Head to head
Kast vs EtherFi
Both cards run on the same benchmark test, so this compares deducted cost rather than advertised rates.
| Metric | Ka Kast | Et EtherFi |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rank | #7 of 8 | #2 of 8 |
| Gross FX spread | 7.93% | 0.51% |
| Net cost on test | $1.60, expensive on small tickets | ~$1.45, beats market after cashback |
| Base cashback | 1.5%, locked for 14 days | 3% instant |
| Custody | Custodial | Non-Custodial |
| Virtual card | $2 | First free, $10 for additional |
| Physical card | ~$40 + delivery | $50 (metal unlocked on higher VIP tiers) |
| Spend limit | Unlimited daily purchases | Up to $30,000/day on the free Core tier |
| ATM withdrawals | $3 flat + 2% of the withdrawal | $250/day limit, 2% flat fee, no free tier |
| Setup time | ~10 minutes | ~8 minutes |
| KYC steps | 6 | 5 |
| Score | 6.3/10 | 9/10 |
Kast
Kast works if you spend heavily in USD or move large amounts on Solana. For daily small-ticket ZAR spending, coffee, groceries, the flat low-transaction fee makes it one of the most expensive cards you could use in South Africa.
EtherFi
EtherFi applies a 0.51% spread when you swipe in Rands, but the upfront cashback neutralises it entirely. Net cost was $1.45, mathematically less than global market value. Stay under the $2,000 monthly cap and you beat the system on every swipe.
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+