The Xapo card came into existence since 2014 in the month of April and is considered to be a debit card for bitcoin. The company was set up in the year 2015 in the month of May at Palo Alto, California but recently it is relocated to Zurich, Switzerland. You get a card that looks and functions like a standard bank/VISA debit card. You can shop online with it, or in-store, or withdraw from an ATM. The only difference is that the Xapo card is directly linked to a Bitcoin wallet, instead of a regular bank account.
The first issued debit card for bitcoin is Xapo and is directly linked to the wallet of bitcoin. The claims made for Xapo Card usage seems to be the safest form of bitcoin usage in the form of a debit card throughout the marketplace globally.
The wallet from Xapo and the debit card fits together in a perfect manner and can be used anywhere including stores, online payments, and also at ATM’s for withdrawing cash.
The Xapo debit card is physically available and can be virtually accessed too using the applications on the smartphones for managing the transactions.
Supported Currency – GBP, EUR, and USD.
Has An App – Yes. Users can easily manage the bitcoins present in the wallets and take care of all the transactions and finances from the desktop, as well as from mobile devices that operate on the IOS and the Android platforms using the smartphone applications.
Anonymous – No.
Physical Card – Yes.
Virtual Card – Yes.
Card Type – VISA.
The cost of the Xapo debit card for bitcoin transactions is $20 USD and the rate of currency exchange and conversion counts to 3% overall. The annual fees associated with the card are of $12 USD on a yearly basis which is under a waiver for the initial year of getting the card. The surcharge for the ATM withdrawal is usually more and counts to approximately $2.5 USD for domestic usage and $3.5 USD for international usage. The term inactiveness incurs a penalty or a small amount for tax. The replacement of cards under any circumstances usually incurs a fee that is charged by DHL. There is a small charge of 1% on the purchase of bitcoins but the transaction fee for the network counts nil while transferring and sending the bitcoins using the associated account of Xapo.
Countries available – Xapo bitcoin debit card is available across 129 countries which mostly includes the countries in Asia, China, South-America, and Europe. However, some of the nations that mostly use the bitcoin services are excluded from the list to avail the services. This is for the people in the US, Africa, and India.
Services provided
The account for Xapo receives an advanced form of protection under three security layers. There is an authentication done using multifactor alongside with the security of the cryptographic form and simultaneously the advanced security is provided with the help of segmentation done with the help of a private key. The vaults of Xapo are dispersed globally and are offline in order to serve the best protection and security of all the relevant data and information stored and related to Xapo. The dispersion geographically helps in protecting all the assets and keeps them secure from seizure by the government entities in any aspect.
Getting a Xapo card sorted is simple once you’ve got a Bitcoin wallet setup with Xapo (you will need one of these to have access to the card. Setting up a Xapo account & wallet is simple, and the phone app is really easy to use).
From within your wallet there is an option to order a card. Provided you live in one of the accepted countries, which seems to be just about every Western country, then you’ll be eligible for a card.
Here’s some other things you need to know when ordering:
