Credit card blocked - has anyone else had this?

[BrotherMencius]

Hey,

So I started buying bitcoin recently, using a mastercard for purchases. The first couple of times it worked fine, but I tried a couple times this week, both times my card got blocked and I had to call the card company to unblock it. I asked them to put a note on my account so this wouldn't happen in future, but they replied that their company doesn't allow the purchase of cryptocurrencies using their services.

Is this a common policy with credit card companies? I live in Canada, and I get the impression things are a bit behind here regarding bitcoin.

My other option is buying using bank transfer, but I'm wary of that (mostly because of the 2-3 day wait).

[NotATether]

Usually it's not the policy of the credit card network but the bank that issues your card instead. It wouldn't make sense for Visa or MasterCard to prohibit crypto currency payments because all they do is route payments between different banks (your crypto exchange ultimate uses its own bank).

Maybe you just got lucky the first couple times, especially if during those times you bought bitcoin from a different exchange.

[Bitfort]

You have some other options:
1. Bitcoin ATM - try to find bitcoin ATMs in your vicinity (you need one with sell option and accepting cash)
2. localbitcoins - find a seller with same bank and transfer can be instant

[DdmrDdmr]

<...>

It’s not necessarily a Boolean yes/no per credit/debit card type, but often it will depend on the person and his backlog of card TXs overtime, being some kind of machine learning algorithm that approves or declines a certain payment according to the risk factor it scores (risk can be measured in many ways).

I came across a Reddit post on the matter here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinCA/comments/kyyt0j/lets_talk_about_canadian_credit_cards_that_accept/

They reference a site where someone tried to recap some collective experience on the matter. The site is seemingly no longer active (and should be looked at with care in any case if unknown), but you can take a look at an archived page here:
 

Code:

https://web.archive.org/web/20210226130433/https://www.cryptocanada.tk/

(I’ve place it in a code section to be on the safe side).

[joniboini]

If you want a riskier option, you can try to find a prepaid card service like Advcash. Most of the time you'll be fine, however, keep in mind that it still depends on their bank partner. Most of the time they are from Europe/Russia. You need to risk your KYC details with this.

[BrotherMencius]

I found a site called mybtc.ca which has an interac service, and claims to be accepted by all Canadian banks. Are they legit?

[Pmalek]

I found a site called mybtc.ca which has an interac service, and claims to be accepted by all Canadian banks. Are they legit?

mybtc.ca is on the list of platforms that Canadian citizens can use to purchase bitcoin, but its cons are high fees and KYC requirements. Here is a list where you can find some other recommended sites > https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/canada/

But there is no need to run away! There are still millions of ways to buy bitcoins. Buy a US dollar with a credit card using Payeer or PayPal, Then transfer this money to exchanges (in case Payeer Deposit) or find people who accept PayPal in exchange for cryptocurrency ^{like many people in this forum}.

It's Payoneer, not Payeer. Officially, Payoneer does not allow its customers to purchase cryptocurrencies through its services. Unofficially, you can always risk it and see if you get away with it. PayPal doesn't allow you to buy crypto either. They are offering a service for US citizens only that allows them to purchase an interest in bitcoin, but that is not a real coin. You can't withdraw it or send it to your own private wallet outside of PayPal. You can only exchange it back to fiat on PayPal.

PayPal transactions are reversible. You better make sure you trust the other party if he pays via PayPal that he wont make a chargeback.

[mersal]

Hey,

So I started buying bitcoin recently, using a mastercard for purchases. The first couple of times it worked fine, but I tried a couple times this week, both times my card got blocked and I had to call the card company to unblock it. I asked them to put a note on my account so this wouldn't happen in future, but they replied that their company doesn't allow the purchase of cryptocurrencies using their services.

Is this a common policy with credit card companies? I live in Canada, and I get the impression things are a bit behind here regarding bitcoin.

My other option is buying using bank transfer, but I'm wary of that (mostly because of the 2-3 day wait).

The Canadian government allows their citizen to use cryptocurrencies for investing, trading and whatever thing which are legal but still some banks are not allowing which are their personal policies,

You have two choices either choose another bank which allows their customers using their cards no matter it is master or visa. Or go for the LBC or Pax which has KYC requirements or Localcryptos which doesn't have mandatory KYC requirements.

[AverageGlabella]

A lot of banks are hostile to Bitcoin because of the fraudulent activity that is often referenced when anyone talks about Bitcoin. Well I would say not Bitcoin in the most cases but the Altcoin scene has significantly hurt the chances of banks being friendly to Bitcoin because most of them are scam related as most are just Ponzi schemes. My bank did not used to mind trading for cryptocurrencies but in the last 2 years they changed their policies are no longer allowed cryptocurrency purchases. They did allow selling cryptocurrencies for fiat currencies though. Without going into the conspiracy side of things that banks are threatened it is more likely what I talked about above and that the increasing amount of fraudulent coins being created is simply making it difficult for banks to justify the risk to their customers to allow it to be freely traded.

If you can afford to ditch a bank all together and can arrange alternative legal payments for your salary (in BTC) then I would recommend that as I see all banks becoming increasingly more strict on cryptocurrency trading.

[LeGaulois]

@BrotherMencius

Don't worry, you're not the first one and not the last (in Canada or wherever you want). It happens to many of us. As others said it depends mainly on the bank/payment processor

Either you open an account in another bank or payment processor to get a card that won't get you a problem or use a bank transfer
Do you have access to Interac e-Transfer? Because if you do, you could use Bisq and the fees would be probably better than when you pay with a credit card.
https://bisq.network/faq/#supported-payment-methods

There is of course a delay but I would prefer to wait 2-3 days than paying a higher price to get my BTC immediately

[Upgrade00]

My other option is buying using bank transfer, but I'm wary of that (mostly because of the 2-3 day wait).

In my country, all bank related servvces do not directly support the purchase or sale of cryptocurrency, so you'll have no better luck using a credit card linked to a bank or a direct bank transfer, and while it was not outrightly illegal, a number of banks still didn't approve crypto transactions. Crypto enthusiasts over here have mostly shifted to peer to peer platforms which do not need a bank to mediate, this could also be an option for you.

[NotATether]

If you want a riskier option, you can try to find a prepaid card service like Advcash. Most of the time you'll be fine, however, keep in mind that it still depends on their bank partner. Most of the time they are from Europe/Russia. You need to risk your KYC details with this.

Do you know if it's possible to get an AdvCash card without physically delivering it, particularly for use within its non-KYC limits?