Hey hey, my fellow Canuck! It looks like you’re not as lucky as your European pals when it comes to crypto cards. EU Residents seem to have more choices than they know what to do with, while Canadians are feeling a bit left out in the cold.
But fear not, I’ve done some digging and found a few crypto cards that are actually available to you. Some of the others I came across were either discontinued or just not available up there in the Great White North.
Here are the cards I found. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can even hit the “Add to compare” button to see them side by side. Or if you just want the highlights, check out our Top Crypto Cards list below.
- Almost no fees for using the card
- Excellent Customer Service
- Large sell spread (1.70%) + trading fee (2%) makes it very expensive to trade crypto on their platform
Wealthsimple card offers 1% cashback on every purchase you make with the card.
Instead of traditional cash back, you can opt to earn in the form of stock or crypto, with the option to have your cashback rewards auto-invested in the cryptocurrency of your choice.
Reality CheckSome other crypto cards advertise higher cashback %, but you may end up earning less because their monthly cashback caps are much lower. When compared at the entry-level tier, Wealthsimple Card's 1% cashback offers more value:
| Wealthsimple Card | Industry Average1 | |
| Entry Level Cashback | 1% | 1% |
| Entry Level Cashback Monthly Cap | 1,500 CAD | 625 CAD |
![Kinesis Card [Canada]](https://cryptonoshi.com/wp-content/uploads/KinesisCard.png)
- Every customer gets a dedicated account manager
- Auto-converts crypto to fiat on every purchase
- Has a total card transaction fee of 1.95% (most other cards have 0% transaction fees)
- Virtual-only card, no physical version, which means no ATM withdrawals
If you choose to set up KAU (Kinesis Gold) and KAG (Kinesis Silver) as your preferred currencies to be spent when using the card, you will qualify for Velocity Yield rewards.
Velocity Yield is paid monthly into the user's Kinesis wallet and is calculated as a percentage of the transaction fees generated by the Kinesis Monetary System. Kinesis gives back a 57.5% share of all transaction fees to its users, proportionately distributed and paid monthly in KAG and KAU.
With Kinesis Card, you can set up up to 5 currencies (in the order of preference), to be spent when using the card. That is, you don’t need to top up your card, and funds will be directly converted from your chosen cryptocurrency in your Kinesis account to CAD at the moment of purchase. To qualify for rewards, you will need to set up KAG and KAU as your primary currencies for the card.
The more you use the Kinesis Card (while automatically converting your KAG and KAU to CAD), the more Velocity Yield you can earn.
If you choose to spend any other cryptocurrencies with Kinesis Card, you will not qualify for Velocity Yield.
p.s. Velocity Yield is the only reward that this card has. There is no traditional cashback program that Kinesis offers at the moment. Kinesis used to have a cashback voucher program, but they discontinued it on July 14, 2023.
- Cashback is in Bitcoin
- Apple Pay Enabled
- Only BTC and ETH supported
- High Foreign Exchange Fee
Shakepay card offers 1% cashback on all purchases you make with the card, plus an additional 1% for the first $5,000 CAD as a signup bonus.
Cashback rewards are paid in Bitcoin and deposited into your Shakepay account.
Reality CheckSome other crypto cards advertise higher cashback %, but you may end up earning less because their monthly cashback caps are much lower. When compared at the entry-level tier, Shakepay Card's 1% cashback offers similar value comparing to competitors:
| Shakepay Card | Industry Average1 | |
| Entry Level Cashback | 1% | 1% |
| Entry Level Cashback Monthly Cap | 500 CAD | 625 CAD |
![Crypto.com Card [Canada]](https://cryptonoshi.com/wp-content/uploads/CryptocomCard_MidnightBlue.png)
- Nice extras with higher Tier cards - Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more
- 250-1300 CAD free ATM withdrawal per month
- Higher Tier cards with higher rewards require CRO token staking
- Non-responsive customer service
Here are the benefits and rewards offered by Crypto.com for their Canada-based cardholders:
Obsidian |
Rose & White |
Jade & Indigo |
Ruby Steel |
Midnight |
|
| CAD Lockup Required | $500,000 | $50,000 | $5,000 | $500 | - |
| Cashback Rewards | 5% | 3% | 2% | 1% | - |
| Spotify | |||||
| Netflix | |||||
| Priority Pass™ Airport Lounge Access (see lounge list) | |||||
| Amazon Prime | |||||
| Crypto.com Private Membership | |||||
| 2% Extra Interest on Crypto Earn | |||||
| Airbnb | |||||
| Private Jet Service |
Priority Pass™ Airport Lounge Access offers access to a wide selection of airport lounges.
