2017 Bitcoin Debit Card Reviews

[operator55]

Here i made some calculations, how much does it cost to load 100 EUR to card of 3 providers.
Remember that after loading card you might get charged for spending (like currency exchange fee - usually 3%)

16.10.2017

Real kraken price = 4818 EUR -


Debit card providers BTC/EUR rates:

Bitpay: 1 BTC = 4821 EUR
Advcash: 1 BTC = 4765 EUR
Xapo 1 BTC = 4741 EUR
Cryptopay: 1 BTC = 4681 EUR
SpectroCoin: 4677 EUR
Wirex 1 BTC = 4644 EUR
ShakePay 1 BTC = nvm (btc rate changed at the time of testing shakepay)


From most expensive to cheapest:

1. Advcash: 100 EUR = 0,02156 BTC = to load you really pay 103,87 EUR
2. Wirex: 100 EUR = 0,02153 BTC = to load you really pay 103,73 EUR
3. Cryptopay: 100 EUR = 0,02146 BTC  = to load you really pay 103,394 EUR
4. Bitpay: 100 EUR = 0,021384 BTC = to load you really pay 103,02 EUR
5. Spectrocoin: 100 EUR = 0,0213809 = o load you really pay 103,01 EUR
6. Xapo: 100 EUR = 0,021092 = you really pay 101,621 EUR
7. ShakePay: 100 EUR = 0,02107180 = you really pay 101,24 EUR

Shakepay, Xapo looks cheapest (fee is around 1.6% to deposit), although i gave it only quick look.

So whatever the providers says, the rate is usually 3-4%... they hide is somewhere but that's just the point.
If you dont withdraw or pay in card currency you get another 3% for transaction exchange.. so it's even 6-7%.
For example bitpay has almost same rate as real exchanges.. but it has 3% load fee..

[TunerDude007]

So has anyone found any solutions for after Oct 15th for Non Eu residents? I thought cryptopay had us covered, they sent me a mastercard that was supposed to work but I recently got another letter saying this one won't work either. So non eu residents (ie Canada) we seem to be shit out of luck. I'm hoping someone knows of another card provider?

Well, what are your specific needs? I can help you out if you tell me what exactly you need and what information you feel safe providing. As I said before, we are only really out of luck when it comes to anonymous cards. The problem lies in the amount of information we are forced to give up, but the options are there. I will be posting soon about the Shift Card, so expect some information on that once I get it.

I'm ok with verifying myself...nothing to hide here. Shift is not available outside the USA. Wagecan apparently has a card that will work but I'm not exactly prepared to pay 180usd for a card.

[btcton]

A small update is needed in the OP. The Shift Card does have a mobile app. Technically, it has 2, since every transaction you make can be seen on the Coinbase app as well. It is important to note, however, that the mobile app for Shift is really badly designed. It feels like it was made by someone with no experience in UX who was paid $20 to make an app that could display a webpage. Also a question, what does the "Branded" criteria refer to? Is it whether the plastic card has the name or logo of the providing company or something like that?

[Zandorek]

So has anyone found any solutions for after Oct 15th for Non Eu residents? I thought cryptopay had us covered, they sent me a mastercard that was supposed to work but I recently got another letter saying this one won't work either. So non eu residents (ie Canada) we seem to be shit out of luck. I'm hoping someone knows of another card provider?

Well, what are your specific needs? I can help you out if you tell me what exactly you need and what information you feel safe providing. As I said before, we are only really out of luck when it comes to anonymous cards. The problem lies in the amount of information we are forced to give up, but the options are there. I will be posting soon about the Shift Card, so expect some information on that once I get it.

Thanks for the info. So no Shift card for me...

[Kaostechno]

I would love to get a wage can gold card, dont care how much it costs. The only reason i am not getting it is the courier DHL shipping.
DHL, UPS, EMS and other courier shipping goes straight to customs, its stupid.
Why cant they just pop it in a white envelope and send it via regular unregistered mail like My Choice did with all their cards. And offer express, courier shipping for those who want it. Even at same price.

[btcton]

So has anyone found any solutions for after Oct 15th for Non Eu residents? I thought cryptopay had us covered, they sent me a mastercard that was supposed to work but I recently got another letter saying this one won't work either. So non eu residents (ie Canada) we seem to be shit out of luck. I'm hoping someone knows of another card provider?

