There are many Bitcoin Debit Cards on the market, but which one is the best?
What does a Bitcoin Debit Card allow me to do?
Well, these types of cards are pretty much like your standard debit card where you can top it up and do your usual purchases and withdrawing cash from ATMs working across the world as many use the Visa or Mastercard architecture. The only difference is that these cards convert your BTC to your native currency without you worrying about huge currency conversion fees.
Bitpay
Bitpay is a well known company in the Bitcoin ecosystem which provides payment solutions for businesses and individuals. It allows you to get a prepaid Visa card that is loaded through your Bitpay account.
Fees:
- Card Cost: $9.95
ATM and over the counter withdrawals: $2.00
Dormancy Fee: $5.00 / month
Set Monthly Fee: $0
Currency Conversion Fee: 3% of the transaction
Transaction Limits:
- Purchase Limits $10,000/DAY
Cash Withdrawal Limits $3,000/DAY
Load Limit $10,000/DAY
Maximum Card Balance $25,000
Card to Card Transfer Limit $500/DAY
This card is best for United States users as it is only available to residents in all 50 US states.
There are no monthly maintenance fees unless you don't use your card after a 90 day grace period where it will begin to charge you $5 a month. Moreover, there are no transaction fees for Bitpay unless you need to convert to a non-native currency.
Cryptopay
The oldest and most established Bitcoin debit card, the Cryptopay bitcoin debit VISA card with over 23,000 issued.
Fees(USD/EUR/GBP):
- Card Cost: $15/€15/£15
Set Monthly Fee: $1/€1/£1
Loading Fee: 1%
Currency Conversion Fee: 3% per transaction
ATM Transaction: $2.50/€2.75/£2.25
Transaction Limits(Verified):
- Purchase Limits: Unlimited
ATM Withdrawal Limits: $1600/€1600/£1600/DAY
ATM Transaction Limits: $1600/€1600/£1600/DAY
Load Limit: $20000/€20000/£16000/DAY
Maximum Card Balance $2,500
This card can be used by anyone in the US, Europe of Britain, but the problem with Cryptopay is that to get the best out of it, you need to provide documents. Also, there are some high fees associated with Cryptopay, they go as far as charging you for loading money onto your account.
Wirex
Perviously known as E-coin, the company rebranded to Wirex in 2016.
Fees:
- Card Cost: $17/€15/£13
Set Monthly Fee: $1/€1/£1
Inactivity fee: $0/€0/£0
Currency Conversion Fee: 3% per transaction
ATM Transaction: $2.50/€2.25/£1.75
Transaction Limits(Verified):
- Purchase Limits: $20000/€20000/£16000
ATM Withdrawal Limits: $2000/ €2000/£1600
Load Limit: $ 20 000/€ 20 000/£ 16 000
Maximum single transaction value: $10000/€10000/£8000
This is great for users from the US / EU / UK with free international shipping for the card as well as the relatively low fees. One downfall is that the verification process takes a long time and there have been some reports from people that there are some 'hidden fees', I don't know how true this is but I've been using Wirex for a while and I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary.
US RECOMMENDATION: BITPAY
UK/EU RECOMMENDATION: WIREX
Let me know if you have any questions
Thanks for the info! This is something I was curious about. I'll also look into Xapo, as you mentioned in one of the comments, as I'm from Canada.
No problem!
TenX project will start soon, read whitepaper, promising one
Sounds good. I'll have a look into it
If i'm in canada? Bitpay?
Bitpay is only for the US residents.
For Canada I'd recommend you use Xapo
Shift card through coinbase works really fast and well. I still don't keep much of my currency on the exchange though, and i prefer not to spend it yet. Right now this is just a means for absolute emergencies, much faster than a bank transfer.
Shift is good. It is pretty much like Bitpay
Yeah I like the one time fee of $10 rather than a monthly fee especially since I only use it for emergencies.
I found this helpful when I was looking into it.
https://www.weusecoins.com/bitcoin-debit-cards/
I'll have a look into it.
Thanks
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Thanks for posting this. I was just asking myself how many cards are out there. I use the bitpay card a lot, and people are always asking me what it is. I feel that it is a great conversation piece, aside from just another debit card. If you want to help build community awareness, I suggest getting a bitpay card.
I really like bitpay but unfortunately I don't live in the US so there isn't much benefit for me.
I'm glad you enjoyed the post.
Have a look at Monaco - seems pretty promising too...
I'll be sure to check it out
Thanks
Ive been looking into these all day; it was between cryptopay and bitpay. Looks like I'm gonna go right now and pay the BitPay Fee! Thanks for the article and re-steemed / followed / upvoted!
Thank You!
I'm glad I could help
I'm from Canada too so xapo is the one I should get from what I see from the comments. I live in Vancouver and we have bitcoin atms throughout the city but having a card would be more convenient
Hi; Wirex community manager here!
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Here's a video on how you can find your affiliate link:
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We are working on a card provider and are hoping to get it online as soon as possible available worldwide:
https://wirexapp.com/introducing-new-contactless-wirex-payment-cards/
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We hope to see you try our platform:
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Wirex Community Manager
Hi thanks!!
Do you care to do an update on this?
Now that BitPay is actually going for BCH it would be interesting to revisit this
BTW,
I'm from the EU and been using Wirex for some months now and have had no problem whatsoever