Head to head
MiniPay vs EtherFi
Both cards run on the same benchmark test, so this compares deducted cost rather than advertised rates.
| Metric | Mi MiniPay | Et EtherFi |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rank | #14 of 27 | #2 of 27 |
| FX spread | 0% | 1% |
| Base cashback | 5% cashback | 3% instant |
| Custody | Non-Custodial | Non-Custodial |
| Virtual card | Free (Gated) | First free, $10 for additional |
| Physical card | No | $50 (metal unlocked on higher VIP tiers) |
| Spend limit | Region dependent | Up to $30,000/day on the free Core tier |
| ATM withdrawals | Unavailable | $250/day limit, 2% flat fee, no free tier |
| Setup time | ~8 minutes | ~8 minutes |
| KYC steps | 3 | 5 |
| Score | 7.8/10 | 9.2/10 |
MiniPay
Built by Opera and powered by Gnosis Pay on the Celo network, MiniPay is one of the most accessible self-custodial virtual Visa cards available. There are no monthly fees, cashback runs up to 5% paid in Tether Gold, and the FX fee is a true zero. The catch is the deposit fee, the lack of a physical card, and the invite gate on sign-up.
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.
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+