Wealthsimple Card
- 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
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Key Features
Visa or MC | |
---|---|
Debit or Credit | Prepaid Card |
Denominated In | $ CAD |
Apple Pay | Enabled |
Monthly Fee | 0.00 CAD |
Monthly Inactivity Fee | 0.00 CAD |
Crypto to CAD Crypto->CAD Conversion Cost | ~3% |
Highest Cashback | 1% |
Entry-Level Cashback | 1% |
Entry-Level Cashback Monthly Cap | 1,500 CAD |
Daily Spending Limit | 5,000 CAD |
Daily ATM Withdrawal Limit | 1,000 CAD |
Foreign Exchange Fee | 0% |
Crypto to Fiat Conversion | Manual when Preloading |
Crypto Asset Management | Custodial (stores crypto keys on your behalf) |
Supported Countries | Canada |
Supported Cryptocurrencies | 1INCHAAVEADAANKRAPEATOMAVAXAXSBALBANDBATBCHBNTBTCCELO |
Wealthsimple Card Benefits and Rewards
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 CheckAlthough other cards may advertise higher cashback rates, entry-level users with 1,000 CAD in assets typically receive much lower cashback rates from those cards. 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 | 400 CAD |
Wealthsimple Card is a Prepaid Card
Wealthsimple Card is a prepaid card carrying its own balance, and you'll need to top it up before use. Alongside, Wealthsimple offers you a personal bank account. You'll receive a Canada-based bank account number, issued in your name, which is a nice additional option to have.
Useful:Some crypto card companies only allow fiat deposits from accounts that are directly in your name. With Wealthsimple, third party senders are able to deposit funds into your bank account, which means you can receive fiat withdrawals from exchanges or receive salary payments.
It Comes in Both Physical and Virtual Forms
You can get Wealthsimple Card in both physical and virtual versions, a feature only available with 30% of crypto cards. They'll mail you the physical card, and you can instantly get the virtual card online after completing KYC Identity Verification.
Wondering about the perks of each card type? Here are some highlights:
Physical Card | Virtual Card |
---|---|
ATM Withdrawals | Second Card Number |
Required for Car Rentals, Hotels | Instant Availability |
Useful When Phone Dies, or no Wifi | Freeze for Safety |
Backup Payment Method | Set Lower Spend Limits |
You will find the physical Wealthsimple Card useful for in-person purchases, while the virtual card will be perfect for online transactions like subscriptions.
Card Issuer | KOHO Financial |
BIN Number ⓘ
BIN number is the first 8 digits of the card and identifies the card issuer.
| 55999443 |
Validity Period | 5 years |
Issuing Country | Canada |
Crypto-to-CAD Conversion Cost with Wealthsimple Card
Wealthsimple Card Requires Pre-Load
Before you can use your Wealthsimple Card, you will need to top-up your account. This means you will have to convert your crypto in advance, exchanging it to CAD and moving it to the card account, to make it available for spending.
High Cost:Compared to the average ~1.8% crypto-to-fiat cost of other cards, converting crypto with Wealthsimple Card will cost you more (~3%). This means that you will get less CAD for your crypto when using this card.
From all crypto cards we reviewed for North America, Crypto.com Card, Shakepay Card and Netcoins Card offer the cheapest crypto-to-fiat conversions (~0.75%, ~0.75% and ~1.1% respectively), while converting crypto with Coinbase Card will cost you the most, ~4%.
How Does Wealthsimple Card Compare to Other Crypto Cards?
Wealthsimple Card ranks #13 out of 61 amongst all the crypto cards we have reviewed so far. This means it's in the Top 30%.
We compared Wealthsimple Card with 10 similar crypto cards, available for the same geographical region. See the resulting pros and cons below.
Strongest Features Against Competitors
Here are the strongest features of Wealthsimple Card against its 10 competitors:
- Offers up to 1,500 CAD per month in cashback for entry-level users (exceeding the competitors' 400 CAD average).
- Has a Foreign Exchange Fee of 0% (other cards have 1.5% average).
- Supports 57 cryptocurrencies (while other cards support an average of 30).
- Their customer service is very good with a 9.6/10 score (others score only 5.8/10 on average).
- You can get both a physical card and a second virtual card (while 70% of competing crypto cards offer only one type - either physical or just virtual).
- Offers all ATM withdrawals fee-free (which is generous compared to the average monthly 200 CAD free withdrawal limit of other cards).
Weakest Features Against Competitors
Compared to its 10 competitors, here are the shortcomings of Wealthsimple Card:
- Offers 1% cashback (while other cards give an average of 3%).
- Daily spend is capped at 5,000 CAD (while other cards offer 11,500 CAD daily spend limit on average).
- Requires preconversion of crypto to load the card (while 30% of competitors auto-convert on every purchase).
- Their crypto-to-fiat conversion cost, including all related fees and spread, is quite high at ~3% (versus an average of ~1.8% with other cards.)
Wealthsimple Card vs. Gemini Card vs. Coinbase Card
Wealthsimple Card
|
Gemini Card
|
Coinbase Card
|
|
---|---|---|---|
Monthly Fee | 0.00 CAD | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD |
Crypto to Fiat Cost | ~3% | ~1.74% | ~4% |
Highest Cashback | 1% | up to 3% | 1% |
Entry-Level Cashback | 1% | 3% | 1% |
Daily Spending Limit | 5,000 CAD | 25,000 USD | 2,500 USD |
Daily ATM Limit | 1,000 CAD | 1,000 USD | 1,000 USD |
Foreign Exchange Fee | 0% | 0% | 2.49% |
Asset Management | Custodial | Custodial | Custodial |
Availability for United States | |||
Supported Cryptocurrencies | 57 | 53 | 235 |
Apple Pay | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled |
Customer Service | Great | Great | Great |
Brand Authority | Growing | Growing | Well-Known |
If you plan to use your card for daily purchases, then daily spending limit is an important consideration for you. Gemini Card offers the highest daily spending limit of 25,000 USD. You will get lower daily limits with Wealthsimple Card and Coinbase Card.
