🇪🇬 Egypt
What Egyptian residents need to know before using a crypto card, including the banking law ban.
Egypt has one of the clearest prohibitions in this list. Compliance is the greatest constraint and it is not a grey area.
Using a crypto card as an Egyptian resident can breach banking law. Comply with local law first.
This page is information, not legal or tax advice. Always comply with the laws that apply where you live.
Issuing, trading, promoting or operating platforms for cryptocurrencies without a licence from the Central Bank of Egypt is prohibited, with criminal penalties attached.
Egypt's Dar al-Ifta issued a fatwa declaring cryptocurrency trading impermissible, which reinforces the banking position in practice.
Egypt operates tight FX controls and periodic limits on foreign currency card spending. Card usage abroad has been restricted at multiple points.
The charcoal cards below skip full identity checks, so they are usable from Egypt regardless of local issuer support. That convenience shifts the compliance and account freeze risk onto you, and it does not make prohibited activity lawful.
#1
Everyday spending while your collateral keeps earning
The instant 3% cashback card. EtherFi does everything you need for a crypto card.
#2
Higher-volume Bybit users
A double-charge structure: 2% FX plus a 0.9% crypto conversion fee on top.
#3
A dependable secondary card
A decade-old operator with competitive FX, held back by token-denominated rewards.
#4
Everyday user, Corporate boss
A neat, high reward, low fee, neobank. This card targets your average user, and your corporate boss. Plus, you get $25 for signing up (after 3 purchases within 30 days)
#5
High spenders for luxury shopping, luxury travel bookings, dining & entertainment/events, software subscriptions (AI tools, cloud services, streaming services etc.) Freelancers, Digital Nomads, Influencers, anyone requiring regular cross-border payments, Luxury service providers.
Seamless payment infrastructure enabling digital assets to be used in the real world. Multi-currency accounts, virtual and physical cards accepted at Visa merchants worldwide, c...
#6
Stablecoin holders who want to spend without giving up custody
Self-custodial stablecoin spending with vault yield built in. Best card for premium perks like lounge access, or AI cashback.
#7
Holders who want to spend against BTC, ETH or SOL rather than sell it
A crypto-backed credit line that lets you spend without selling your holdings.
#8
South African users and businesses that need a regulated on and off-ramp (ZAR, USD, EURO)
Licensed South African treasury infrastructure for moving between fiat and stablecoins.
#9
Frequent travellers who can lock collateral
A $30 self-custodial secured Visa crypto card. My best usage comes from USD to USDC onramping. The card is aimed at frequent travellers: lounges, hotels and flight perks.
#10
Larger one-off transactions
The best true Web3 architecture in the test, undermined by a $0.25 minimum fee per spend.
#11
Privacy-focused users
A privacy-first aggregator offering eight card options, including no-KYC issuance.
#12
A decent crypto card for unique QR focused regions. If you're Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mangolia, Philippines, Vietnam, or Thailand. This is for you.
#13
A high-limit backup card
The most widely used card in South Africa: very high limits, no consumer rewards.
#14
Large USD and Solana-denominated spending
Solana-native and well built, but a flat micro-transaction fee punishes small purchases.
#15
Telegram users who want lounge access at a low entry cost
Telegram-native card management with cheap access to airport lounges.
#16
A great UI, a MiCa Compliant Card, and an incomplete system. Send almost gets it right.
#17
US residents, Chinese applicants.
A US Ready crypto card. A standard, no bull, just use case.
#18
No KYC Fnatics
No KYC comes with a cost.
| # | Card | FX spread | Card cost | Base cashback | Custody | Setup time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EtherFi | 0.51% | Free | 3% instant | Non-Custodial | ~8 minutes | 9.2/10 |
| 2 | Bybit Card | 2.9% | Free | 2% paid in points | Custodial | Fast to apply, but heavily gated for South African applicants | 7.4/10 |
| 3 | Wirex One | 1.18% | Free | 0.5% paid in stables | Self-Custodial | ~12 minutes | 8.1/10 |
| 4 | Solid | 1% | Free | 3 | Custodial | 8 minutes | 7/10 |
| 5 | PayitFast | 1% | Virtual Visa Platinum $5; Physical PVC Visa Signature $50 | 3% in USDC | Non-Custodial | About 3 min (ID + face scan KYC) | 7/10 |
| 6 | Plasma One | 1% | Free, 30EUR for Physical | 2 | Non-custodial | 10 minutes | 7.4/10 |
| 7 | XPlace | 1% | Free | 1% + 1% | Non-Custodial | ~10 minutes | 8.5/10 |
| 8 | EasyOnRamp | 1.3% | Free for Physical and Virtual | No cashback | Custodial | Multi-hour approval process | 7/10 |
| 9 | Avici | 1.15% | Virtual Platinum is $15; Virtual Signature is $30/year; | No cashback | Non-Custodial | ~10 minutes | 6.8/10 |
| 10 | Oobit | 1% | Free | 1% (up to 10% on tiers) | Non-Custodial | ~7 minutes | 8.2/10 |
| 11 | KazePay | 2.17% | $25 | No cashback | Non-Custodial | ~15 minutes | 5.8/10 |
| 12 | Jupiter Card | 1.8% | 0 | 2% | Self-Custodial | 10 minutes | 7.7/10 |
| 13 | RedotPay | 2.53% | $10 | No cashback | Custodial | ~12 minutes | 7.2/10 |
| 14 | Kast | 2% | $2 | 1.5%, locked for 14 days | Custodial | ~10 minutes | 6.3/10 |
| 15 | Karta | 2.5% | $5 | No cashback | Non-Custodial | 6 minutes | 6.4/10 |
| 16 | Send | 0% | Free | No cashback | Self-Custodial | 5 minutes | 7.2/10 |
| 17 | Stella Pay | 0% | Free | No cashback | Custodial | 1 Day | 5/10 |
| 18 | Offgrid | 0% | $49/yr - $197/yr | No cashback | Self-custody | Once you have a code, 5 minutes | 5/10 |
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.