The best way to use Bitcoin for purchases in offline stores, as well as turn smaller amounts of Bitcoin into cash, is through Bitcoin debit cards.
Bitcoin cards are prepaid plastic VISA or MasterCard cards that are tied to your Bitcoin wallet hosted by the card providing company.
They are often called “wallet cards” – you load the respective Bitcoin wallet with BTC and you conveniently spend it wherever you need. Many card providers let you withdraw other cryptocurrencies to cash as well, having Ethereum, Litecoin, DASH and other crypto wallets tied to cards they issue.
The Bitcoin ATM cards are debit cards, meaning there is no credit line tied to them. They are also prepaid, which means you can spend only whatever you’ve loaded to the card previously. You are loading Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrency) into a special wallet that is connected to the plastic card. As you pay or withdraw cash, your BTC is instantly converted to a fiat currency (USD, EUR etc.) and the payment is made.
Naturally there are fees you should be aware of – this page compares all crypto ATM cards so you can get the best one for you.
Jump to card comparison table
Read FAQ
Check card launch timeline
Crypto card selection FAQ:
Should I go for Bitcoin Visa or Mastercard card?
Both Visa and Mastercard are used for prepaid cryptocurrency cards. As you browse the comparison below you will see similarities between all Visa cards (limits for unverified customers, fees etc.) and between all Mastercard cards. Most often Mastercard debit cards allow higher POS spending and withdrawal limits.
Are there free crypto ATM cards?
Yes there are cards you can order without an initial payment. We’ve reviewed options that let you get a free Bitcoin debit card, see the pricing comparison below. Please note that free cards are compensated with higher fees for most operations.
Can you get an anonymous Bitcoin debit card?
Around half of the prepaid card providers used to let you have an “unverified”, i.e. an anonymous card. However, due to strict AML and KYC regulations the limits for such card were reall low. All of the anonymous cryptocurrency cards will have a lifetime limit, which means that after loading and withdrawing a certain amount to them the cards will stop working (unless you verify your ID). Still, anonymous cards are convenient for gifts, off-the grid payments and card reviews – whenever you find one that is.
See the Bitcoin debit card comparison list for further details. Sort the table by the parameter you need and make sure to apply for the card you like today, since it takes time to issue and deliver your card.
Crypto cards ban and launch timeline
JAN 5 2018 UPDATE: On January 5th Visa suddenly banned all cards issued by WaveCrest, which makes about half of the VISA cards on the list below. We are waiting for the news from companies and will update the article but for now we recommend getting a Spectrocoin card (shipping new cards soon), since AdvCashhas been hit with the WaveCrest ban too.
JAN 29 2018 UPDATE: Most cards on this list are disabled due to VISA issues; AdvCash that we recommended got his as well. Currently the Mistertango (see table below) card works, and Spectrocoin is almost ready with replacement cards. Sign up for Spectrocoin to get in line for yours!
FEB 23 2018 UPDATE: A lot is brewing, but no cards are 100% functional yet. These are the candidates for the fastest solutions, so register if you haven’t yet: 1) Bankera/Spectrocoin (supposedly have cards already), TenX (end of Q1 2018), Denaro (ICO now, cards in May), Bitwala (bank, cards, tether alternative), check other cards’ status here.
MAR 4 2018 UPDATE: We’ve put together a clear and robust Google Drive table with minimal data for quick status checkups: Cryptocurrency debit cards list. It’s updated as soon as there are changes, and you can leave comments there if you think something has to be edited.
JUN 10 2018 UPDATE:Wirex cards are completely ready and shipment has started. They serve only EU customers for now, so if you’re from the EU go and order your Wirex card!
NOV 24 2018 UPDATE:Wirex for EU (and soon US & Canada), Paycent for worldwide residents, Shift or Bitpay for US customers, MCO VISA Card for Singapore. The landscape has not changed much, but there are contenders actively developing their products.
If you want more info, check the card list in the table below:
Bitcoin debit card comparison:
The table is updated – leave a comment if you have another company that should be on the list!
Would be nice to have an update of this table with the issuer of the card, specially with the WaveCrest ban from VISA, to know additional options.
thank you!
Thanks for the comment! Yep we’re working on it, the ban took place on Friday so many companies are being slow with statements. Will update the table this week and email once it’s updated, so please sign up to the mailing list if you haven’t: http://eepurl.com/dbOgRn
Hi, were you able to update the issuers of the cards? thank you ~
Yes absolutely, last updates to the table were added yesterday. See the live version of the table with all the crowdsourced comments as they appear in real time: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DRbTeMCzb4UeXI0YlAzBxMc2u2i0cN_17Ql6eMngK6E/edit#gid=0
I’d hear several comment that platinumbitcoincard are SCAM.
Can you confirm it ?
We’ve been hearing that too. It’ll be off the table soon.
You’re doing god’s work.
It looks like PlatinumBitcoinCard is a scam, check their reviews.
