Bitcoin Debit Cards

roy · Sun Dec 13, 2015 8:02 pm

We all know bitcoin is not accepted everywhere. For those cases, we can use a debit card. I'm creating this thread so we can all include options and discuss fees and hidden fees.

What I wonder is how feasible it is. What's the point of having a debit card if you have to pay annual fees, monthly fees, transaction fees, exchange fees, etc.

The best options I could find are SHIFT, ANX and E-Coin.

SHIFT [US based]

E-Coin [UK based]

ANX [Singapore based]

Fees? FREE for everything but ATM withdrawals (1%, Min. US$3)

Comparing them all, ANX seems like the best due to less fees but the exchange rate you pay to convert BTC to USD are around 3% above other exchanges. I wonder if other cards have similar hidden fees.

EDIT: The consensus is that using ANY of the mentioned cards will charge you a 3% fee for ANY purchase.
Does it apply for local purchases too? Even going to an ATM will make you spend those 3%.
Is there any way to escape those charges?

BitcoinNewsMagazine · Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:33 pm

Not following your logic. If you have a Shift card there are no fees at all right now when you use the card for purchases. There is a $2.50 fee for ATM withdrawals.

robtmil · Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:21 am

We all know bitcoin is not accepted everywhere. For those cases, we can use a debit card. I'm creating this thread so we can all include options and discuss fees and hidden fees.

EDIT: The consensus is that using ANY of the mentioned cards will charge you a 3% fee for ANY purchase.
Does it apply for local purchases too? Even going to an ATM will make you spend those 3%.
Is there any way to escape those charges?

I found the ANX card to be unusable. No history, no reporting. Maybe it's improved by now but the Shift card is way better

roy · Mon Dec 14, 2015 10:04 am

Not following your logic. If you have a Shift card there are no fees at all right now when you use the card for purchases. There is a $2.50 fee for ATM withdrawals.

My mistake.

To be considered domestic, it's just the currency to be taken to account?

If I live in Germany and have an E-Coin euro card, do I pay international fee (3 %) if I use the card in France?

bitkilo · Mon Dec 14, 2015 10:18 am

I use Coinjar swipe card.
Apart from the $29 to buy the card there are no fees.
Check out their fee structure here:
https://support.coinjar.com/hc/en-us/ar ... and-limits
Any fees are absorbed by Coinjar so it turns out to be a good card

I got my card for free to do a little testing so i like it very much but if i had to pay the $29 i might think twice, its not cheap but i wouldn't want to live without it now.

BitcoinNewsMagazine · Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:19 pm

Since March of this year I have maintained a list of legit bitcoin debit and credit cards at your bitcoin debit card options. I only add new cards once they have been on the market for awhile and proved stable and worthy.

bitkilo · Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:38 am

Since March of this year I have maintained a list of legit bitcoin debit and credit cards at your bitcoin debit card options. I only add new cards once they have been on the market for awhile and proved stable and worthy.

I don't see the Coinjar swipe card on your list, is this because it's only for Australian users?

BitcoinNewsMagazine · Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:17 am

Since March of this year I have maintained a list of legit bitcoin debit and credit cards at your bitcoin debit card options. I only add new cards once they have been on the market for awhile and proved stable and worthy.
I don't see the Coinjar swipe card on your list, is this because it's only for Australian users?

Yes. If the Coinjar card starts shipping outside of Australia I will add it to the list. Right now it is a niche product as BNM is directed at US.and Europe users.

roy · Tue Dec 15, 2015 9:47 am

Since March of this year I have maintained a list of legit bitcoin debit and credit cards at your bitcoin debit card options. I only add new cards once they have been on the market for awhile and proved stable and worthy.

Great article. What I want to know is which card has the lower fees. ANX has a hidden fee. Exchange rate is 3% above market price when you convert BTC to USD. So I would recommend people to stay away.

Is that the case for the other cards? I don't want to register in each of the websites just to discover. I hope other users could comment about it.

EDIT: I registered at E-Coin and realized the hidden fee is 3% also. When you load bitcoins to your USD balance (to use the debit card) they pay you 441.74 for each BTC. If you put +3%, it is the Bitstamp price = 454).
What pisses me off is that when you go to e-coin.io you see a BIG BTC price. It is the "spot" price (almost the same as all exchanges). When you register and login, you see a different the different one.

I don't want to sound cheap but 3% adds up a lot. The average american makes 47k/year. 3% of that is 1400 usd.

Hope that competition between companies lower those commissions.

BitcoinGuides · Tue Dec 15, 2015 8:06 pm

To be honest I hate the concept of bitcoin debit cards because they don't actually use the blockchain. You're just selling a bitcoin reserve then giving the business to Visa or whoever is processing the payment.

roy · Wed Dec 16, 2015 1:29 pm

To be honest I hate the concept of bitcoin debit cards because they don't actually use the blockchain. You're just selling a bitcoin reserve then giving the business to Visa or whoever is processing the payment.

I don't hate the concept because it is better than not having an option. I think it is important as a transition to 100% bitcoin with no intermediaries. As I said in my first post, not all places accept bitcoin. A debit card is a useful tool for now. I'm discussing which one is the best option today.

bitcoinfans · Sat May 07, 2016 3:08 am

I just got the ANX International bitcoin card, no so complicated but just feel free to use.

CEX.IO · Tue May 10, 2016 1:10 pm

We at CEX.IO offer an alternative to Bitcoin debit cards. Instead of ordering an additional card, you can just trade Bitcoins on the exchange and withdraw funds directly to your payment card, without logging in to third party services. You can use your Visa/MasterCard in any currency. Withdrawals to cards are processed automatically and instantly, so you can use funds right away.
Withdrawal fees and amount limits are available here.
Shortly, the fees will be decreased even more.