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Australia Crypto Debit Card: CRO-Powered Crypto.com Review
Back in November 2019, I was one of the first to receive my Crypto.com Visa Card (former name: MCO Visa Card) in Brisbane, Australia, and so far, I have to say it has been amazing and worth the wait! In fact, I decided to write a quick review and share my findings with screenshots for you to take a look at. I’ll try to cover all the questions you might have.
What is the Crypto.com Visa Card?
The Crypto.com Visa Card is basically just a Visa debit card with some subtle differences. It is not linked to your Australian bank account. It is not a credit card. Instead, think of it as a prepaid debit card (like the ones you can purchase at Coles or Woolies). For example, you can top up $100 AUD on your card and then use it, just like a normal debit card, at EFTPOS machines or for shopping online.
Click here to order your CRO card
(Use our referral code cryptonewsau to claim your $25 USD Sign-Up Bonus! Simply enter this code after downloading the App and registering your account. You will receive your bonus after passing KYC and staking CRO for a Crypto.com Visa Card.)
Key benefits of the Crypto.com Visa Card:
From what I can see, these are the main benefits:
- Works just like your regular debit card (EFTPOS is enabled).
- Supports 20+ fiat currencies, including AUD, USD, EUR, and GBP
- Supports 100+ cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, XRP, and CRO
- Up to 8% back on spending, paid in CRO (Crypto.com’s native currency).
- Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Airbnb, and Expedia rebates are available.
- Fancy composite metal card.
- Manage all your fiat and cryptocurrencies via the Crypto.com App.
- Fiat exchange rates are currently better than the banks.
- Free ATM withdrawals.
- Free currency exchange transactions.
- LoungeKey™ airport lounge access
- You can download your card transaction history as a CSV file.
- Additional perks like exclusive research reports and priority customer service for higher card tiers
Key risks of the Crypto.com Visa Card:
From what I can see, these are the potential risks:
- If your card is stolen, traditional banks have good processes in place for claiming back your money. I am not sure if such a process exists for the Crypto.com Visa Card, but you can freeze your card using the Crypto.com App and then order a new one.
- It is not a credit card, so you may not be able to use it for things like advanced deposits for hotel reservations.
Key technical information:
- Crypto.com holds your private keys for your wallets.
- Crypto.com holds your fiat currencies (it’s essentially your bank).
- All crypto transactions are processed on-chain.
Who are Crypto.com?
The company was originally called Monaco and rebranded to Crypto.com in 2018. In addition to the main app, it has also launched a cryptocurrency exchange (Crypto.com Exchange) and DeFi products (Crypto.com DeFi Wallet and DeFi Swap). The company offers other useful services as well, such as interest accounts (Crypto Earn), a payment gateway (Crypto.com Pay), and lending (Crypto Credit). Crypto.com announced in February 2021 that it has reached the 10 million user milestone.
This is what the Crypto.com App looks like:
As you can see, it holds both cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. The cryptos are held on-chain and fiat currencies are held by Crypto.com. It’s kind of cool to be able to control which fiat currency or crypto you want your money to be stored in, and change it to a different one at any time. This feature is great when travelling internationally.
Where can you use the Crypto.com Visa Card?
You can use your card anywhere in the world that supports Visa payments, which is pretty much everywhere these days. You can see my EFTPOS transactions for some coffee and food, and the CRO Rewards that I received, which were deposited directly into my Crypto Wallet. You can also buy Gift Cards in the App and earn up to 10% back in CRO Rewards.
How to order a Crypto.com Visa Card from Australia?
It’s pretty simple. All you need to do is create a Crypto.com App account, complete KYC, and choose the card tier that you want. When I reserved my card, I was in a long queue. However, I believe that the wait time has since been greatly reduced. Updated April 2021: The staking requirement for the Ruby Steel Crypto.com Visa Card is now USD 400 of CRO, which is approximately AUD 519).
What you need:
- An email address
- A phone number
- One identification document
Redeem your $25 Sign-Up Bonus
Click here to order your CRO card
(use our referral code: cryptonewsau to claim your free $25 USD signup bonus! we both get $25!
