The emergence of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has seen a new wave of digital economy transforming every sector in the business space. Since the inception of Bitcoin; the leading digital currency out there in 2009, blockchain technology has become a bedrock on which tens of thousands of gidital coins with tangible use-cases are being built. While some of these coins are platform-bound (ie cannot be used outside the network on which they are created), the majority of them are circulating in the crypto markets for exchanges.
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Before now, one of the obstacles to the mass adoption of cryptocurrency was the inability of users to spend them anytime anywhere the need arises. The inception of several Cryptocurrency Debit Cards has however solved this problem as crypto enthusiasts can now spend their digital currencies anytime anywhere as if they were fiat.
Each Cryptocurrency Debit Card has its own unique features. Terms of usage, accepted regions and transaction charges differentiate from one card to another. We will take a look at some of these Debit Cards and do some comparisons to understand how they work.
SpectroCoin Pre-Paid card
SpectroCoin offers a Pre-Paid card that can be used to spend cryptocurrencies almost anywhere across the globe excluding the United States. This card allows crypto traders to change their digital currencies to fiat and withdraw their money anytime they want at any ATM around the world. The card can also be used to pay for purchases in stores using the Point of Sales terminal.
Currency denomination
SpectroCoin Pre-aid Card only denominates USD and Euro. So if you are not from Europe, expect some conversions between your region currency and Euro or USD depending on the kind of SpectroCoin card you are using and this attracts 3% of your transaction charges. The card can be loaded through the SpectroCoin wallet or other cryptocurrency wallet balance.
Top up limits
Although it depends on the user’s verification (verified or unverified user), there are high withdrawal and deposit limit on SpectroCoin Debit Card. The minimum and maximum top-ups for an unverified user per day are $10/€10 and $1,500/€2,500 respectively while that of a verified user are $10/€10 and $3,000/€5,000.
Card fees
SpectroCoin has two kinds: the virtual EUR card for which you pay €9 and the Plastic USD card that costs $50. It takes 2 to 4 business days to get the Plastic card (provided you opted for an express delivery that attracts a little fee or the standard delivery may take 2 to 4 weeks). The virtual card can be accessed instantly. While both of them attract a loading fee of 1%, they are activated with no cost. Withdrawing fiat with your SpectroCoin card at an ATM costs €2.50 each time you use it. There is also a monthly service fee of €1 as long as your card has balance.
Wirex Visa Payment Card
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This is much like the SpectroCoin Debit Card as it has two kinds; Virtual and Plastic cards and can be used to spend digital currencies anywhere in the world. Wirex card supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin. The card works anywhere that Visa is accepted except in the United States. Wirex card has a Cryptoback feature that allows users to earn 0.5% in Bitcoin of their purchase when they use this card to make payments.
Currency denomination
Wirex visa card accepts USD, EUR and GBP. A user can have up to six Wirex Visa cards probably two for each currency. When you are using this card from a country spending another currency, Wirex does not attract extra fees. Instead, the FX standard (wholesale) conversion rate is used.
Top up limits
The minimum amount you can load on Wirex Visa Card is $24/£25/€25. There is no maximum limit. You can have as much as you want on this card and loading does not require extra fees.
Card fees
Wirex is currently offering their Visa card to users for free. Usually, it costs $17 to acquire this card. Delivery is free and may take up to 8 weeks. Loading this card is free but it charges domestic users $2.50/£1.75/€2.25 and international users $3.50/£2.25/€2.75. As well, the changing of PIN attracts $1/£0.60/€0.80 and a monthly fee of $1.50/£1/€1.2.
Below is a table showing the comparison features of SpectroCoin Pre-Paid card and Wirex debit card. Let us take a look at them.
| Feature | SpectroCoin Card | Wirex Card |
|---|---|---|
| Card Cost | Virtual: €9, Plastic: $50 | $17 (Currently free) |
| Card delivery | 2-4 weeks (2-4 days for express) | Up to 8 weeks (3-10 days for express) |
| Denomination currencies | USD & EUR | USD, EUR & GBP |
| Supported currencies | Bitcoin | Bitcoin, ETH, LTC & Ripple |
| Loading fee | 1% | Free |
| Minimum loading | Unverified & Verified users: $10/€10 | $25/€25/£25 |
| Maximum loading | Unverified users: $1,500/€2,500, Verified users: $3,000/€5,000 | No limit |
| Domestic ATM | €2.50 | $2.50/£1.75/€2.25 |
| International ATM | €2.75 | $3.50/£2.25/€2.75 |
| Monthly fee | €1 | $1.5/£1/€1.20 |