<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:cc="http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/creativeCommonsRssModule.html">
    <channel>
        <title><![CDATA[Stories by Sanely Great on Medium]]></title>
        <description><![CDATA[Stories by Sanely Great on Medium]]></description>
        <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
        <image>
            <url>https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/fit/c/150/150/1*0FxlNAQB2EC_asvTmJkBaQ.jpeg</url>
            <title>Stories by Sanely Great on Medium</title>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
        </image>
        <generator>Medium</generator>
        <lastBuildDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2025 11:44:59 GMT</lastBuildDate>
        <atom:link href="https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/>
        <webMaster><![CDATA[yourfriends@medium.com]]></webMaster>
        <atom:link href="http://medium.superfeedr.com" rel="hub"/>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[How Large Language Models Work And What You Can Do With Them: A Casual Look at AI & GPTs]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[<div class="medium-feed-item"><p class="medium-feed-image"><a href="https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/how-large-language-models-work-and-what-you-can-do-with-them-a-casual-look-at-ai-gpts-96bd410dc2dd?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*mbv69_rhA3uA30tl6clE5A.jpeg" width="2000"></a></p><p class="medium-feed-snippet">How Large Language Models Work And What You Can Do With Them: A Casual Look at AI &amp; GPTs</p><p class="medium-feed-link"><a href="https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/how-large-language-models-work-and-what-you-can-do-with-them-a-casual-look-at-ai-gpts-96bd410dc2dd?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2">Continue reading on Medium »</a></p></div>]]></description>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/how-large-language-models-work-and-what-you-can-do-with-them-a-casual-look-at-ai-gpts-96bd410dc2dd?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/96bd410dc2dd</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[ai]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[chatgpt]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[claude]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[llm]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sanely Great]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2025 08:59:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <atom:updated>2025-01-11T09:00:54.725Z</atom:updated>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Are you looking to read “Feel Good Productivity” by Ali Abdaal? Do THIS instead.]]></title>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/are-you-looking-to-read-feel-good-productivity-by-ali-abdaal-do-this-instead-3b68d6becd1e?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/3b68d6becd1e</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[podcast]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[ali-abdaal]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[productivity]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sanely Great]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jan 2024 14:53:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <atom:updated>2025-01-11T08:41:15.510Z</atom:updated>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*9xfQeoCkHWkww_C4rf-AOQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>Ali showing his new book, “Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You”</figcaption></figure><p>If you don’t know who Ali Abdaal is, why are looking to read his book? Just kidding! 😄</p><p>But yeah, you probably already know Ali Abdaal: from doctor to Youtuber and productivity expert, he’s had an amazing career arc, culminating with his recent book release, titled “<a href="https://bookshop.org/a/97050/9781250865038">Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You</a>”. Sounds intriguing, right?</p><h3>Before you rush to grab a copy, I’ve got a little insider trick.</h3><p>When big names like Ali drop a book, they often hit the podcast circuit to spread the word. And here’s the secret sauce: <strong>by tuning into these podcasts, you can snag all the juicy insights from his book.</strong></p><p>It’s like getting the best parts served up in fun, bite-sized chats that often spill the beans on stuff not even in the book.</p><h3><strong>Guess what? I’ve done the legwork for you.</strong></h3><p><strong>I’ve put together a list of the top podcast episodes where Ali chats about his latest work</strong>. Some you can watch, others you can just listen to — pick what suits you.