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Note: If you signup without the bonus code you can still be added via App Settings -> Referral Code, within 10 days of confirming their email during sign-up. Once you’ve claimed your bonus it will appear in your Crypto.com App Rewards section as seen below.
I’ve referred my friend, why is my $50 / $25 referral not showing?
Your bonus will be credited after your friend completes KYC and stakes for a Crypto.com Visa Card.
Where is my referral link?
Once you’ve used our referral link to get your $25 Sign-Up Bonus, you may want to start sharing your own link/code to continue benefitting from the Crypto.com’s referral programme (obviously, you’re more than welcome to keep using our code…haha). But here is where you can find your referral link:
What are the Crypto.com Visa Card fees?
| Card Top-up Option | Process | Fees | Time |
| Credit/Debit Card | You can purchase AUD through the Crypto.com App directly using a credit/debit card. | Free (to buy fiat)3.5% fee (to buy crypto) | Instant. |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | You can transfer your BTC directly to your Crypto.com App BTC Wallet. This transaction is done on-chain so it might take 5-10 minutes to come through, depending on the Bitcoin blockchain network. | Free(usual blockchain network fees may apply) | 5 – 10 minutes depending on the blockchain wait time. |
| Bank Transfer | Request bank transfer details in the Crypto.com App. You will receive the information via email, which you can then use to request your international transfer. Note that there is a minimum transfer of $500 USD for this method. | Free.(SWIFT international bank fees of 6-40 USD may be applied, depending on the country) | 6-8 days. |
Can you top up the Crypto.com Visa Card with BTC or other cryptocurrencies?
Yes, you can top up your card via your Crypto Wallets, including your BTC Wallet. Simply copy your wallet address in the Crypto.com App to transfer funds from an external wallet.
Can you top up the card with bank transfer from your Australian bank account?
Yes, you can top up your Crypto.com Visa Card by transferring funds via the SWIFT network, which takes 6-8 days to clear. The minimum transfer amount is $500 USD. With this in mind, I would recommend that you transfer funds using an Australia-based company like Coinjar, which will convert AUD to BTC and then send it to your Crypto.com App account. From there, you can convert the BTC to SGD, and then finally to AUD. I’ve done this and it doesn’t take too long. Coinjar accepts BPAY, which is quite fast.
How do the “Free” Spotify and Netflix rebates work?
Simple. You change your payment method for Spotify/Netflix to your Crypto.com Visa Card and then when your payment is made every month, you’ll automatically receive your rebates in CRO to your CRO Wallet in the App. Note that you may need to ‘Enable International Usage’ for your card by going to ‘Settings’ in the Crypto.com App to enjoy the rebates.
Proof below that the Spotify payment does get rebated into your Crypto.com App CRO Wallet.
How can they offer up to 8% on spending?
At first the 8% seems a bit crazy, but after doing more research, I found this to be a major advantage over using a regular bank card. My reasoning: my normal card doesn’t offer me cashback, so why would I use it over this one? The cashback for the Crypto.com is in the form of CRO Rewards, and is instantly deposited into your CRO Wallet.
If there is no currency in your fiat wallets, will the card automatically use another currency?
When you have AUD funds, the card uses AUD. When you don’t have AUD, it will use SGD. It will not automatically transfer your crypto balance to fiat. If there is no fiat balance, the transaction will be declined.
Can you pay with your phone instead of the card?
At the moment, you can only pay using your physical Crypto.com Visa Card, but virtual cards are already available in Europe. Virtual cards allow you to start spending and earning rewards before your physical card arrives. The company says that in the near future, you’ll be able to pay directly with your phone through Apple Pay/Android Pay.
To conclude, it’s great to see these types of payment products and services bringing power back to the people, allowing us to control our money worldwide without being charged ridiculous amounts of fees by the big banks.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading my review – hope it was helpful and hope you enjoy the Crypto.com Visa Card as much as I have been.
About the author
Sam Deering
Sam is the founder and CEO of Crypto News. He is also a blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiast who loves to learn and write about anything crypto.
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