Methodology
How we rank crypto cards.
Every card is scored against the same six criteria. No card can pay for a higher position.
Real FX cost, not advertised FX cost
We measure the spread you actually pay on a non-home-currency transaction, including weekend markups and the point at which a 'free' allowance runs out.
Fee transparency
Top-up fees, ATM fees, inactivity fees and lock-up requirements are weighted heavily. A hidden fee is treated as a deal breaker, not a footnote.
Custody and counterparty risk
Self-custodial settlement scores higher than pooled custody. Operating history, licensing and past incidents all factor in.
Perk durability
Cashback that depends on a volatile token lock-up is discounted against cashback paid in stablecoins or fiat.
Onboarding friction
How long from signup to first successful transaction, and how much identity data the card actually needs to function.
Day-to-day reliability
Decline rates, Apple Pay and Google Pay support, regional acceptance and how support responds when a payment fails.
Verification levels and "Last verified"
Every card carries a badge showing how its numbers were checked, plus the date of the last review pass. Cards are re-checked at least monthly, so a "Last verified" date is never older than one month.
- Independently verified
- We opened the account ourselves, added the card to a phone wallet and ran live transactions to check the charges, FX claims and cashback.
- Assisted verification
- The identical test was run and evidenced by a trusted third party, usually because the card is not available to us in our own region.
- Claimed by the company
- Figures are as published by the provider and cross-checked against public documentation. No live transaction test has been completed yet.
Where a card has no badge set, assisted verification is assumed.
On affiliate links
Some "Get Card" links are affiliate links, which is how this site is funded. Placement is decided before any commercial conversation, and a card that pays nothing can still rank first. Where a card has a serious flaw, we say so on its page regardless of the payout.