Interest in Bitcoin (BTC) is continuing to grow, but only a tiny percentage of merchants accept it (or any other cryptocurrency). Fortunately, there are more and more bitcoin debit cards (e.g. Wirex).

Bitcoin debit cards allow you to instantly convert and spend your cryptocurrency online and in-store. There are some minor exceptions, but they’re usually accepted anywhere that a standard Visa debit card is.

But what’s the best bitcoin debit card in the UK?



In this post, I’ll go through the best bitcoin debit card options available to you in the UK.

Best Bitcoin Debit Cards

A Little History

Back in January 2018, Visa terminated WaveCrest’s Visa membership. This impacted lots of popular bitcoin debit cards who issued their cards via WaveCrest. This meant that most bitcoin debit card providers had to (temporarily) cease offering their products.

Unfortunately, it’s happened again. Wirecard has filed for insolvency and been ordered by the FCA to freeze all activities. This may impact the availability of some cards, such as the MCO Visa Card, CryptoPay, and TenX if you’re in the UK or Europe.

Anyhow, here are the best bitcoin debit cards available.

#1: Wirex Bitcoin Debit Card

Supported Countries Full support in 32 countries, incl. UK, EU, and Singapore. Supported Fiat Currencies GBP, EUR, SGD, & More Supported Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Waves (WAVES), Wollo (WLO), Dai (DAI), Nano (NANO), & Stellar (XLM) Card Issuance Free Account Management Fee £1.00 / €1.20 / $1.50 per month Contactless Yes Card Type Visa Debit (GBP) & Visa Prepaid (EUR & USD)

Wirex’s crypto debit card is currently available in the UK and Europe. It’ll soon be available in the US.

It’s free to setup GBP, EUR, or USD virtual and physical cards. However, you’ll need to pay a £1.00 / €1.20 / $1.50 account management fee (per month). If you use it enough in-store, you should cover the costs of that with the 0.5% cashback you earn (in satoshis) when you use your card in-store.

And the cherry on top?

It’s one of the easiest and cheapest places to buy bitcoin in the UK with a debit card. While alternatives are charging fees of more than 4% to buy bitcoin with a debit card, Wirex provides market-rate exchange rates and charges just a 1% fee. That’s absolutely insane.

I’m a big fan of what Wirex are doing. It’s now my preferred way to buy bitcoin in the UK.

For more details, check out my full Wirex review or check out their official website.

#2: Coinbase Bitcoin Debit Card

Supported Countries UK & EU Supported Fiat Currencies GBP, EUR, & USD Supported Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), & Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ripple (XRP), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Augur (REP), 0x (ZRX), & Stellar (XLM) Card Issuance £4.95 Account Management Fee Free Contactless Yes Card Type Visa Debit (GBP)

Coinbase announced their cryptocurrency debit card, dubbed ‘Coinbase Card’, on 11 April 2019. It’s only available to residents in the United Kingdom but will be rolled out elsewhere in the future.

The Coinbase card seamlessly connects with your Coinbase cryptocurrency wallets. It automatically converts your preferred cryptocurrency on-demand to cover whatever purchases you make with it.

Here’s the summary from my full Coinbase Card Review:

While the Coinbase Card makes spending your cryptocurrency quick and easy, it isn’t the cheapest way of spending your cryptocurrency with a debit card in the UK. You’ll be charged an issuance fee of £4.95, a cryptocurrency exchange fee of 2.49%, and additional transaction fees outside the UK.

I liked the Coinbase card, but it’s no competition for what’s being offered by Wirex. The transaction costs are so high that it’s not a valid alternative. I wouldn’t recommend it.

#3: MCO Visa Card

Supported Countries Singapore, UK, US, & EU Supported Fiat Currencies GBP, EUR, AUD, HKD, JPY, & SGD Supported Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Monaco (MCO), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Binance Coin (BNB), TrueUSD (TUSD), Enjin Coin (ENJ), & MORE Card Issuance Free Account Management Fee None Contactless Yes Card Type Visa

Previously known as the ‘Monaco Card’, the rebranded MCO Visa card (by Crypto.com) is interesting.

They’ve now started shipping the MCO Visa Card to US, UK, and EU residents. Like other crypto cards, it will work anywhere that Visa is normally accepted (which is pretty much everywhere).

You’ll get better card benefits depending on how much you CRO token you’re willing to stake. If you stake 5,000,000 CRO, then you get:

5% cashback on all your spending.

100% rebate on Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime subscriptions.

10% cashback on Expedia and Airbnb purchases.

Free ATM withdrawals for the first $1000 every month.

Unlimited access to interbank exchange rates for all your currency exchanges.

A few more things, like bonus interest and access to ‘Crypto.com Private’.

Sound good. What’s the catch?

At the current exchange rate, you’d have to stake approximately $820,000. I wish I was joking.

