BTC Debit Cards: Xapo, BitPay & Shift

in #bitcoin7 years ago (edited)

Screen Shot 2017-07-19 at 10_Fotor.jpg

I’m still in beautiful Bali Indonesia and I wanted to share this great view with you all while at the same time telling you about these magical cards that exist that allow you to spend your Bitcoin and other cryptos out in the real world.

No longer do you have to wonder and hope that your local mini mart will take Bitcoin as a form of payment.

Now you can spend your BTC anywhere Visa or MasterCard is accepted, and they’ll never know the difference!
What’s even cooler is that you can use many of these cards at ATMs and cash out your bitcoin that way.

There’s quite a few of these cards now so let me introduce you to some of the most reputable options and you can decide which will work best for you.

Before I begin I want to point out that these cards aren’t exactly made to maintain privacy.

Because these cards are dealing with financial institutions they must require certain forms of identification before allowing issuance of a card.
A few cards offer a non-verified option but this severely reduces the loading and withdrawing limits of the card to around $2,500 for the entire lifetime of the card, that is not a monthly limit.
Also I highly suggest only loading these cards with the amount that you are willing to lose, I say this because you are ultimately giving your Bitcoin to a third party for them to handle.

Many of these cards have a 3% international transaction fee along with an ATM withdrawal fee that varies from card to card and many have a maintanence fee, either monthly or annually.

Xapo:

One of the first Bitcoin debit cards that is available in most countries. A Xapo card will cost you $20 to obtain with a $12 annual fee. This card gives you the option to go unverified but again, this means the card’s lifetime is limited to $2,500

BitPay:

Only available for US residents with a physical address, a P.O. box address will not suffice for this one. BitPay costs about $10 and can be used internationally with a 3% fee for currency conversions. BitPay does not give you the unverified option.

Shift Card:

Perhaps the easiest card to use in regards of loading it with your bitcoin. This card is a part of Coinbase and lets you withdraw from your account there instead of having to send your bitcoin to a different location in order to load onto your card like the other options. Shift card is available for those residing in a majority of the U.S. states. The Shift Card does not charge a maintenance fee.

As with pretty much anything in this world, there are a few bad apples. So if you’re looking into getting one of these cards, here are some indications that it might not be a good option for you.

If you want to know what a bitcoin debit card scam looks like check out ExKash

Legitimate bitcoin debit cards must play by the rules of the major financial institutions, this means you pretty much have to submit forms of identification to get unlimited usage of the card. If a card promises zero verification and also unlimited loading and withdrawals, they are highly unlikely to be associated with any kind of legitimate backing.
Not to mention the fact that the website is full of grammatical errors and the reviews seem to be fake as well.

This topic was suggested to me by the Steemit user: @prep4shtf.

Thank you for your suggestion and if any of you are curious about a topic that I haven’t yet covered feel free to post it in the comment section down below.

Additional Reading/Sources:

99 Bitcoins Review, Plus Easy Compare Graph
CoinTelegraph Article: Understanding Privacy with Crypto Debit Cards
Xapo Website
BitPay Website
Shift Card Website
ExKash Scam Article
ExKash Website: For Viewing Purposes ONLY

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Excellent guide @heidtravels, I have also gone thought many of these services to find the best choice for myself. However, 3% for spending internationally I think is just too much without taking into account other fees. There is got to be a better way. I think to cash them through localbitcoins is much cheaper. Oh VISA VISA VISA, such high commissions

Always good with more options for fiat... personally I try to keep it simple and just separate my fiat and crypto as much as possible...

You are beautiful! I love your vids! Keep up the good work!

Nice video... Your videos are the perfect length. Not so long that they become boring but long enough to provide some really good info.

Thanks for posting my suggested topic. I plan to use one of these options in the near future. The information you provided helps tremendously. You rock!

This is great! i was having trouble choosing a debit card. Anyone have any experience dealing with Coinsbank?

For how much I use Coinbase for some reason never heard of Shift card going to have to check that out. PS That place you are at looks beautiful!

This was filmed in Ubud Bali at the rice terraces. Really great place to visit to escape the craziness of traffic and noise pollution :)

I am so jealous that you are traveling the world on Steem :)

If you like Indian food, I recommend Little India just a few blocks over from that field.

Just wondering, how much is steem helping in subsiding your travels? ;)

100%
I couldn't afford this without it.

I also have an account at Coinbase and have never heard of this card. Certainly going to give it a spin, thanks for the heads up!

I think this is just the start, more and more debit cards like this will surface in the future with cryptocurrencies becoming mainstream some day. Great Post cheers.

you're right; someone is going to crack the code and allow us to use several altcoins on credit cards as well - the future is bright!

Great Video. I'd like to get the shift card but i'm wondering how taxes work when you use these debit cards.

Do any of these cards require an SSN number?

:)