The Bitpay Visa: a Bitcoin-Debit Card Review
Bitcoin debit cards have become more popular over the past two years with various choices on the table for consumers to choose from. Cards enable a user to load the account with bitcoin reserves and spend the funds where major credit cards are accepted.
Bitcoin.com decided to review two popular bitcoin debit cards that are currently available to cryptocurrency supporters. The Bitpay Visa card and the Xapo debit card are from two well-known bitcoin companies and both offer different features. We hope to explain in detail how these loadable cards work so our readers can get an idea of what its like to utilize these types of cards.
Just recently I ordered the Bitpay bitcoin Visa card, available to U.S. residents in all fifty states. The card cost me $9.99, and you have to pay for the product in bitcoin. There wasnt much to fill out for verification purposes. Registration required my social security number, email, and current mailing address. Other than those requests nothing more was required from me for identity. After registration, I paid for the card with a Bitpay invoice and was told I would receive the card in 7-10 business days.
Five days later I had received my card, including a PIN and references to card fees. The PIN is used like a traditional debit purchase and also for ATM access. After getting my card and reviewing the fees, I went to the Bitpay Visa card activation page. The page asks for the credit card number, three-digit CVV, and your email. As soon as the information is processed, you now have access to an account page.
The account page is where you load bitcoins onto the card. There is a button that says add funds, of and you type in how much money you want to load in USD. I decided how much I wanted to add to the card and entered the amount, which then processes a new Bitpay invoice. Like any Bitpay invoice you have 15 minutes to pay and I scanned the address with my phones wallet, thereby paying the amount. Immediately the invoice is marked as received, but funds are not accessible until the transaction receives one confirmation. It must have been a busy day because I had to wait for my transaction to confirm. When it did, my card was loaded with funds.