Not all cashback % is unlimited. The Royal Indigo & Jade Green cards offer 2% cashback reward with a cap of $65 CAD per month and the Ruby Steel card offers a 1% cashback reward capped at $30 CAD per month. The Obsidian and Frosted Rose Gold & Icy White cards don't have any limit on their 5% and 3% cashback rewards respectively.
The Airbnb reward that is offered to Obsidian card holders gives 10% back for each purchase on Airbnb with a monthly $130 CAD limit.
Cashback rewards are paid in CRO Token to your Crypto.com Wallet App.
What Does Crypto.com Private Membership (VIP) Offer?
- Access to Crypto.com’s self-published research reports, like these.
- Assistance with estate handling related to Crypto.com assets. Estate handling refers to the process of managing and distributing a deceased person's Crypto.com assets.
- Tickets to top crypto industry events.
- Extra 2% bonus interest on Crypto Earn.
- Preferential rates for trading large amounts of CRO.
- Priority customer support.
Reality Check While Crypto.com Card promotes up to 5% cashback, if you're an entry-level user, you'll qualify for 1% cashback, capped at 30 CAD per month.
Are other cards more generous at base tier? Yes.
| Crypto.com Card | Industry Average1 | |
| Entry Level Cashback | 1% | 1% |
| Entry Level Cashback Monthly Cap | 30 CAD | 625 CAD |
How do Canadian crypto cards work?
Every card is denominated in a single Fiat currency (CAD).
Before you can make a transaction on your card, the necessary amount of your crypto is converted into fiat currency (Canadian dollars). This most often happens at the time of preloading the card, but some providers convert your crypto only at the time of purchase.
This means that even if a merchant doesn’t accept crypto, you can still use your card to make a payment since it is actually denominated in CAD.
Are there any hidden fees?
Yes. One is a Foreign Transaction Fee, which applies when using your card for transactions in another currency (other than CAD).
Visa and Mastercard charge a 1% Foreign Exchange Fee, in addition to your card provider’s FX fee.
Some cards, like Wealthsimple Card, do not charge Foreign Exchange Fees. But Mastercard or Visa will still charge you 1% on every foreign transaction. Keep that in mind.
Why should I use a Crypto Debit Card versus a traditional Debit Card with my favorite bank?
Mostly, because you don’t have to pay for withdrawing from the exchange to your regular bank account. Your bank may also charge you an incoming wire transfer fee.
Instead, you can just convert crypto to Canadian dollars within the same platform and then spend it via the card. You save your dollars on money transfer costs.
My Recommendation
Since you will be converting your crypto to Fiat, then it will be very important to also check the trading fee % and sell spread % on each platform. Let’s say you chose Wealthsimple Card for having almost no card fees, but heeey wait a minute – the spread + trading fee is 3.20% (!).
Here are the trading fees and sell spread for each of the platforms, to make your choice easier:
| Trading Fee | Spread (Sell Cost) | Total Crypto to Fiat Conversion Fee | |
 Crypto.com Card | 0% | 1.41% | 1.41% |
 Kinesis Card | 0.22% | 0.17% | 0.39% |
 Netcoins Card | 0.50% | 0.92% | 1.42% |
 Shakepay Card | 0% | 1.21% | 1.21% |
 Wealthsimple Card | 1.50% | 1.70% | 3.20% |
Maybe Kinesis Card looks good in the table above, but in fact, they charge a large card transaction fee of 1.95%, so your money will chip away for every card payment you make.
In my opinion, Crypto.com Card is the best of what Canadians are able to choose from. They have the best rewards system, an option for upgrading to a better card tier, generous spending limits, a set amount of free ATM withdrawals and they have a nice mobile app that is easy to use.
