Best prepaid crypto cards

How a prepaid crypto card works

You send crypto to the card company, or pay in from a bank account, and the amount is loaded onto the card as a balance in a fiat currency such as dollars or euros. That balance is what you spend. When you pay, the issuer and the card network settle with the shop in ordinary money, and the shop never sees your crypto.

The conversion usually happens at the top-up, at the rate of that moment. After that, a move in the crypto price no longer changes what is on the card. The cost of the conversion is the conversion spread, and you pay it at load time instead of at the till.

Some prepaid cards can be reloaded as often as you like. Others are single-load: once the balance is spent, the card is finished. Some are virtual only, with no plastic, which suits online shopping and mobile wallets. If you do not need a physical card, see the virtual only list.

Prepaid, debit or credit: what is the difference

All three look alike in a shop, but the money moves differently.

• Prepaid works from a balance you load before you spend. This is the list on this page.
• Debit spends from a balance you hold with the card company or in a linked wallet. See the debit list.
• Credit lends you money and sends a bill later. See the credit list.

We go by the product type on file for each card, and we keep the lists apart because the rules, risks and costs differ.

Things to watch on prepaid cards

Most of the cost of a prepaid card sits around the balance, not in the purchase itself.

• Top-up fees. Loading the card can carry a fee, and it can depend on the asset or the network you use.
• Conversion at load. The rate you get when crypto becomes card money includes the spread.
• Monthly or inactivity fees. Some issuers charge them. We show them where the issuer lists them, and a fee we have not verified is never assumed to be zero.
• Limits. Check how much you can load at once, how much the balance can hold, and how much you can spend in a day or a month.
• Leftover balance. Find out whether you can withdraw what is left, and what that costs, especially on single-load cards.
• Identity checks. Whether and when you must verify your identity depends on the card and your country. Read the KYC rules for your country before you load money.

What to compare

• Availability. A card is only useful if you can get it where you live. Eligibility is checked per country.
• FX fee. The FX fee applies when the card’s currency differs from the shop’s. If you travel, start from the no FX fee list.
• Top-up fee. What each load costs, and which assets and networks the card accepts.
• Reloadable or single-load. Whether the card can be topped up again.
• Cash. If you need a machine, check the ATM fee and the limit. The ATM list ranks physical cards whose ATM fee is on file.

Our ranking turns these into one estimated net cost. Fees we have not verified are left out and flagged, never counted as zero. The methodology explains how.

How many prepaid crypto cards are in your country

Many cards are open only to some countries, so the list changes with where you live. Across all countries it ranks 24 cards. A few examples:

• United States: 9 cards
• Germany: 7 cards
• United Kingdom: 3 cards
• Brazil: 7 cards

Choose your country in the Card Finder to see the cards you can get, with a cost estimate for your own spending. For a plain comparison of the three types, read our guide to crypto debit, credit and prepaid cards.