A free card is available, though. This provides 1% cashback, $200 of free ATM withdrawals, and the interbank exchange rate for the first $2000 of currency exchanges every month.

When I get my hands on this, I look forward to checking it out and seeing how it compares to the market leader (Wirex).

For more details, check out my Crypto.com review or head over to their website.

#4: Cryptopay Bitcoin Debit Card

Supported Countries UK Supported Fiat Currencies GBP, EUR, & USD Supported Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), & Ripple (XRP). Card Issuance £15.00 / €15.00 / $15.00 Account Management Fee £1.00 / €1.00 / $1.00 Contactless Yes Card Type Visa Prepaid (GBP, EUR, & USD)

The CryptoPay Card (dubbed the ‘C.Pay Card’) is a bitcoin debit card that’s now available in the UK. It’s not currently available anywhere else, but it’ll gradually be rolled out to EU countries.

Unlike Wirex, you’ll need to pay a card issuance fee when you order a physical card. You’ll also need to pay an account management fee to keep your account open. And to make matters even worse? You’ll be charged 1% to top-up (i.e. load) money onto your CryptoPay Card so that you can actually use it.

I’m not impressed with what it. Check out my full Cryptopay Card review to learn more.

If you want to find out more, check out their official website.

#5: Monolith Card

Supported Countries UK & EU Supported Fiat Currencies GBP & EUR Supported Cryptocurrencies Ethereum (ETH), Monolith (TKN), Dai (DAI), DigixDAO (DGD), Digix Gold Token(DGX), Maker (MKR) Card Issuance Free Account Management Fee Free Contactless Yes Card Type Visa (GBP & EUR)

Previously known as TokenCard, the rebranded Monolith Card is now available in the UK and EU.

But it’s not a bitcoin debit card and doesn’t work like any of the alternatives on this list. It’s a Visa debit card that’s connected to a non-custodial ethereum (ETH) wallet (Monolith Wallet). In short, this means that you’ll be the only one with the private key tied to your Monolith Wallet. It’s pretty cool.

You can exchange your ethereum and ERC-20 tokens at the real exchange rate, with no fees whatsoever. However, you’ll pay fees to top-up your Monolith Card. Depending on the currency you’re using, it can be either 1% or 2%. You’ll also have to pay blockchain transactions fees whenever you swap tokens or top-up your card.

Check out my Monolith Card review for more details. Alternatively, head over to Monolith’s website.

#6: Tenx Bitcoin Debit Card

Supported Countries Asia Pacific Region Supported Fiat Currencies USD Supported Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH) Card Issuance $15 (Physical) & $1.50 (Virtual) Account Management Fee $10 Annual Fee (waived if you spend >$1000 per year) Contactless Yes Card Type Visa

The TenX bitcoin debit card is currently only available to residents in the Asia Pacific region. However, those cards can be used around the world anywhere that Visa is usually accepted.

Even when it is available, I’m not sure it’ll be worth checking out.

You have to pay a physical card issuance fee of $15.

There’s an annual account fee ($10) unless you spend more than $1000 with the card in a year (source).

ATM withdrawal fees are $3.25.

It also looks like there are hidden fees inside the exchange rate provided in their apps (which you’d use to change between BTC and GBP).

Find out more on their official website.

#7: BitPay Bitcoin Debit Card

Supported Countries US Supported Fiat Currencies USD Supported Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) Card Issuance $9.95 Account Management Fee $5 per month (if you don't use the card once every 90 days) Contactless No Card Type Visa Prepaid (USD)

The BitPay bitcoin debit card is currently only available to US residents, across all 50 states.

Although you’ll need to pay a card issuance fee of $9.95, you won’t be charged an account management fee as long as you use the card at least once every 90 days. If you load dollars onto your BitPay debit card using your BitPay bitcoin wallet, then you won’t pay any additional fees.

When you’re in the United States, it’ll be accepted anywhere that a Prepaid Visa is usually accepted. You won’t pay anything to use your BitPay debit card while in the United States, but you’ll pay a 3% foreign transaction fee when using it abroad.

If you’re a United States resident, this seems like a great option from a reputable and established company.

You can find out more about this on their official website.

Unavailable Bitcoin Debit Cards

The following bitcoin debit cards are not currently available:

Summary: Best Bitcoin Debit Card?

Right now, there isn’t much choice.

If you’re from the UK or Europe, then the best bitcoin debit card is Wirex.

With Wirex, you can easily convert and spend your cryptocurrency balance anywhere that Visa is accepted (which is pretty much everywhere). You’ll also get 0.5% cashback (in satoshis) when you use your Wirex card in-store.

Wirex is also my preferred place to buy bitcoin (and other supported cryptocurrencies) in the UK.

You can find out everything about the Wirex card in my full Wirex review.

What Do You Think?

What’s your favourite bitcoin debit card?

Let us know in the comment section below!