If you have Bitcoins you cannot do without the Wirex Card.
Until a few months ago, at the time of the BTC boom, there was a good supply of cards to use to spend Bitcoins.
Then the Visa and Mastercard circuits made issuance much more difficult and broke off relations with Wavecrest, the Gibraltar-based company that issued the cards.
Today there are new entities issuing cards linked to cryptocurrency accounts.
Among them, at least for the moment, the best and most reliable is Wirex.
Let’s see how this new provider works and why it has quickly established itself as the only one capable of turning your Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple into cash.
In this article
- What is Wirex?
- The Wirex Team
- How does Wirex work?
- How much does Wirex cost?
- What are the limits for using the Wirex card?
- What are the risks?
- Affiliation – Bring a friend
- Conclusions
What is Wirex?
Wirex is a financial institution authorized to issue electronic cards.
It is supervised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and has been active since 2014.
It is based in London and relies on Contis Financial Services Ltd. for the issuance of cards.
It is operational throughout Europe and beyond.
It has a very fast growth rate and an intense and constant development rate.
It has around 1,800,000 users who use its card to spend cryptocurrencies.
Wirex is essentially a debit card linked to an account in which the user can deposit Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, or Ripple and then spend them.
The Wirex Team
Wirex Founders are Pavel Mateev and Dmitry Lazarichev.
They are both of Russian descent but have been based in London for years.
Pavel has worked in all major world banks from Morgan Stanley to Credit Suisse and developed good technical experience in developing technology solutions for traditional banks.
The Wirex team is made up of 150 people and is located in different offices around the world.
There is not yet an Italian office, but Wirex is focusing decisively on Europe and also on our country.
It is therefore not certain that an office in Italy will not be opened in the future to assist Italian customers.
How does Wirex work?
Wirex is a contactless debit card to which an online account is connected that you can also manage from mobile via the app.
In this account you can transfer:
- your Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP ;
- via a linked credit card add funds in your currency (Euro) or buy cryptocurrencies;
- Euros by bank transfer.
At any time, you can convert your cryptocurrencies into Euros, Pounds, or US Dollars at rates updated in real-time.
Once you have converted your cryptocurrencies into fiat currency or transferred Euros from a linked card, you can send via the Wirex card by paying in stores or withdrawing at the ATM.
You will have a card denominated in Euros, Dollars, or Pounds.
A maximum of 3 cards can be obtained for each user, each one denominated in a different currency.
The card works on the VISA circuit.
The Wirex Card is shipped in about a week.
To obtain it, no particular formalities are required but there is a simple process of verifying your identity that you can complete:
- by downloading the app on your mobile phone and taking a photo of you and your ID;
- by emailing a document and proof of residence.
Among the functions of the card, there is also a CASHBACK function, called Crypto back.
Every time you use the card and spend you will get 0.5% in Bitcoin on your account.
How much does Wirex cost?
The opening of an account and the initial shipment of the card are free.
There is instead a cost of 1.20 euros for the monthly management of the account.
This cost is scaled monthly on the 20th of each month.
There are not many also because thanks to the Cashback function you will only need to spend 240 Euros per month to cancel the account management costs.
Also, you pay to withdraw at the ATM.
In Europe, there is a FEE of Euro 2.25 and outside Europe of Euro 2.75.
On the other hand, there are no charges for all other operations including money transfers, conversion from cryptocurrency to legal currency, and vice versa.
However, I specify that the conversion rates between Euro and Bitcoin are not very convenient and therefore include an exchange fee.
There is also no charge when using the card in stores to pay.
What are the limits for using the Wirex card?
The Wirex card can deposit and trade without limits BTC or Euro.
However, at the most, you can have a credit balance of Euro 8,000 on the card and you can transfer a maximum of 10 BTC per day.
You can deposit a maximum of $ 1,000 per day via the linked credit card.
A maximum withdrawal of 250 euros is also possible from the ATM.
What are the risks?
Wirex is not a bank, but a card.
It is always subject to the risk of cloning and computer fraud.
The site itself adopts the best security standards.
There is an FPA system of double authentication that I recommend you activate and good attention to the security protocols in line with the banking ones.
However, paying or withdrawing at the ATM there is always a risk.
In addition, although client funds are segregated from those of Wirex there is always the risk of bankruptcy of the intermediary.
There are no deposit protection funds that can intervene since it is not a bank.
So I advise you to take into account as much as you need for your expenses.
Finally, there is a regulatory risk that is the possibility that the legislator intervenes at any time to limit or block the use of this payment system.
Affiliation – Bring a friend
Wirex has an interesting affiliate program.
So if you can convince your friends to join Wirex you can earn.
Just share a link via email or social media to convince your friends to sign up and earn.
Conclusions
Bitcoin and the world of cryptocurrencies are not dead.
Wirex is testimony to how it is increasingly easier to connect between the various forms of money.
It is certainly a very fast and efficient way to monetize your Bitcoins.
So if you have Bitcoin or want to accumulate it with your purchases through the Cryptoreward function, I recommend opening a Wirex account and requesting your card immediately.
Of course, I will update you on my experience which I am sure will be constantly enriched with new functions.
I’m also pretty sure there will be new competitors for Wirex soon.
This can only prove to be a further advantage for us users who are always looking for lower costs and increasingly efficient services.