A crypto card is a normal payment card whose balance comes from crypto. Shops are still paid in regular currency, so your crypto is converted either when you top up the card or at the moment you pay.
What happens when you pay
Card networks such as Mastercard settle in regular currencies like euros or dollars. The shop's terminal does not know that crypto is involved. It asks for 20 euros and receives 20 euros. The crypto part happens before that, in one of two ways.
- Top-up model. You move crypto, often a stablecoin, to the card ahead of time. It is converted into a card balance, and purchases draw on that balance like a prepaid card.
- Convert-at-purchase model. You keep crypto in an account linked to the card. At each payment the provider sells just enough of it to cover the amount.
The top-up model gives you a known balance and a known rate at the moment you load. The convert-at-purchase model keeps you in crypto for longer, but every coffee becomes a small sale at whatever the price is at that second.
Custodial vs self-custody funding
The bigger difference is where your crypto sits before it reaches the card.
With a custodial card, your crypto is held by the exchange or company behind the card, and the card spends from that account. It is simple. But your whole balance depends on that company, as with any custodial account.
With a self-custody funded card, your crypto stays in a wallet whose keys you hold. Nothing moves until you decide to top up, and you choose how much. What is a self-custody wallet explains what holding your own keys means.
Be clear about one limit. Once a top-up is converted, the card balance is regular money held inside the card program. It is no longer coins in your wallet. Self-custody describes where the rest of your funds stay. A sensible habit is to load what you expect to spend and keep the remainder in the wallet.
Either way, cards connect to regulated payment networks. Expect an identity check (KYC) before a card is issued, and expect availability to differ by country.
Fees to watch
| Fee | When you pay it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Issuance | Once, when you order the card | Virtual and physical cards are often priced differently |
| Top-up | Each time you load the card | The percentage, and whether it differs by funding method |
| Conversion spread | When crypto is sold | The rate you get compared with the market rate |
| FX | When you pay in a currency other than the card's own | The percentage added to the exchange rate |
| ATM | Each cash withdrawal | The flat fee, whether it is higher abroad, and what the ATM operator adds |
| Monthly or inactivity | Depends on the provider | Whether you pay when you do not use the card |
No single fee tells you the cost. A card with free top-ups and a high FX fee is cheap at home and expensive on holiday. Add the fees up for the way you actually spend.
Two more points. Cashback returns part of your spending, so read its cap and its conditions. And in some countries, selling crypto to pay for something has tax consequences. This guide is not tax advice, so check the rules where you live.
What an IBAN account adds
A card covers spending. It does not cover receiving a salary, paying rent or sending money to another person's account. That is what an IBAN is for. It is an account number that the regular payment system understands, so you can send and receive transfers, for example through SEPA in Europe.
Next to a crypto wallet, an IBAN account connects the two worlds. Incoming transfers, a balance in everyday currencies and card spending sit beside your crypto in one place. Like a card, an IBAN account is a regulated product, so it comes with identity verification and is not offered in every country.
How the THORWallet Card works
The THORWallet Card is a Mastercard, usable in 175+ countries, and it is topped up from your own wallet. That makes it a top-up card with self-custody funding. Current details are on the cards page.
- Basic: a virtual card. Free with an invite code, otherwise $5 one-off.
- Premium: a physical and a virtual card. $124 one-off, or $99 with an invite code. It pays 0.5% USDC cashback on the first $5,000 of card spend per month.
- On Basic and Premium, a top-up with USDC has no top-up fee, card FX is 1.5%, and ATM withdrawals cost $1 domestic and $5 international. Other assets are converted to USDC first, and the app shows the cost before you confirm.
Card availability depends on your country and on verification (KYC).
The limit described above applies here as well. What you load onto the card is a card balance, not a wallet balance.
Questions to ask before you order any crypto card
- Who holds my crypto before I spend it?
- When is it converted, and at what rate?
- What do the top-up, FX and ATM fees add up to for my spending?
- Is the card available in my country, and what verification is required?
- Is there a fee if I stop using the card?
- How do I reach support when a payment is declined abroad?
A card balance is spending money, not savings. Load what you plan to use.
THORWallet is available on the download page, and support answers 24/7 through chat inside the app.
How to do it in THORWallet
Step-by-step articles from the help center, checked against the current app.
- THORWallet CardWhat the THORWallet Card is, who can get it, what the Basic and Premium plans include and what they cost.
- How to get the THORWallet CardStep by step from the Cards tab to a working card - plan choice, invite code, identity verification and the one-off payment.
- How to top up the THORWallet CardHow to load the THORWallet Card from your wallet, which assets and networks work, what it costs and how long a top-up takes.
- Card fees and limitsAll THORWallet Card prices, fees and limits for Basic and Premium in one place, plus cashback and how to set your own limits.
- Identity verification (KYC) for the cardWhich documents the THORWallet Card verification needs, which proof of address is accepted, what each step asks and how to raise your limits.
Sources
- Mastercard: what a crypto card is
- Mastercard: card offering for cryptocurrency companies, press release 2021
- FCA: e-money, prepaid cards and safeguarding
- European Commission: EU anti-money-laundering rules and customer due diligence
- European Central Bank: Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)
Reviewed on 12 Nov 2026. Statements about THORWallet were checked against the help center, and the sources above were opened on that day. This guide explains how things work. It is not financial advice.