Cashback rewards are a great way to earn back some of the money you spend on your card and is an important consideration as well. Out of the three, Gemini Card offers the best cashback rewards of up to 3%. The cashback rewards for Wealthsimple Card and Coinbase Card are not as high.
To make a good choice, look through all features, as it is an individual choice. If you will mostly do online transactions with this card, then Apple Pay availability may not be a very important feature for you. If you travel a lot, foreign exchange rate will matter. And so on.
Wealthsimple Card ATM Fees: The Real Cost of Cashing Out
Local ATM Withdrawals in CAD
Here's a breakdown of the fees you'll face when making local ATM withdrawals with your Wealthsimple Card:
Starting with an initial amount of 200 CAD in ETH, the ATM withdrawal with Wealthsimple Card will cost you a total of ~9 CAD (4.5% of 200 CAD), resulting in a final cash withdrawal of 191 CAD in hand.
Doesn't Wealthsimple Card Offer Free ATM Withdrawals?
Yes, with Wealthsimple, all ATM withdrawals are free withdrawals. But this only refers to their ATM withdrawal fee.
International non-CAD ATM Withdrawals
Things will get significantly worse for International ATM Withdrawals. If you're out of country and cashing out with your Wealthsimple Card, here's what it will look like:
For an international withdrawal using your Wealthsimple Card with an initial 200 CAD in ETH, you'll incur fees totaling ~14.82 CAD (7.4% of 200 CAD), leaving you with 185.18 CAD in the equivalent foreign currency.
Reality CheckOverall, Wealthsimple Card is equivalent to the average than other cards for local ATM withdrawals and slightly cheaper for international ATM withdrawals:
Cost with Wealthsimple Card | Cost with Other Cards | |
Local ATM Withdrawals | ~9 CAD (4.5% of 200 CAD) | ~9 CAD (4.5% of 200 CAD) |
International ATM Withdrawals | ~14.8 CAD (7.4% of 200 CAD) | ~18.4 CAD (9.2% of 200 CAD) |
From all crypto cards that we reviewed, Netcoins Card, Crypto.com Card and Wealthsimple Card offer the cheapest local ATM withdrawals (2.6%, 4.2% and 4.5% of 200 CAD respectively), while Gemini Card scores the worst, landing last on the list with a total local ATM withdrawal cost of 8.2% of 200 CAD.
We Tested Wealthsimple's Customer Support
We asked Wealthsimple's customer support different questions, and then rated their responses to evaluate how good their support is.
Why should you Care:When you'll have a money-related question, like a missing deposit or being overcharged - having good support at that moment will be crucial for you.
Wealthsimple offers support via the following channels:
Chat | https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/contact |
Phone | +1 (855) 255-9038 |
Web Form | https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/requests/new |
Location: Wealthsimple customer service reps are located in Canada.¹
Support Channel | Our Interaction | Score |
Web Form (replied in 2 d 6 h ) | Knowledgeable response outlining the transaction dispute process. Friendly, welcoming tone. | High Competence Highly Personalized Flawless English, Professional Tone 10/10 |
Web Form (replied in 6 d 7 h ) | Knowledgeable and reassuring response to a question about 3DS security. | Late Reply High Competence Highly Personalized Flawless English, Professional Tone 8/10 |
Chat (replied in 11 h 30 min) | Chat Agent wasn't live, left a message to the bot. Responded by email, with good and detailed response. | High Competence Highly Personalized Flawless English, Professional Tone 10/10 |
Web Form (replied in 16 h 7 min) | An excellent detailed response providing step by step process of topping up the card with crypto. | High Competence Highly Personalized Flawless English, Professional Tone 10/10 |
Web Form (replied in 2 d 11 h ) | Very clear, knowledgeable reply to a question about fees. Provided a relevant link. | High Competence Highly Personalized Flawless English, Professional Tone 10/10 |
To summarize,
Competence and Problem-Solving: Wealthsimple's customer service agents are highly competent, so you can expect every issue to be resolved with professional expertise and a thorough understanding.
Customer Love: Wealthsimple's support responses are highly personalized, which makes interactions with them very pleasant. They will address you by name, and carefully consider your unique situation to provide tailored answers that meet your specific needs.
Reply Speed: Response times are inconsistent, ranging from as quick as 12 hours to as slow as 6 days.
Overall Customer Service Rating: 9.6/10
This excellent score places Wealthsimple's Customer Service well above the crypto card industry average of 7.6/10.
Wealthsimple Referral Code - to Get 25 CAD Bonus
You can use referral code KLMIVW to get 25 CAD bonus when you create an account on Wealthsimple platform.
Your bonus will be paid out to you right after you fund your account with at least $1 CAD.
p.s. Are we getting paid for referring you? Yes, and it helps us continue our mission. It's like you are buying us lunch 🍱 for all the hard work we've put into building this site. We really appreciate it. Thank you. 🙏🤗
Is Wealthsimple Card Available for Residents of United States?
No, Wealthsimple Card is not available for residents of United States.
Wealthsimple Card supports: Canada.
To see our list of available crypto cards for 🇺🇸 United States, see this list. There are currently 12 cards listed there.
You may also be interested in this article: Crypto Cards for USA: The Best Options for Americans.