Well, what are your specific needs? I can help you out if you tell me what exactly you need and what information you feel safe providing. As I said before, we are only really out of luck when it comes to anonymous cards. The problem lies in the amount of information we are forced to give up, but the options are there. I will be posting soon about the Shift Card, so expect some information on that once I get it.

Thanks for the info. So no Shift card for me...

Ah, I thought Coinbase worked for all of North America, Canada included. That is my bad. Living in Canada, I am not sure what card would work for you. Before you could have just chosen one that worked in the U.S., as Canada's restriction and KYC laws are a more relaxed version of the American ones. At this point you might want to take a broader approach to your problem. Do you really need a Bitcoin debit card? Could exchanging Bitcoin to Canadian dollars and then withdrawing to your bank account work as an alternative? This does have the unfortunate side effects of being much slower and require more information, but I really see no other choice. An alternative could be to find someone willing to exchange Bitcoins for prepaid cards, but that would also not be nearly as convenient. Do post back if you find a suitable card; it may help others out.

[hoop]

It all seems to be used to use or need to use bitcoin prepaid cards as they face a real hurdle these days and the issue becomes more difficult day by day.

[warningsigns]

I'm ok with verifying myself...nothing to hide here. Shift is not available outside the USA. Wagecan apparently has a card that will work but I'm not exactly prepared to pay 180usd for a card.

No, I won't recommend it. I used to have this card but I opted out and closed my account. The card, for one, is too expensive. The annual ATM transaction limit is USD 25k. You're allowed max one card only. The worst part is the ATM fee. The acquiring bank (the bank operating the ATM you use the card on) charges their own fee (this is usually between $3 to $5 per transaction) which is OK. The not-so-nice part is WageCan's fee. It's 2.5% of the transaction amount. So, say, you withdraw $2000 (the card allows a daily withdraw limit of $2500 if you are fully verified) then you pay 2.5% of that amount on top of the amount you are withdrawing (plus the ATM fee). So WageCan's ATM fee alone would be $50. Total: $2000 + $50 + the ATM operator's fee.

https://wagecan.com/Pricing

Don't forget, you also have to load the card first which means you load at WageCan's exchange rate. Loading takes ages (which is why I closed the account). I loaded on Friday... no funds yet on the card on Monday evening. Loading is not real time which is not good if you need to do time-critical purchases with the card.

When I applied for the card, I submitted all documents and was fully verified to KYC level 2 (their highest KYC level). Fast forward two months later and I attempted to load 0.35 bitcoins (about 2k USD) on the card and I see my status downgraded back to level 1 which means lower card limits. I asked why the arbitrary downgrading after full verification, they respond oh you need to do it again.

Very inconsistent service quality. They did this last year to me too. At that time, they were using Transforex cards. They abruptly stopped card access and asked to redo the KYC verification, despite being fully verified already. Submitted documents again and this time their Chinese bank says uhmmm no sorry, rejected.

At this time, I strongly recommend against using this card. You might be on a queue to pay for your coffee or at a store or a mall.. then there goes the email: Card limited. Reverify yourself.

I closed my account. The card might work, yes, but it is a very expensive card and inconsistent service.

I'm trading my bitcoins on Bitstamp and Localbitcoins hence on. As for cards, I will wait for solid card solutions in the future.

[Zandorek]

So has anyone found any solutions for after Oct 15th for Non Eu residents? I thought cryptopay had us covered, they sent me a mastercard that was supposed to work but I recently got another letter saying this one won't work either. So non eu residents (ie Canada) we seem to be shit out of luck. I'm hoping someone knows of another card provider?

Well, what are your specific needs? I can help you out if you tell me what exactly you need and what information you feel safe providing. As I said before, we are only really out of luck when it comes to anonymous cards. The problem lies in the amount of information we are forced to give up, but the options are there. I will be posting soon about the Shift Card, so expect some information on that once I get it.

Thanks for the info. So no Shift card for me...

