Head to head
EtherFi vs Ethena Pay
Both cards run on the same benchmark test, so this compares deducted cost rather than advertised rates.
| Metric | Et EtherFi | Et Ethena Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rank | #2 of 27 | #6 of 27 |
| FX spread | 1% | 1% |
| Base cashback | 3% instant | 4% |
| Custody | Non-Custodial | Non-Custodial (no option to see keys until deleting account |
| Virtual card | First free, $10 for additional | Yes, Free |
| Physical card | $50 (metal unlocked on higher VIP tiers) | No |
| Spend limit | Up to $30,000/day on the free Core tier | |
| ATM withdrawals | $250/day limit, 2% flat fee, no free tier | |
| Setup time | ~8 minutes | 10 minutes |
| KYC steps | 5 | 5 |
| Score | 9.2/10 | 7.5/10 |
EtherFi
EtherFi charges a 0.51% spread when you swipe in a foreign currency, but the instant 3% cashback more than neutralises it. Net cost on the benchmark purchase came to $1.45, below the mid-market value of the same basket. Stay under the $2,000 monthly cap and the card pays you to spend.
Ethena Pay
Crypto Card Review: Ethena Pay I've been testing Ethena Pay for the last couple of days, and it feels (almost) premium. It's in Beta and nearly ready for public launch; here are my first thoughts. Positives: - Non-USD FX Fee: 1% (cashback negates and beats this) - 4% Cashback on all purchases is sweet (up to 5% w/Pro) - UI is possibly the best among all cards I've tested - Personal US/EUR/GBP IBAN accounts - Insights page showing spending by categories and earning breakdowns - 5% APY - Instant deposits with limited Fees Negatives: - Apple Only (for now) - Multiple "Coming Soon" features - Non-custodial, but no way to see your keys without deleting your account. Rating: 7.5/10 As soon as it's on Android and includes a few of its promised upcoming features, this will be a 9/10.
Who ranks these cards
I'm Tristyn Pawson, founder of ConsistenC.xyz. Over the last five years I've worked on marketing, development and growth across five crypto cards and neobanks, building at least three of them from scratch.
Alongside that I've run in-depth research on 20+ crypto banks to understand what actually makes someone keep a card in their wallet. These rankings reflect that: which problems are tolerable, and which ones are genuine deal breakers.
- Years in market
- 5
- Cards built on
- 5
- Neobanks researched
- 20+