</p><p><em>P.S. Just so we’re clear, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy the book! Think of this as your sneak peek. Once you’re hooked, and you probably will be, </em><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/97050/9781250865038"><em>here’s a quick link to grab your copy</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><strong>“Ali Abdaal On Stoic Productivity Secrets And Overcoming Procrastination”</strong> — on the Daily Stoic podcast</p><p>Watch here 👉</p><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F-kQwcJB9k7c%3Ffeature%3Doembed&amp;display_name=YouTube&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-kQwcJB9k7c&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F-kQwcJB9k7c%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=youtube" width="854" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/3a50b96ae37094c86b5361fdb0578466/href">https://medium.com/media/3a50b96ae37094c86b5361fdb0578466/href</a></iframe><p>Listen here 👉</p><p><a href="https://pod.link/1430315931/episode/869aa8cbe2f5b7ac9b8136aa4ed663f3">The Daily Stoic</a></p><p><strong>“How to Enjoy Doing Difficult Things (ft. Ali Abdaal)”</strong> — on THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK PODCAST, by Mark Manson</p><p>Listen here 👉</p><p><a href="https://pod.link/1247526593/episode/003ee86365bb87ddaea5f3215ae28f6c">The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Podcast</a></p><p><strong>“How to Be Productive (and Happy) — Ali Abdaal”</strong> — on the Noah Kagan Presents podcast</p><p>Listen here 👉</p><p><a href="https://pod.link/1187402810/episode/a70c03e4ebab5abb5c5bb43526d4913e">Noah Kagan Presents</a></p><p><strong>“The Feel-Good Method of Productivity”</strong> — on the “Art of Manliness” podcast</p><p>Listen here 👉</p><p><a href="https://pod.link/332516054/episode/603a5c463048a46c68f5585f9a81fc5d">The Art of Manliness</a></p><p><strong>“SPI 745: How to Have Your Most Productive Year with Ali Abdaal”</strong> — on The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast, by Pat Flynn</p><p>Listen here 👉</p><p><a href="https://pod.link/383084001/episode/215e0e755eff30a7cdbd727e9740fd70">The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast</a></p><p><strong>“The 1 Change That Made Ali Abdaal $5,000,000 l EP 32”</strong> — on The Matt Gray Show</p><p>Watch here 👉</p><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FHLG9leMUE48%3Ffeature%3Doembed&amp;display_name=YouTube&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHLG9leMUE48&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FHLG9leMUE48%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=youtube" width="854" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/c62375dfe8c18867878d36fee47a7893/href">https://medium.com/media/c62375dfe8c18867878d36fee47a7893/href</a></iframe><p>Listen here 👉</p><p><a href="https://pod.link/1678152217/episode/79d15d0a51fc4d097f0c5225eaaa2a1f">The Matt Gray Show</a></p><p>Ok, that’s all folks, 6 podcast episodes that should set you up with a great overview of Ali Abdaal’s new book, “<a href="https://bookshop.org/a/97050/9781250865038">Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You</a>”.</p><p>Enjoy!</p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=3b68d6becd1e" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[EUR Stablecoins: The Ultimate Guide to The Best (and Safest) Euro Stablecoins (2022)]]></title>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/eur-stablecoins-the-ultimate-guide-to-the-best-and-safest-euro-stablecoins-2022-e268c424e101?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/e268c424e101</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[stable-coin]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[euro-stablecoin]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[eur-stablecoin]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[euro]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sanely Great]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
            <atom:updated>2025-01-12T00:08:19.245Z</atom:updated>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>EUR Stablecoins: The Ultimate Guide to The Best (and Safest) Euro Stablecoins (2025)</h3><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/960/0*DbxcxGvcUGNYm3S-.jpg" /></figure><p>If you’ve been dipping your toes into cryptocurrency, or just read some of the news in the last years, you’ve probably come across the term “stablecoin”.</p><p>With an ever-increasing role in the crypto world, stablecoins are kind of the glue that ties and binds this whole digital finance space, and their story is steadily growing.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*1pRFxUN_QDCB0GMvLo1Ijw.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>What exactly is a stablecoin (or stable coin, or stable-value cryptocurrency)?</h3><p>In simple terms, <strong>stablecoins are just a class of cryptocurrency in which the token’s price is tied to a specific cryptocurrency, ETF, or fiat money</strong>. They’re designed to exactly mirror the price of their connected asset, thus rendering them invulnerable to the constant value fluctuations that the other, more traditional, crypto tokens experience.</p><p><strong>So what does this mean exactly?</strong> Let’s use the example of the highest market cap stablecoin: <strong>USDT</strong>.</p><p><strong>USDT</strong> is a stablecoin that mirrors the price of the U.S. dollar, issued by a Hong Kong-based company Tether. Its price follows closely the price of the US dollar and fluctuates only when the dollar does. As with most stablecoins, the USDT (or Tether, how it’s best known) is said to be backed up by underlying assets that the Tether company holds.