BitPay Card

Overview

BitPay has been a pioneer in cryptocurrency payments since 2011, processing over $5 billion in crypto payments for merchants worldwide. The BitPay Card is the consumer-facing product of this payments infrastructure, allowing individuals to spend their Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies anywhere Mastercard is accepted in the United States. The card works by allowing you to load it with cryptocurrency from your BitPay wallet. When you top up, your crypto is instantly converted to US dollars at the current market rate and held as a dollar balance on the card. This means you lock in your rate at the time of loading, eliminating concerns about price volatility during the spending process. The BitPay Card supports both physical and virtual card formats. The virtual card is available instantly upon approval, while the physical card is delivered within 7-10 business days. Both versions support contactless payments and work with Apple Pay and Google Pay for convenient mobile payments.

How Loading Works

Unlike some competitors that convert crypto at the point of sale, the BitPay Card uses a pre-load model. You transfer cryptocurrency from your BitPay wallet (or any external wallet) to your card balance, and it is converted to USD immediately. This approach has advantages and disadvantages. The main benefit is predictability, as you know exactly how much spending power you have in dollar terms. The downside is that you lose exposure to potential price increases after loading. The loading process is straightforward through the BitPay app. Select the cryptocurrency you want to spend, choose the amount, confirm the conversion rate, and the dollars are available on your card within minutes. There are no loading fees, and you can load from any of the supported cryptocurrencies. The minimum load amount is $10, and you can hold up to $25,000 on the card at any time.

Fees and Limits

The BitPay Card has a simple fee structure. There is a one-time card issuance fee of $10 for the physical card, while the virtual card is free. There are no annual fees, no monthly maintenance fees, and no inactivity fees. Domestic purchases incur no transaction fees. ATM withdrawals are free for the first withdrawal each month at in-network ATMs, with a $2.50 fee for subsequent withdrawals. Out-of-network ATMs may charge additional fees. The daily ATM withdrawal limit is $500, and the daily purchase limit is $10,000. The conversion rate when loading the card uses BitPay's exchange rate, which is competitive with major exchanges. There is a 1% network cost that is built into the conversion rate. For users who primarily spend Bitcoin, the straightforward fee structure makes costs easy to predict and manage.

Security and Track Record

BitPay's decade-plus history in the crypto payments space provides significant credibility. The company is registered as a money services business with FinCEN and holds money transmitter licenses in all required US states. The BitPay Card is issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank, a member of the FDIC, meaning your USD card balance is insured up to $250,000. The BitPay app includes standard security features like biometric authentication, PIN protection, and the ability to freeze your card instantly. Transaction notifications keep you informed of all card activity. BitPay also supports multi-factor authentication for account access. The company has never been hacked and maintains a clean regulatory record, which is noteworthy in the crypto industry.

Supported Cryptocurrencies

Available Regions