Spending cryptocurrencies can be quite tricky if you use conventional ways of doing it. In order to conduct a crypto transaction, the majority of people use crypto wallets installed on their mobile phones or computers. While such a method has its advantages, it is impractical in situations when you do not have access to your crypto wallet and the Internet. That is why many companies have proposed different solutions to bring more flexibility to crypto payments. Perhaps, the easiest way of facilitating crypto payments is using a crypto debit or credit card. Currently, numerous companies offer their crypto credit cards that accept Bitcoin.
Key Points:
- Today, crypto investors have the option of getting crypto credit and debit cards.
- Companies such as Binance, BitPay, Coinbase, and Wirex offer their crypto cards.
- Businesses can facilitate the crypto payment experience for clients by accepting crypto directly.
SoFi Credit Card
SoFi is a service that provides financial products to clients looking for ways to manage their funds more effectively. One of the products of SoFi is its credit card that suits all the needs of its owner. People with the SoFi credit card can pay down their debts and earn rewards for all of their purchases. SoFi guarantees a 2% cashback for every transaction made with the card. The cashback can then be redeemed to receive cryptocurrency. SoFi lets clients who have installed their app freely trade a dozen cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. Moreover, every user can get $10 worth of Bitcoin for their first trade. There are no annual fees that go along with the card. SoFi assures its clients that their cryptocurrency holdings are safe and secure when stored on SoFi’s platform. SoFi’s credit card accompanied by its app is a convenient way of using crypto when making purchases.
BlockFi Card
BlockFi is another company that seeks to pack a wide range of financial services into an app for a cell phone. BlockFi offers credit cards that accept Bitcoin and allow their holders to earn up to 3.5% in Bitcoin rewards during the first three months of use virtually for every purchase they make. After the first 90 days, the cashback cap will remain at 2% percent for those who spend at least $50k annually. The card does not charge the client any annual fees or foreign transaction fees. Additionally, since BlockFi lets clients trade cryptocurrency, holders of the card get 0.25% in Bitcoin back for all of their trades. The card holders also can receive 30% for every friend referral. BlockFi users can open an interest account and earn substantial APIs. BlockFi users can borrow money and offer Bitcoin as collateral. In order to spend crypto using the BlockFi credit card, the owner first needs to convert their Bitcoin to fiat.
Crypto.com Cards
Crypto.com is a major force in the crypto world due to its massive crypto trading platform. Yet, apart from managing its exchange, Crypto.com also issues crypto cards that significantly facilitate the spending of cryptocurrency. There are five different Crypto.com cards that have varying benefits. For instance, the basic Midnight Blue card is practically free to acquire, while the most supercharged Obsidian card requires its owners to deposit $400k worth of CRO tokens. The Obsidian card, as the most luxurious of all, has a long list of benefits, including an 8% cashback in CRO for all purchases that its owner can claim. Crypto.com cards function as prepaid ones. In other words, in order to pay with them for products and services, one needs to top up them with crypto, which will get converted to fiat. Since Crypto.com cards are issued in partnership with VISA, they can be used to pay at millions of merchants around the world.
Gemini Crypto Credit Card
Gemini is a notable crypto exchange that has been in existence since 2015 and serves millions of clients worldwide. Gemini has not yet issued its crypto credit cards, but people already can join the waitlist today and get themselves their cards as soon as they launch. Gemini card has terms of use which are similar to BlockFi. All owners of the card receive up to 3% of cashback. The main advantage of the upcoming Gemini card is that it will deposit all of the card owners’ rewards instantly. Many other companies pay out rewards only once a certain period of time passes, but Gemini decided to make rewards available immediately after purchase. Gemini will not charge its clients any annual fees for the card. There are a total of 40 cryptocurrencies that owners of the card will gain access to. Gemini’s cards are created in partnership with Mastercard, which means that the card holders will be able to make a purchase in any location on the planet where Mastercard is accepted.
Wirex Crypto Card
Of all cards on this list, Wirex’s one is surely the most practical. Instead of loading the card with crypto and then converting it to fiat manually, the Wirex card does it by itself. In other words, when you pay the Wirex crypto card, it automatically converts your crypto to fiat at the point of sale. Moreover, the Wirex card supports multiple currencies, which means that it will convert your crypto to the fiat currency accepted by the merchant. This makes Wirex a perfect travel card. Wirex users can pay with more than 150 currencies at more than 60 million locations worldwide. Wirex holders also have high withdrawal limits when withdrawing money from a Bitcoin ATM that accepts credit card. Whenever a transaction is made with the Wirex card, the owner gets a notification in the app. Unlike ordinary credit cards, the Wirex card does not have any maintenance charges, so its holders can use it without any additional expenses.
