Head to head
Nexo Card vs Ethena Pay
Both cards run on the same benchmark test, so this compares deducted cost rather than advertised rates.
| Metric | Ne Nexo Card | Et Ethena Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rank | #19 of 35 | #1 of 35 |
| FX spread | 0.2% | 1% |
| Base cashback | 0.5% in NEXO or 0.1% in BTC (Base tier, Credit Mode, $5,000+ balance) | 4% |
| Custody | Custodial | Non-Custodial (no option to see keys until deleting account |
| Virtual card | Free, needs $50 balance | Yes, Free |
| Physical card | Free incl. shipping (Gold tier + $5,000 portfolio) | No |
| Spend limit | ||
| ATM withdrawals | Free €200/€400/€1,000/€2,000 per month by tier, then 2% (min €1.99) | |
| Setup time | Virtual card activates almost instantly | 10 minutes |
| KYC steps | 2 | 5 |
| Score | Not rated yet | 8.5/10 |
Nexo Card
Nexo is the credit or debit card. Flip a switch and you borrow against your crypto instead of selling it. That's the whole pitch, and it's a good one if you're holding long term. FX is 0.2% on weekdays in Europe. It jumps to 0.7% on weekends and 2% to 2.5% outside Europe. Cashback needs $5k on the platform, and the 2% top tier needs NEXO tokens. Do the math before you chase it.
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+