[Review] Bitcoin Back Debit Card by Fold

[TwoSats2]

Hey all! I’m new to the forum, but have been lurking in the background for years now (just never registered).

Anyways, a few months ago I discovered Fold. Essentially its a combination of an app and prepaid debit card that allows you to earn bitcoin back on all your purchases (Great for passively stacking sats!). In addition to the card itself the app provides you with daily bitcoin rewards (though minimal there is a small chance of hitting the jackpot and winning 1 million sats just for logging on and spinning the wheel).

If this is something you might be interested in I have the full review of the Fold Card and a referral bonus of 5,000 sats here: https://www.twosatoshis.net/post/foldcard

Happy Stacking All!

Note: it’s available in the US only (currently)

[dkbit98]

Anyways, a few months ago I discovered Fold. Essentially its a combination of an app and prepaid debit card that allows you to earn bitcoin back on all your purchases (Great for passively stacking sats!). In addition to the card itself the app provides you with daily bitcoin rewards (though minimal there is a small chance of hitting the jackpot and winning 1 million sats just for logging on and spinning the wheel).

I didn't compare Fold card with other crypto debit cards, but I think that Binance exchange is offering similar crypto returns for purchases and it's available in much more countries around the world.
I think it's a nice idea , but can you send and spend Bitcoin directly from your card, and are there any hidden fees or only what you mentioned in your article?

Note: it’s available in the US only (currently)

Are there any plans to expand to Europe and other parts of the world?

[TwoSats2]

At the moment they’re still focused on growing their users in the US. The plan is to expand to other countries in the future, but Id expect a few years before that happens.

Sadly fold at the moment can only be funded with fiat. Bitcoin funding has been a requested feature by several users in their discord server (unknown if that will be implemented).However, you are currently able to buy gift cards in-app through lightning network and receive bitcoin back (fold card not required for this feature).

IMO Fold at the moment is more for helping bring on new users to bitcoin, and provide existing users some bitcoin incentives when transacting in fiat is required.

In terms of hidden fees, I’m not personally seeing or have experienced any. The fees are pretty standard when compared to non bitcoin prepaid debit cards. With the free tier card (the one I currently recommended - more detail in the article) the average use of the card (sending funds to the card, using the card to pay monthly bills, and receiving rewards- they cover the mining fees) shouldn’t encounter any fees.

They have the full fee list here by card: (note: the app is 100% free)
https://foldapp.com/legal/fold-visa-prepaid-debit-card-cardholder-agreement

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!

[NeuroticFish]

Sadly fold at the moment can only be funded with fiat.

Is it funded with fiat directly, or is it funded by sending Bitcoin to a payment processor and that is converting it to fiat for the card?
Because if it's the first scenario (which, from my understanding, seems to be the case), calling it "Bitcoin black debit card" is widely incorrect.

[TwoSats2]

Sadly fold at the moment can only be funded with fiat.

Is it funded with fiat directly, or is it funded by sending Bitcoin to a payment processor and that is converting it to fiat for the card?
Because if it's the first scenario (which, from my understanding, seems to be the case), calling it "Bitcoin black debit card" is widely incorrect.

You’re correct, it’s funded directly with Fiat. At the moment It’s essentially like a normal prepaid debit or bank card. It runs solely off of legacy banking systems. The main difference between it and other cards is it rewards users with bitcoin back on their purchases.

So say you buy something at a local convenience store that doesn’t accept bitcoin yet for $10. You pay for the transaction using the fiat balance on your Fold card and receive a spin notification. You go in app, spin the wheel, and lets say you land on 2%. Fold will then buy $0.20 worth of bitcoin (with their money) and add it to your account. Once you reach 50,000 satoshis you’re able to withdraw your Bitcoin balance to a wallet of your choosing.

I could see how calling it a bitcoin back card could be confusing. I guess its more of a cashback card dedicated to purchasing bitcoin with your rewards.

Hope that helps clarify it!

[libert19]

Pretty much similar thing for Indians: https://gosats.io/

Prepaid card, top-up with fiat and earn cashback in BTC.

[NeuroticFish]

I could see how calling it a bitcoin back card could be confusing. I guess its more of a cashback card dedicated to purchasing bitcoin with your rewards.

Yes, this is it.
Even the name in the web page you've linked tells Bitcoin rewards prepaid card. That can be a little confusing if one doesn't read it carefully, but it's correct. (So I guess that it was only your title that was the misleading one.)
The simplest name would be:

Prepaid card, top-up with fiat and earn cashback in BTC.

[Rikafip]

I didn't compare Fold card with other crypto debit cards, but I think that Binance exchange is offering similar crypto returns for purchases and it's available in much more countries around the world.

Compared with Binance card, Fold cashback % is much lower: Fold has 0.25% while Binance has between 1%-8%. Situation looks better for Fold if you count gift cards as for Example Amazon gift card gives 5% cashback which is very good.

At the moment they’re still focused on growing their users in the US. The plan is to expand to other countries in the future, but Id expect a few years before that happens.

That sucks, yet another card that is not available here in Europe.