I got my Wirex VISA CRYPTO DEBIT CARD today!!
Look what I found in my mail upon returning from holiday in Montenegro yesterday:
I was too tired to open it right there and then, but I got to it this morning:
Wirex made unpacking this card a really cool and fun experience:
I started the Wirex app on my smartphone and activated the card in less than a minute. The procedure was very easy and straightforward. It looks as if Wirex has put a lot of thought and effort into making the user interface and the user experience as intuitive and simple as possible.
What cryptocurrencies does it support?
Currently you can put Bitcoin or Litecoin into your wallet in the app, but Wirex promises on adding more coins, including Ether and ERC-20 tokens in the near future. Personally, I am really looking forward to them adding Dash. I would really love to have an easy solution to spend my Dash anywhere where the VISA card is accepted. Of course, with solutions like ShapeShift and @blocktrades, you can send even more coins (including STEEM!) to your Wirex wallet with automatic conversion to Bitcoin or Litecoin.
How do I spend my crypto?
You can exchange the desired amount of crypto from your wallet for one of the fiat currencies that Wirex supports (currently EUR, USD and GBP). It’s really cool that I can decide whether I want to spend Euros or Dollars, for example, depending on the country where I find myself at the moment. And, of course, I don’t have to convert more crypto into fiat than I am planning to spend that day / week / month. This app and its linked VISA card make it easier for me to be in control of my money – both in crypto and in fiat – and of my spendings.
Source: Wirex
This morning I transferred about EUR €25 worth of Bitcoin to my Wirex wallet and it took about 15 minutes for the transaction to confirm. Not bad at all.
What kind of card is it?
It is a VISA debit card, meaning that you can use anywhere where VISA is accepted, both online and offline. What is ever cooler, whenever you use it to pay in offline stores, Wirex gives you 0.5% cashback – in Bitcoin! They call this bonus programme “Cryptoback”. This feature alone makes this card even more awesome.
I plan to use this card a lot, once I have moved to Portugal. I don’t want to pay with my Swedish debit card, losing on currency exchange fees and letting my bank know about my earnings and spendings abroad. I want my bank to know as little as possible about my income and expenses, so this card is a step in the right direction for me.
How much does it cost?
Opening an account is free and the card is free too! I haven’t paid a penny, when I ordered my card. There’s an account maintenance fee of EUR €1.20 / USD $1.50 a month, which is not too bad, compared to how much banks usually charge for their debit cards. You can read about other fees on Wirex’s own page here.
Is it available in the US / Australia / Japan / paste your country here?
Right now Wirex offers this card only in the UK and in the EEA (which is the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland). So if you are in one of these countries, you can go ahead and order your card today! I will really appreciate it if you use my referral link, when you do it, so that we both get a nice bonus from Wirex:
https://links.wirexapp.com/MpmB/4bTIQcutbK?action=affiliate-register&code=TzIXal27s0uVNpN5obRM1A
Hopefully Wirex will expand their product offer to the rest of the world in the future, so that people could spend their cryptocurrencies more easily in places where VISA terminals are an established payment solution. And, who knows, maybe we won’t even need VISA cards in three to five years from now, because we will be paying with our mobile phones or some other wearable tech then. Then we could pay with crypto directly, without relying on VISA infrastructure (which can sometimes fail too, as we recently learned) and paying fees.
Do you already have a card like this that makes spending crypto anywhere relatively straightforward and easy? Or do you have more questions about this particular card?
Do you feel the need for this solution in your daily life? Or do you want it, because it is a cool thing to flash in front of your friends and demonstrate how easy it is to spend crypto?
To order your card, sign up for a free Wirex account: https://links.wirexapp.com/MpmB/4bTIQcutbK?action=affiliate-register&code=TzIXal27s0uVNpN5obRM1A
There are a number of other alternatives in crypto payment cards. I wonder, what exactly made you to choose WIREX , instead of alternatives ?
I need such card, and after reading a bunch of review and comparisons, still have not made my pick. Hope your response can help.
Thank you for your question, sir. It was the only alternative available to me in Europe. Nothing else exists in my region at the moment that is actually working (TenX did for a short while last year and then their cards stopped working). Also, the fees were relatively low, compared to other similar products. To sum it up: I didn’t have many options to choose from, but I am happy with this one.
Thank you for taking time to read my post and leaving the comment. I hope that Wirex card will be a good solution for you.