</p><p>These assets behind stablecoins are there to ensure that everyone can switch back and forth between the stablecoin and fiat cash, without the possibility of remaining stuck with the stable coin token and unable to exchange it freely.</p><p>While being the biggest stablecoin in the market (with a market cap of around 70 billion USD, at the moment), <strong>USDT is also maybe the most controversial one</strong>.</p><p>“Over the years, there have been several controversies regarding the validity of Tether’s claims about their USD reserves, at times disrupting USDT’s price, which went down as low as $0.88 at one point in its history. Many have raised concerns about the fact that Tether’s reserves have never been fully audited by an independent third party.” — from <strong>CoinMarketCap</strong>.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*lhncQEo8lSe3UV-hKPTsGw.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Why use a stablecoin?</h3><p>You can use a stablecoin as a first step into the crypto world, for example. Exchanging some of your fiat currency into stablecoin, using a crypto exchange, exposes your portfolio to this new web3 world of assets. You can then use the stable coin to trade for other crypto tokens.</p><p>But perhaps one of the most interesting things is the <strong>high interest you can receive</strong> when staking (parking) your stablecoins on a crypto lending platform, such as BlockFi, Nexo, or <a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">YouHodler</a>.</p><p>For example: on <a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">YouHodler</a>, exchanging your fiat cash for a stablecoin such as USDT nets you a cool <strong>12.3% APR + compounding interest</strong>. How does that compare to the interest your bank pays you on your deposits of cash? Exactly!</p><p>Keeping in mind their stability, stablecoins prove to be a rising source of passive income. <strong>They are not without risk</strong>, like everything else in the financial world: you have to take into account the safety of the company issuing that stablecoin, as well as the reputation of the crypto lending platform.</p><p>But all things said, earning interest on your stablecoin is <strong>one of the safest ways to put your money to work</strong> and be a part of the growing web3 movement.</p><h3>A few things about the EUR stablecoins</h3><p>Though there are many USD-backed stablecoins, the EUR stablecoins didn’t take off until now. Part of it is the stricter regulations from the EU, with more expected to come soon. Also, here’s another reason from a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/07/09/growth-in-euro-stablecoins-spurs-dreams-of-digital-forex-market/">Coindesk article</a>:</p><p>“Finding a bank partner in Europe that is willing to open accounts for crypto-related transactions poses another hurdle for many crypto companies, including stablecoin issuers, according to market participants.”</p><p>However, even if progress on this EUR stablecoin front has been a little slow, it hasn’t been impeded and things seem to be moving rapidly towards more market acceptance.</p><p>There are a few Euro-backed stablecoins that stand out, with others in the making, and we’re gonna take a closer look at the present, but also the future, of this growing space.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*YCj5sOByiwNnrF3hQJFU7g.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Top 5 Euro Stablecoins</h3><h4>1. STASIS EURO (EURS)<br>2. Synthetix EUR (sEUR)<br>3. Tether EUR (EURt)<br>4. Celo Euro (cEUR)<br>5. Parallel (PAR)</h4><h3>1. STASIS EURO (EURS)</h3><figure><img alt="EURS stablecoin market cap" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*AJin4rTs3p-_LxlD7eEPpQ.png" /><figcaption>EURS stablecoin market cap</figcaption></figure><p>The EURS is undoubtedly <strong>the present king of Euro-backed stablecoins</strong>, both by market cap and by availability, liquidity, and safety.</p><p>Launched in June 2018, EURS is a digital EURO, or stablecoin, created to mirror the price of the euro. <strong>EURS is issued by Stasis</strong> and is built on Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard. The company ensures that EURS is fully backed by Euros on a 1:1 basis.</p><p><strong>EURS is available on multiple exchanges</strong>, such as HitBTC, Changelly, IDCM, Bitfinex, YouHodler, DDEX, IDEX, SWFT Blockchain, Switch, BEQUANT, Blocktane, Cryptology, Anyswap, Sushiswap, Virgox, Hotbit, NiceHash, Uniswap, 1inch, Paraswap, 0x Protocol and Indodax.</p><p>Among the <strong>crypto wallets that support EURS</strong>, we can find the STASIS Wallet, Metamask, Trust Wallet, and Tixl Wallet.</p><p>“STASIS is a crypto-enabler platform that provides an institutional-grade link between the decentralized finance world and the off-chain market.”</p><p>“The Malta-based crypto wallet provider also offers smart contract creation, third-party audits, custodial services, and the provision of deep expertise in the current crypto regulatory environment to its partners.”