Glossary

The words you meet when comparing crypto cards, in plain language. Each term has its own link, so you can share it.

ATM fee: A charge for withdrawing cash with a card. It can come from the card issuer, from the ATM operator, or both. Many cards also cap how much cash you can take out in a month.

BIN sponsor: A bank or licensed institution that holds the card number range (the BIN) and lets another company issue cards under it. It is the regulated party behind many card brands, and often the one that holds the money.

Card network: The payment network that carries a card payment from the shop to the issuer, such as Visa or Mastercard. The network decides where a card is accepted and sets the exchange rate for foreign currency payments.
Cashback: A reward paid back as a share of what you spend. On crypto cards it is often paid in a token rather than in cash, and some programs only pay it if you lock up tokens first.
Conversion spread: The gap between the market price of a crypto asset and the price at which the card sells it for you. It is a cost on every payment funded from crypto, even when the card advertises no fees.
Custodial: A card where the company holds your crypto for you. You have an account with them, not a wallet of your own. Setup and recovery are easier, but you rely on the company to keep your funds safe and let you withdraw them.

Dynamic currency conversion: An offer at a shop or ATM abroad to be charged in your own currency instead of the local one. The conversion is done by the merchant or the ATM, usually at a worse rate than your card would give. Choosing the local currency avoids it.

EEA: The European Economic Area: the countries of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Card issuers often name the EEA when they describe where a card is offered.

FX fee: A fee a card charges when you pay in a currency other than the card's own currency. It is usually a percentage of the payment and is separate from the exchange rate itself.
FX markup: An extra margin added to the exchange rate when a payment is converted. It does not show up as a fee line, only as a worse rate, so it is easy to miss. Compare the rate you were charged with the mid-market rate to see it.

Inactivity fee: A charge for leaving a card or account unused for a set time. Not every card has one, and when a card page does not list it, that means we have not verified it, not that there is none.
Interchange: The fee a shop's bank pays the card issuer on every card payment. It is the main way many card programs earn money, and it is what pays for cashback and rewards on cards without a monthly fee.
Issuer: The licensed company that issues the card and is responsible for it under card network rules. The brand on the card and the issuer are often different companies.

KYC: Know your customer: the identity check a card company must run before it opens an account. It usually means an ID document, a selfie and proof of address, and it can take longer in some countries.

Program manager: The company that runs a card product day to day: the app, the rewards, support and the link to crypto. It works with an issuer or BIN sponsor that holds the licence. The name on your card and the program manager can differ.

Recovery phrase: A list of words that restores access to a self-custody wallet. Whoever has it controls the funds, and if you lose it, nobody can reset it for you.

Self-custody: A card linked to a wallet that only you control. The crypto stays in your wallet until you pay. If the card company stops operating, the card stops working, but your wallet and its funds stay yours.
Stablecoin: A crypto asset designed to hold the value of a currency, usually the US dollar or the euro. Most crypto cards are topped up with stablecoins because their value does not swing between top-up and payment.
Staking requirement: A rule that you must lock up a certain amount of the program's own token to get a higher reward rate or a perk. The locked tokens carry price risk, so the Finder leaves such rewards out of its default ranking.

Top-up: Adding funds to a card so you can spend them. On a custodial card it means sending crypto to the company. On other cards it can mean moving funds into a spending balance or approving a spending allowance from your wallet.
Top-up network: The blockchain you use to send crypto to a card, such as Ethereum or Solana. The same asset exists on several networks, and sending it on a network the card does not support can lose the funds.

Verified: On this site, a value that was read from the issuer's own page, matched to an exact quote, and approved by a person. It always shows its source and the date it was last checked.
Virtual card: A card that exists only as numbers and in a phone wallet, with no plastic. It works online and, if the card supports Apple Pay or Google Pay, in shops. Some cards offer both a virtual and a physical version.