I found your post through Qurator's Toss Up Thursday.
Sounds like a nice card!
Since last year when I began reading up on Bitcoin, I've been wondering how cool it must be to be able to pay for something at a local grocery store with cryptocurrency :D . Even though I haven't managed to buy any crypto yet, I've looked up a few cards. Wirex, from what you mentioned, isn't available here (Brazil). I've heard of Xapo's debit card, which used to be available here before but isn't anymore. And I'm not sure about AdvCash.
I hope more services for making crypto easier to use will become widely available in the future.
Thank you for your comment, @aiyumi! My friend had a Xapo card and he was quite happy with it. I’m sad to hear that it’s not available in Brazil anymore.
I think that once contactless payments with a smartphone are more widely accepted and available, then the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency payments will become even easier. If you don’t have to rely on having a piece of plastic approved by VISA or MasterCard, if you can simply convert some of your crypto into fiat and top up your Google Wallet / Apple Pay / Samsung Pay with it and then pay at a physical location, then the problem will be solved.
I would encourage you to buy some crypto now, because I think we won’t see prices to be as low as they are now ever again. It will only go up from now on! (not a professional financial advice, by the way ;))
I actually tried to buy a small fraction of Bitcoin the last time it crashed around two months ago, but by the time I managed to make a deposit in my country's currency to the local exchange, Bitcoin shot up and I lost that opportunity :P . I'm waiting either for it to momentarily crash again (who knows, sometimes it happens), or for the exchange to add altcoins like they have already announced they will, then I get the altcoins instead (I'm considering something like Litecoin or Dash, for faster confirmations and smaller fees).
That is very cool and exciting. Pity that there is no similar solution to us outside of Europe. The lack of traceability is such a win!
Hopefully TenX will re-launch their card soon and make it available in different parts of the world, including South Africa.
Yeah, I was very hopeful at 1 stage. Still have their app on my phone.
I was very enthusiastic too, when they just started, and even recommended their card to a bunch of friends and colleagues who all got their cards that are now not functional. Then slowly I lost my faith in them. Then last month I went ahead and ordered a card from Wirex, because my faith in TenX hit a rock-bottom. Certainly, they are not a scam, but on the other hand they don’t have capacity to deliver on time and fulfil their promises.
This is music to my ears, totally awesome and good to know that Crypto Currencies is moving to much greater heights in your place compared to ASIA. Hopefully, Wirex will expand thier wings to Asia soon, cant wait !!!
Congratulations on your new card Oleg! How exciting!
I don't have mine yet but I will get it as soon as I have some Steem available :)
Thank you, Martina! I am indeed excited – it is my first crypto card ever! So to be spending cryptocurrency at a local grocery store without them knowing that I’m paying with Bitcoin feels exhilarating. :D
And, of course, being able to turn my hard-earned STEEM into things and services that I need to support my living, makes this card an essential tool for a Steemian. It is one of my goals here on Steemit that I should be able to cover my daily food expenses from the earnings I make on this platform. I am not there yet, but I keep on working on reaching this goal one day.
I wish you to reach your goal very soon Oleg! I don't have a Steemit goal yet as I've just started but I guess I'll have some as soon as my work will start paying off :)
Until then I just enjoy writing and building some relationships here :)
That’s the spirit, Martina! Steem on and enjoy the journey! ;)
very interesting. Things are changing and fast..thnx..
I'm waiting for one of those cards to be available in Canada!
Let’s see who will be first to offer this product in Canada: Wirex, TenX or even Monaco.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
You mean like cryptocurrencies vs. physical cash?
Thank you for sharing all these information. But what a shame that it is not available in Australia (yet). Has it got something to do with Australia's current legislation or whatever on cryptocurrencies?
I think it has to do mostly with the fact the Wirex is based in the UK, so they’re mostly familiar with the market and the legislative environment in Europe. Expanding to other parts of the world will require some learning and forming new partnerships with financial partners (banks) in countries outside of Europe. That’s why it won’t happen overnight, but will require time.
Thank you for your explanation, @oleg326756. I wonder what's the equivalent of Wirex in Australia, or if there's such a thing like that here.
I wonder that too. Maybe asking some Steemians from Australia here would help discover the answer? #teamaustralia
Read my profile if want me to resteem your post to over 72,500 followers. @a-0-0