Looking at them now, will update the table by the weekend. Thanks for the tip.
I just registered with Advcash.
Here’s what in the registration email:
“Your Advanced Cash account is not verified yet. Because of this, there are certain limits concerning your plastic card transactions:
– total cumulative lifetime card funding/transaction limit: €250
Card funding
– max one-time funding: €100
– max daily funding: €100
– funding transactions: 1
Purchases
– transactions per day: no limit
– max daily spending: €100
– max total transactions: €250
– total card transactions: no limit
ATM withdrawals
– total withdrawal amount: €100
– max ATM transactions per day: 5
– max one-time withdrawal: €100
– total withdrawals per day: €100
When you successfully complete your account verification, we will set our standard limits to your card: €3,000 daily withdrawals, €10,000 total daily transactions, €3,000 total daily funding. Verification is a fast and easy procedure that unlocks all the Advanced Cash features and advantages for you.”
I also saw this for French residents. This is a quote from Advcash support. I don’t know the exact context, it is a bit confusing.
“Your documents are in process of verification on our vendors side.
After you are verified within Advanced Cash, we also need to submit your documents to our card vendor. It normally takes up to 5 business days, after which they set standard verified user limits for your cards.
The Authorization was declined as the cardholder is from France country with KYC1. This is recent rule change done regarding France Decree. The rule is KYC 1 users no unload transactions to be allowed.”
And the limits for Advcash virtual cards:
“As you have not verified your account yet, please have a look at the transaction limits that are in place for your new virtual card:
– €100 max one-time funding
– €100 max daily funding
– max 1 funding
– unlimited transactions per day
– €100 max daily transaction totals
– unlimited total card transactions
– €100 one-time cumulative card spending limit
After you successfully verify your account, your card limits will be set to our standard limits for verified users: €10,000 total daily transactions, €3,000 max total daily funding. Verification is a fast and simple procedure that enables you to start using the full range of Advanced Cash features.”
Another provider to add to the list: Mistertango.
Based in Lithuania, offer SEPA IN/OUT + Mastercard.
OK reviews.
Not sure about verification.
Thanks! Will do.
More details on Mistertango:
Their card partner is Creditco, based in Lithuania. The cards are branded “Hercus”. hercuscard.com
Creditco’s card issuer is Wirecard, which I know is a respected actor in the payment industry (working with big companies like Orange Bank). They are headquartered in Germany.
The card is shipped from the UK.
Thanks a lot Bamboozle, taking a look now and will add it to the table.
Added it to the table. However – EU only, €20 000 yearly balance limit… Not the best terms! https://d168plm0n1qvjk.cloudfront.net/en/wp-content/uploads/Mistertango-pricelist.pdf
Advcash just closed the cards due to Wave crest closure!? 🙂
Wow, what a bummer, you are right. I’ve just got a reply from their support. Will publish an update these days.
Received from WaveCrest on 24 Jan. 2018 re AdvCash cards:
Closure of your WaveCrest issued MasterCard prepaid card
We regret to inform you that from the 27 February 2018, we will no longer be able to service your MyChoice Prepaid Debit Card.
You should, therefore, use up or remove any balance on your card before that date. We will block the loading of new funds to your card effective immediately to help avoid any balance remaining on your card. You will be able to request that any remaining balance on your card after 27 February 2018 be refunded to you in line with the Cardholder Agreement.
Unverified cards must be verified in order to be eligible for a refund. Please note that any funds that remain on your account after this date will continue to be subject to the terms of the Cardholder Agreement (other than as set out in this email). You can find the Cardholder Terms here.
Please also note that we have taken the decision to set new daily ATM limits to EUR 1000/USD 1000/GBP 800 for transaction inside the SEPA region; transaction outside of SEPA will be limited to EUR 500/USD 500/GBP 400.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused. If you have any questions, please contact us at support15@mychoicecorporate.com.
Yes Sunrise, unfortunately it’s true: http://coinvigilance.com/the-advcash-prepaid-bitcoin-card-no-longer-works/
Spectrocoin is promising, they’ve already gotten substitute cards from another provider: http://coinvigilance.com/bankera-and-spectrocoin-new-bitcoin-atm-card-solution/
https://www.anonymousbitcoincard.com/index.php
What about this bitcoin prepaid mastercard – name of the website is — 3w dot anonymousbitcoincard dot com
I am looking forward to order from his site. Please let me know if they are genuine.
Hey Virat, –
we’ll review and add it to the table
You can add Bitnovo (https://www.bitnovo.com/tarjeta-monedero-bitcoins) and Payeer (https://payeer.com/). Both are currently working 🙂
Awesome, thanks Renaud! Will check them and add them.
Payeer doesn’t accept Bitcoin
Thanks for the info. I can’t even load their site unfortunately. Seemslegit.jpg
What about this one?
