Issuance fee · also Card issuance fee, Activation fee
One-off fee charged by the issuer to mint and ship a physical or virtual card. Distinct from the recurring annual fee.
Weekly Crypto Card Intel — fee changes, new cards, cashback drops. Free.
29 terms you will meet when comparing crypto debit and credit cards — fees, custody models, reward tiers, regulation, payment networks, and account flow. Each entry links to the guide or category page that goes deeper.
One-off fee charged by the issuer to mint and ship a physical or virtual card. Distinct from the recurring annual fee.
Recurring yearly fee for keeping a card active. On crypto cards this is often waived in exchange for a minimum stake or spend tier.
Surcharge applied when a transaction is settled in a currency different from the card account currency. Typically 0–3%.
Example. €100 purchase on a USD-denominated card with a 1% FX fee settles as $108.80 (example rate).
Fee charged per purchase, separate from the FX fee. Sometimes advertised as "0% FX" while a 1–2% card-spend fee is applied at settlement.
Fee charged when withdrawing cash. Typically a fixed amount plus the network operator fee. Some crypto cards waive it up to a monthly ceiling.
Total cost per dollar spent after netting all stacked fees (issuance, annual, FX, spend, ATM). A better comparison metric than any single fee in isolation.
Card where the issuer holds the underlying crypto in a pooled wallet on behalf of the cardholder until the moment of spending.
Card where the cardholder retains control of the private keys and the issuer only drafts funds at the moment of purchase. The user bears key-management responsibility.
A custody model where some balances are held by the cardholder and others (such as fiat float) are held by the issuer.
Percentage of each purchase returned to the cardholder, often paid in the issuer’s native token. Tiers may depend on stake or spend volume.
Cashback level unlocked by locking a minimum amount of the issuer’s token. Higher tiers typically unlock higher cashback rates and perks.
One-off reward paid to new cardholders after meeting a qualifying condition — typically a first spend, first deposit, or KYC completion.
Annualised percentage yield paid on card or collateral balances. Typically funded by the issuer lending out or staking the deposited assets.
Regulatory process where the issuer verifies the cardholder’s identity — typically a government ID, selfie, and sometimes proof of address.
Regulatory framework that requires issuers to monitor, report, and in some cases block transactions associated with money laundering or terrorist financing.
Card that can be loaded and used up to a low balance ceiling without identity verification. Typically has tight regional and transaction-size limits imposed by regulators.
EU regulation (applicable from 2024) that governs crypto-asset issuers and service providers across the 27 member states. Sets licensing, disclosure, and custody standards.
US Treasury bureau that sets AML/KYC requirements and licenses money-services businesses — including most US-resident crypto card issuers.
UK financial regulator overseeing crypto-asset registration, financial promotions, and consumer protection. Required registration for UK-resident crypto card issuers.
Card issued on the Visa payment network, the largest global card scheme by acceptance. Crypto cards can be Visa Debit, Visa Credit, Platinum, Signature, or Infinite tiers.
Card issued on the Mastercard payment network. Broadly comparable acceptance to Visa. Tiers run Standard, World, World Elite, Black.
Non-physical card number issued instantly for online purchases. Often used alongside a physical card for e-commerce, subscriptions, or one-off payments.
Plastic or metal card shipped to the cardholder. Required for contactless payments, ATM withdrawals, and most in-person transactions.
The global payment infrastructure that routes authorisations, settlements, and disputes between merchants and issuers. Visa and Mastercard are the dominant networks for crypto cards.
Process of adding crypto or fiat to a card account. Supported top-up methods vary by issuer — wire, card deposit, crypto network transfer, or in-app swap.
Standardised identifier for a bank account in 80+ countries. Some crypto card issuers provide dedicated IBANs so cardholders can receive fiat transfers into their card account.
European low-cost euro transfer rail. Free or near-free for SEPA-area accounts. Widely supported by EU crypto card issuers.
Consumer-initiated dispute through the card network that reverses a transaction, typically for fraud, non-delivery, or merchant error. Time-limited (usually 120 days).
Per-day, per-week, or per-month ceiling on purchase volume. Often separate from the ATM withdrawal limit and raised after additional KYC.
Something missing or out of date? Email contact@sweepbase.net — we add new terms as they become relevant to cardholders. For the full scoring formula that turns these terms into card ratings, see our Rating Methodology.