Coinbase Card
Coinbase is the name that many crypto investors hear on a daily basis. Coinbase is one of the main crypto trading platforms in the US and other countries. Coinbase card, which can be issued virtually, enables users to spend their crypto funds held in the Coinbase wallet at any place that accepts VISA cards. All transactions take mere seconds, and the Coinbase app lets users track all of their purchases. Switching between crypto wallets is also easy, so owners of the card can quickly choose which crypto they want to spend. Coinbase converts crypto to fiat currencies and thus makes payments happen. Coinbase states that the cryptocurrency kept in its wallet is safe because it uses two-factor authentication and other security mechanisms. Even if the client manages to lose their Coinbase card, they can freeze it by contacting the support agents. Coinbase’s app for managing its cards is available for both Android and IOS.
Binance Card
Binance is another crypto exchange which is gradually conquering the world of crypto finance. As any exchange seeking global dominance, it offers its own crypto card. Since Binance issues VISA cards, its users owning the card can spend their crypto funds at more than sixty million merchants on the planet. In order to start spending crypto, Binance users need to simply transfer the required sum from the spot wallet to the funding one. Binance VISA card does not have any fees, and it does not even charge holders processing fees. Binance users can top up their funding wallets only when they need to utilize the card. Moreover, Binance has one of the most generous cashbacks in the industry, namely, crypto holders can earn up to 8% on eligible purchases. Binance cards are securely protected and covered by the Secure Asset Fund, which means that users who become victims of scams can be compensated.
Fold Crypto Card
Fold is an app that lets users earn Bitcoin cashback on their purchases and buy gift cards of major companies with cryptocurrency. Fold has designed its crypto card for people who want to maximize their benefits when paying with crypto. Fold works together with VISA to issue its cards. There are two options when it comes to Fold cards. Users can either choose to go with the Spin card or the Spin+ card. While the former costs 0$ to issue, it does not have a plethora of advantages that the latter, a more expensive version, possesses. One of the key features of Fold is its spins. Basically, Fold users can spin a wheel to get Bitcoin rewards. Spin+ owners get three extra spins each week and subsequently have a better chance of receiving a large reward which can be a whole Bitcoin. So, the Fold card provides a fantastic opportunity to earn Bitcoin while spending it.
BitPay
BitPay is a service that enables companies to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment. Some of the big names on the list of BitPay’s clientele list include Microsoft, AT&T, and Newegg. The BitPay crypto card works in a similar way as Binance’s one. Users have to reload their card balance by topping it up with crypto that gets converted to fiat. Card owners do not pay any fees when converting their cryptocurrency to fiat, so it is a convenient way to transfer funds in and out of crypto seamlessly. BitPay Mastercard Card lets its holders pay at millions of businesses around the world. BitPay card owners can withdraw up to $6k from a Bitcoin ATM that accepts credit card. The load limit and the spending limit of the card are set at $10k per day, so BitPay card holders can cover all of their daily expenses with the help of this card.
Cryptopay Card
Cryptopay is a service which facilitates cryptocurrency payments for businesses and provides crypto investors with a reliable wallet. There are more than one million users of Cryptopay, and the company processes more than sixty thousand transactions per month. Cryptopay issues cards together with VISA, meaning that its holders have access to all merchants that accept VISA cards. Cryptopay cards are prepaid, so owners have to deposit a certain amount of money in crypto to use it. The card can be managed in the Cryptopay app, which allows users to quickly transfer their crypto to fiat. Cryptopay clients can get both virtual and physical versions of the card. The spending limit of the Cryptopay card is quite high, $30k. The app features all expenses of the users, including those related to the card. Since Cryptopay is not a bank, it does not use funds deposited by its clients to trade on the stock exchange. All holdings of Cryptopay clients are stored in a secure and safe way.
How to accept Bitcoin payments
Crypto cards are certainly a convenient way to use cryptocurrencies, yet they are used by the minority of crypto investors. In order to target the entire crypto community, businesses need to deploy crypto payment gateways that would allow every person to pay in crypto. NOWPayments assists companies in accepting cryptocurrencies through its solutions.
With the help of NOWPayments, businesses can issue crypto invoices and accept Bitcoin and altcoins using special eCommerce plugins. Recently, NOWPayments also added the option of a web-based PoS terminal that lets merchants issue individual crypto invoices to each of their clients.
Charities, as well as streamers, bloggers, and other content makers, can accept crypto donations using NOWPayments’ widgets, buttons, and links.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that crypto debit and credit cards that accept Bitcoin provide their owners with more flexibility in terms of conducting crypto payments. Currently, there are many crypto card options and choosing the best one ultimately comes down to individual preferences. Yet, those crypto investors that do not own such cards often struggle to find a merchant that would accept their crypto as payment. Businesses can help their customers to pay with crypto by deploying a crypto payment gateway.