No foreign transaction fees.
Cryptoback rewards pay back up to 2% in WXT on all spending.
Additional benefits of the Wirex Card include,
No maximum balance, with a single transaction limit of SGD20,000.
Card holders can use Wirex Card at more than 80 million locations globally.
Users can link their Wirex Card to PayPal to add funds via the Wirexapp with no fees.
The link with PayPal also means that users can withdraw funds to PayPal accounts at no cost.
Multi-currency card supporting more than 150 crypto and fiat currencies.
Negatives include,
ATM withdrawal limit of SGD1,400, with a withdrawal fee of 2% applied after the first SGD400.
Incoming payment limits of SGD1,000 or 30 transactions per day and SGD25,000 or 50 transactions per week.
In conclusion
Crypto adoption continues to rise despite the current crypto winter. With more merchants accepting digital assets and, with Visa and Mastercard, along with other payment networks, embracing the digital asset space, demand for crypto debit cards is likely to rise.
Prospective cardholders should prioritize card benefits and offerings to make the most appropriate selection.
While ATM withdrawal limits tend to be on the lower side, the option to make purchases with crypto and fiat currencies makes crypto debit cards a viable alternative to traditional bank debit cards.