Naga Mastercard
https://my.nagatrader.com/naga/debit-card
The registration seems broken, it just blinks. Can you top it up with Bitcoin?
There were 10000 cards, already offered, but not yet operatives, and you’ll have the Bitcoin option to charge them -they say-
…Updated, all info on it here: https://coinvigilance.com/naga-card-live-review/
NGC price page: https://coinvigilance.com/tag/ngc/
The Naga cards are live for SEPA customers!
Where is TenX?
Added. Very little info available yet, but they promise the new card in the end of March: https://coinvigilance.com/tenx-prepaid-card-status-update/
Hi, there! Pls add epayments to your table – https://www.epayments.com/
Hi,
Could you update the list with info about monaco cards?
The free cards are actually free and dont have higher fees.
The cards/app release will be very soon.
Done. There’s very little info about your card, and it’s been hyped up for so long that we’ll better leave some blanks on the table and fill them up when the card is ready. Cheers!
Thank you for your spreadsheet. Very useful especially if you can’t find any much googling and too lazy to read forum feeds) Anyway, I think that Payeer shouldn’t be on the list because their card page gives 404 and no explanation from them for quite a long. There are some other guys who are on the way to making cards: https://bonpay.com/card/ and https://tokencard.io/
Cheers!
Thanks Jorg! I agree with you on Payeer. Thanks for the other two. Happy to help!
So what spreadsheet should I trust: the one on the page or in google docs?
The problem is that NONE of the stated companies issue plastic cards. Some of them give virtual, but even Wires doesn’t issue plastic cards. I tried to order in UK, but they say: coming soon.
I think you should update your list because it’s misleading now.
Well, yeah, the new cards by Wirex were starting off as virtual, and you’ll be getting the plastic one in a couple of weeks (hopefully).
Otherwise, Shift & Bitpay definitely work for USA. Being from the UK, have you tried WageCan or Epayments?
I’ve just synced the table with the Google sheet version – the latter is definitely more fresh since a lot of visitors leave comments and corrections there.
Can you, please, add the Bonpay debit card to the list? Here is the info:
URL: https://bonpay.com/card/
Card status: coming soon
Card type: VISA
Balance in: USD, EUR
Card price: 10 €
Fees: free
Can be anon: no
Jurisdiction: EU
Allows USA: no
Supported countries: EU
ATM Withdraw: 3,5 €
Balance load limit: 20,000 €
ATM daily limit: 1,000 €
Done, thanks Dmitriy
Thank you for adding this card to the list. Also, may I kindly ask you to move it to the spreadsheet too?https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DRbTeMCzb4UeXI0YlAzBxMc2u2i0cN_17Ql6eMngK6E/edit#gid=0
I would be very thankful!
Bitnovo ones are still working and it seems like the only ones really working out there.
Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your
blog. You have some really good posts and I believe I would be a
good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off,
I’d really like to write some material for your blog in exchange
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Regards!
This is truly useful, thanks.
What about PundiX ?
MinexPay Visa cards opened for ordering recently. Could be worth looking at. They are a prduct from Minexcoin (MNX)
Yep, we had a separate post on it – https://coinvigilance.com/minexpay-crypto-debit-cards-are-reportedly-ready-wordlwide/
Will update the table now, thanks for the reminder Matt!
Appreciate this post. Will try it out.
Thanks to the terrific manual
You are providing good info but many of this chart not cleare for me. i wanted to know supported country who allow bitcoin card. in the Jurisdiction section/ colloum there have country but i visit there website they allow many country but you put here only one country mane like— Bitcard
Hi Sayma, thanks for stopping by!
“Jurisdiction” is where the company providing cards is incorporated. “Supported countries” is where they can ship their cards to.
I like the report
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Very good post. I certainly love this website. Stick with it!
Thanks, it’s very informative
Spectrocoin uses Alliedwallet (I was issued a Mastercard).
Alliedwallet is still having technical difficulties and I can’t use my card until it’s fixed. I can’t view my past transactions atm and my funds say zero.
Spectrocoin says the card is suspended until Alliedwallet fixes their end. Spectrocoin said the funds are still there and not missing until the issues are fixed.
Beautiful, thanks a lot for the insight! Yes we’ve marked Spectrocoin as “on hold”, but the details help a lot.
> Spectrocoin said the funds are still there
Do you see the funds in your dashboard though, can you withdraw back to crypto?
I’ve tried a bunch of different Paypal -> BTC solutions, VirWox works fine but I ended up paying like 25%+ in fees. Local Bitcoins is fine if you’re willing to go meet somebody, and IMO is a slightly better deal, I ended up paying around $35 in fees on a $200 order. Then there’s BitcoinGiftCard.org which has lower fees, but I had to wait like 4 days before getting my BTC as they actually shipped me some gift cards through the mail.
I am starting with bitcoins using zebpay, please suggest the cheapest wallet I can use to save the bitcoins and other cryptocurrency also.
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