Ah, I thought Coinbase worked for all of North America, Canada included. That is my bad. Living in Canada, I am not sure what card would work for you. Before you could have just chosen one that worked in the U.S., as Canada's restriction and KYC laws are a more relaxed version of the American ones. At this point you might want to take a broader approach to your problem. Do you really need a Bitcoin debit card? Could exchanging Bitcoin to Canadian dollars and then withdrawing to your bank account work as an alternative? This does have the unfortunate side effects of being much slower and require more information, but I really see no other choice. An alternative could be to find someone willing to exchange Bitcoins for prepaid cards, but that would also not be nearly as convenient. Do post back if you find a suitable card; it may help others out.

I am in the EU and I wanted to use WageCan's card, because the foreign fees are low, but after the comment of warningsigns I will skip this one too.

[Zandorek]

I'm ok with verifying myself...nothing to hide here. Shift is not available outside the USA. Wagecan apparently has a card that will work but I'm not exactly prepared to pay 180usd for a card.

No, I won't recommend it. I used to have this card but I opted out and closed my account. The card, for one, is too expensive. The annual ATM transaction limit is USD 25k. You're allowed max one card only. The worst part is the ATM fee. The acquiring bank (the bank operating the ATM you use the card on) charges their own fee (this is usually between $3 to $5 per transaction) which is OK. The not-so-nice part is WageCan's fee. It's 2.5% of the transaction amount. So, say, you withdraw $2000 (the card allows a daily withdraw limit of $2500 if you are fully verified) then you pay 2.5% of that amount on top of the amount you are withdrawing (plus the ATM fee). So WageCan's ATM fee alone would be $50. Total: $2000 + $50 + the ATM operator's fee.

https://wagecan.com/Pricing

Don't forget, you also have to load the card first which means you load at WageCan's exchange rate. Loading takes ages (which is why I closed the account). I loaded on Friday... no funds yet on the card on Monday evening. Loading is not real time which is not good if you need to do time-critical purchases with the card.

When I applied for the card, I submitted all documents and was fully verified to KYC level 2 (their highest KYC level). Fast forward two months later and I attempted to load 0.35 bitcoins (about 2k USD) on the card and I see my status downgraded back to level 1 which means lower card limits. I asked why the arbitrary downgrading after full verification, they respond oh you need to do it again.

Very inconsistent service quality. They did this last year to me too. At that time, they were using Transforex cards. They abruptly stopped card access and asked to redo the KYC verification, despite being fully verified already. Submitted documents again and this time their Chinese bank says uhmmm no sorry, rejected.

At this time, I strongly recommend against using this card. You might be on a queue to pay for your coffee or at a store or a mall.. then there goes the email: Card limited. Reverify yourself.

I closed my account. The card might work, yes, but it is a very expensive card and inconsistent service.

I'm trading my bitcoins on Bitstamp and Localbitcoins hence on. As for cards, I will wait for solid card solutions in the future.

Thank you for this valuable information. I wanted to order a card form Wagecan, but now I will wait for TenX user feedback. However there are not to many recommendations yet; https://www.reddit.com/r/TenX/comments/72hub1/post_here_if_you_just_received_your_card/

[Kaostechno]

TenX does not have a solution yet.  Wirex is the only company who said they have a working solution and will be rolling it out after implementation.
Everyone else is still searching. Crypto pay was offering a card replacement not sure if it works out of EU.

[TunerDude007]

I'm ok with verifying myself...nothing to hide here. Shift is not available outside the USA. Wagecan apparently has a card that will work but I'm not exactly prepared to pay 180usd for a card.

No, I won't recommend it. I used to have this card but I opted out and closed my account. The card, for one, is too expensive. The annual ATM transaction limit is USD 25k. You're allowed max one card only. The worst part is the ATM fee. The acquiring bank (the bank operating the ATM you use the card on) charges their own fee (this is usually between $3 to $5 per transaction) which is OK. The not-so-nice part is WageCan's fee. It's 2.5% of the transaction amount. So, say, you withdraw $2000 (the card allows a daily withdraw limit of $2500 if you are fully verified) then you pay 2.5% of that amount on top of the amount you are withdrawing (plus the ATM fee). So WageCan's ATM fee alone would be $50. Total: $2000 + $50 + the ATM operator's fee.

https://wagecan.com/Pricing

Don't forget, you also have to load the card first which means you load at WageCan's exchange rate. Loading takes ages (which is why I closed the account). I loaded on Friday... no funds yet on the card on Monday evening. Loading is not real time which is not good if you need to do time-critical purchases with the card.

