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Swipe Visa Card Review 2020
The Swipe platform, which includes various prepaid Visa card offerings, cannot be separated from the SXP token. The crypto asset, which can be used on both the Ethereum and Binance Chain networks, is used to enable a large number of strong rewards for Swipe Visa card users. The crypto cards offered by Swipe are dual-interface NFC/EMV cards, and three out of the four cards offered have ATM cash access enabled. However, anyone thinking about using a Swipe Visa card needs to consider the serious risks that go along with the platform’s close relationship with the SXP token and the possible negative consequences that can come with staking the crypto coin.
By: CryptoVantage Staff | Sep 18, 2020 | Modified Sep 30, 2020
General Overview
- Over 50 million retail locations worldwide
- 4 different cards available in a tier-based model
- No foreign transaction fees for selected users
- Up to 5% cashback rewards
- Integration with Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
- Crypto.com is very similar and has more rewards
- Users must stake SXP tokens to gain the largest cashback rewards
- Foreign transaction fees are only free for Steel and Slate users
- Swipe Visa cards are not free
Swipe Visa Card at a Glance
| Card type: | Visa Debit |
| Cost: | $25-$50 (in addition to potential staking costs) |
| Funding Methods: | Cryptocurrencies |
| Cryptocurrencies supported: | Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Swipe, Ripple, Stellar |
| Rewards: | 1-5% cashback on all purchases; 100% cashback on Spotify, Netflix, Apple Music, Hulu, and Amazon Prime; Extra cashback rewards for Travala, Uber, Starbucks, and Airbnb; no foreign transaction fees; |
| Cryptoback percentage: | 1-5%, 10-100% on specific purchases |
| Physical card: | Yes |
| ATM Fees: | Free on Swipe’s end, but the ATM providers may charge their own fees |
| Proprietary token: | SXP |
| Issuing bank: | Contis Financial Services Ltd |
What is the Swipe Visa Card?
The Swipe Visa card is part of the overall Swipe network of in-development products and services. In addition to the prepaid cards, Swipe also offers services like a wallet, merchant platform, exchange, and their own proprietary token in the form of SXP.
Those who are familiar with the crypto card offerings from Crypto.com will find it easy to understand what’s going on with Swipe. There are four different prepaid cards to choose from, and they all offer different levels of rewards and perks. The better the rewards associated with one of the cards, the more SXP tokens the user must be willing to stake for at least six months. There are also referral programs available for those looking to make some extra cash by telling others about this product.
What are the Benefits of the Swipe Visa Card?
The benefits offered by Swipe Visa cards depend on the specific card chosen by the user. There are four different prepaid cards offered by Swipe: Saffron, Sky, Steel, and Slate.
For Saffron users, there is no requirement to stake SXP. Of course, the rewards for this entry level card also aren’t very good, and it costs $25 just to get the card in the first place. Saffron card holders get 1% cash back on all purchases, which is paid in Bitcoin. The maximum amount of referral rewards that can be earned at this level is $1,000.
For Sky users, cashback rewards jump up to 2%; however, 300 SXP must be staked to gain access to this card.
The Swipe Steel card has a chrome style and requires 3,000 SXP to be staked by the user. 4% cashback is available on purchases made with this card.
Finally, the Swipe Slate card has the greatest amount of benefits and rewards. Cardholders are able to obtain 5% cashback rewards on all purchases, but a stake of 30,000 SXP is required to gain access to the card.
Access to cash via ATMs is also available with all cards, and there are also additional discounts available for specific, popular apps like Spotify, Netflix, Uber, Amazon, Airbnb, and more. More of these company-specific benefits become available with each higher-tiered card.
Potential Swipe Visa Card Dealbreakers
The real dealbreaker with the Visa cards made available by Swipe is the SXP token. This card has some great benefits and rewards, but the fact that the user must stake SXP in order to receive them may be troubling for a variety of reasons. In the event of a sharp decline in the price of SXP, any rewards gained may not outweigh the losses incurred. Furthermore, a user won’t even be able to sell the SXP that they own in some situations after receiving a card. In order to receive the card, users must agree to lock up the SXP for six months before they can gain access to all of the rewards involved in the top three card tiers.
Users should therefore exercise caution when locking up SXP tokens. The lockup period is a non trivial amount of time; 6 months. This long of a lockup period can leave users without access to their capital. Users may end up actually losing money by using these cards due to the fluctuations that can occur in the price of cryptocurrencies, especially crypto assets as small as SXP. On the flip side, SXP could also go up in value and users would walk away with even more cash.
Is the Swipe Visa Card Right for Me?
If you’re just interested in the ability to more easily spend your cryptocurrency holdings on normal, everyday expenses, then this is not the card for you. The SXP staking requirement opens the door for potential losses, so do not let the promise of 5% cashback rewards and free subscriptions to Netflix, Spotify, and other popular online services blind you from what is really happening. The entire Swipe platform exists to get more people to buy SXP. But there is a seller on the other side of every buy order, and in this case, that seller will be the creators of the system dumping their cheap, early coins that they created out of thin air on people who are just trying to get a crypto debit card.
Swipe Visa Card
The SXP token must be staked in order to gain access to some of the best rewards offered by different Swipe Visa cards. Users who are willing to stake more SXP are able to gain access to more rewards. SXP is also used in other parts of the overall Swipe platform. A key negative aspect of requiring users to lock up some SXP in order to gain access to three out of four of the card offerings is that users could end up losing much more on their SXP holdings than they’re benefiting in terms of cashback rewards. At the time of this writing, the Swipe Slate card requires 30,000 SXP to be locked up, which is equal to nearly $90,000.
The only fees Swipe Visa card holders need to worry about come in the form of international foreign exchange transactions. There is a 2% fee for this service, unless you’re a Slate card holder, in which case the fee is waived. While there are no fees on ATM withdrawals, ATM providers will likely charge fees of their own. There is also a $25 to $50 cost for acquiring the card in the first place.
Of course, it should also be noted that the requirement to stake SXP can turn out to be the most expensive aspect of having a Swipe Visa card.
Binance acquired Swipe in June of 2020. According to Coindesk, the value of the acquisition is undisclosed.
The limits on Swipe Visa cards vary between different tiers. For Saffron card users, there is a daily purchase limit of 1,000 euros and a daily ATM limit of 100 euros. There is also a monthly purchase limit of 10,000 euros and a monthly ATM limit of 1,000 euros. For users of the Swipe Slate card, which is the highest level card offered, the daily purchase limit is 9,000 euros and the daily ATM limit of 320 euros. The Swipe Slate card has a monthly purchase limit of 24,000 euros and a monthly ATM limit of 2,400 euros.
Yes, Swipe is integrated with various payment apps on Apple and Android devices. The cards can be linked to Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. There is also a standalone app that allows the user to access details related to their card, in addition to all of the other services made available on the Swipe platform.
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