When I applied for the card, I submitted all documents and was fully verified to KYC level 2 (their highest KYC level). Fast forward two months later and I attempted to load 0.35 bitcoins (about 2k USD) on the card and I see my status downgraded back to level 1 which means lower card limits. I asked why the arbitrary downgrading after full verification, they respond oh you need to do it again.

Very inconsistent service quality. They did this last year to me too. At that time, they were using Transforex cards. They abruptly stopped card access and asked to redo the KYC verification, despite being fully verified already. Submitted documents again and this time their Chinese bank says uhmmm no sorry, rejected.

At this time, I strongly recommend against using this card. You might be on a queue to pay for your coffee or at a store or a mall.. then there goes the email: Card limited. Reverify yourself.

I closed my account. The card might work, yes, but it is a very expensive card and inconsistent service.

I'm trading my bitcoins on Bitstamp and Localbitcoins hence on. As for cards, I will wait for solid card solutions in the future.

Wow...thanks for this valuable information...I will steer clear from them....As soon as anyone knows which cards work in Canada and other non EU countries please share here.

[TunerDude007]

TenX does not have a solution yet.  Wirex is the only company who said they have a working solution and will be rolling it out after implementation.
Everyone else is still searching. Crypto pay was offering a card replacement not sure if it works out of EU.

Yes Cryptopay was offering a solution, they even sent me a new mastercard free of charge. They then sent me a email 2 weeks later saying "never mind, the new Mastercard won't work either". So it's garbage and I never even got to use it.

[TunerDude007]

TenX does not have a solution yet.  Wirex is the only company who said they have a working solution and will be rolling it out after implementation.
Everyone else is still searching. Crypto pay was offering a card replacement not sure if it works out of EU.

Tenx and wirex both are not available to Non Eu countries....man are we ever F'ked...

[demion90]

Is there any plastic card available (in Europe) that I can order without verification with limits 1000 EUR lifetime or at least 250 EUR? Thanks in advance.

[TunerDude007]

Is there any plastic card available (in Europe) that I can order without verification with limits 1000 EUR lifetime or at least 250 EUR? Thanks in advance.

cryptopay

[TunerDude007]

Woohoo...looks like I finally found a solution for us Non Eu residents. https://uquid.com/blog/2017/09/new-uquid-debit-card

Uquid seems to have found a different supplier besides wave crest

[btcton]

Woohoo...looks like I finally found a solution for us Non Eu residents. https://uquid.com/blog/2017/09/new-uquid-debit-card

Uquid seems to have found a different supplier besides wave crest

I just checked, and it seems that in order for people outside of the EU to be able to use their card, they would have to send over their documents to UQUID, who I am not sure I would trust with such sensitive information. Don't get me wrong, back before these circumstances changed my card worked completely fine and I was able to access their website most of the time. The card itself still worked after the announcement, it simply could not be loaded anymore. I do not trust them with their security, however. It barely even looked like they knew how to build their website and the security measures used to access it such as the UQUID account number and PIN were simply inconvenient in relation to other simpler methods such as 2FA.

[revelacaogr]

Wirex and SBI Holdings Partner Up, Prep to Launch Bitcoin Card in Japan

https://news.bitcoin.com/wirex-and-sbi-set-to-launch-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrency-card-in-japan/

London crypto-payments company Wirex just partnered with Japanese-based SBI Holdings. Their goal is to produce a bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment card for Japanese customers. The partnership is geared to create more mass adoption for cryptocurrencies and break Wirex into the mainstream limelight.

The partnership comes months after SBI Group invested $3 million in Wirex, as the Japanese FS giant seeks to build up its expertise in the DLT and cryptocurrency realm. It has also joined the R3 blockchain consortium, while its securities division has taken part in a distributed ledger pilot with the Japan Exchange, IBM and NRI.....

[zinodaur]

That first post REALLY needs some updating.

What's the consensus on the best card for european residents? I use a virtual card from Cryptopay but I hate the fact that the difference in BTC price is like 200 euros. Plus if I use the EUR card with some other currency, I get taxed for that too. Is that really the standard or am I getting ripped off?