</p><p>The EURS stablecoin has been growing steadily in the last few months, and<strong> they continue to announce partnerships and integrations with other DeFi players</strong>, such as <a href="https://twitter.com/CurveFinance/status/1340631103355441153">Curve</a>.</p><blockquote>EUR pool ( <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24EURS&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$EURS</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24SEUR&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$SEUR</a> ) is up! Can switch between <a href="https://twitter.com/stasisnet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@stasisnet</a> assets (working well with Euro bank accounts) and <a href="https://twitter.com/synthetix_io?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@synthetix_io</a> (bridged to crypto world) <a href="https://t.co/BIfkMM78Pm">https://t.co/BIfkMM78Pm</a></blockquote><blockquote>- Curve Finance (@CurveFinance) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurveFinance/status/1340631103355441153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2020</a></blockquote><p>They’re also very active in targeting the traditional business market, with things like institutional support being built into their crypto wallet:</p><p>“STASIS said its new wallet, fully integrated into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), would offer regulated financial institutions, in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets, a new gateway into cryptocurrencies.” — from <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2020/03/03/new-wallet-from-stablecoin-issuer-stasis-syncs-with-financial-institutions/">this article</a>.</p><p><strong>How safe are EURS and Stasis</strong></p><p>Stasis looks to be<strong> one of the safest options in the stablecoin field, providing very transparent reserve access.</strong></p><p>You can check out more about the steps they take to ensure everything runs smoothly and safely, right on their website: <a href="https://eurs.stasis.net/transparency/">https://eurs.stasis.net/transparency/</a></p><p><strong>How can you use EURS to make money?</strong></p><p>Like we talked about at the beginning of the article, one of the appeals of stablecoins is the ability to get a high interest while staking them on crypto loaning platforms, while at the same time being protected from the usual volatility of crypto assets.</p><p>The best way to use this STASIS Euro-backed Stablecoin: <strong>you can earn 12% APY on </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler"><strong>YouHodler</strong></a><strong>, for staking your EURS there.</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">YouHodler</a> is one of my favorite crypto loans &amp; interest-generating apps, and <strong>you can </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler"><strong>check them out right here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*VBuZNvyOMEVFk_9-7A-Nyw.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>2. Synthetix EUR (sEUR)</h3><figure><img alt="sEUR stablecoin market cap" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*izAa_F0GOuSZJvu7DkMrDg.jpeg" /><figcaption>sEUR stablecoin market cap</figcaption></figure><p>Launched in December 2018, the sEUR stablecoin, by Synthetix, <strong>tracks the price of EUR through price feeds supplied by an oracle, and is backed by a synthetic asset platform.</strong></p><p>“On the popular DeFi protocol Synthetix, which creates on-chain synthetic assets that track the value of real-world assets, synth sEUR (SEUR) is the №4 synthetic asset by market capitalization, just behind Synthetix’s own token Synthetix (SNX), synth sETH (SETH) and Synth sUSD (SUSD), according to data from DeFi Market Cap. Synth sEUR also contributes to 20% of Synthetix’s total debt pool for synthetic assets, behind only sUSD’s 34% and sETH’s 30%.”</p><p>Synthetix is a DeFi player, providing synths, which are basically “ <strong>derivative tokens providing exposure to a range of assets</strong>. They can be traded with infinite liquidity and zero slippage by leveraging the Synthetix protocol’s unique pooled collateral model. Trades between Synths generate a small fee that is distributed to SNX collateral providers.”</p><p><strong>Here’s another good explanation of what Synthetix does:</strong></p><p>“Synthetix (SNX) is built on the Ethereum network, and the project enables users to issue as well as trade synthetic decentralized assets. Formerly known as Havven (before rebranding to Synthetix), SNX enables the creation of on-chain synthetic assets (known as “Synths”) that track the value of assets in the real world.” — from a very good <a href="https://kriptomat.io/synthetix/">Kriptomat article</a>.</p><p>Also, DeFi’s flagship exchange platform, Curve, has added the EURS / sEUR pool to its site at the start of the year, <strong>with 40% interest in CRV and SNX for liquidity providers</strong>. The pool alone brings together $70 million, almost all of the supply in circulation.</p><p><strong>Exchanges, where you can trade sEUR</strong>, include Synthetix Exchange and Hotbit.</p><p><strong>Who should use sEUR</strong></p><p>If you’re already in the Synthetix ecosystem, <strong>you could use the sEUR / EURS liquidity pool</strong> ( <a href="https://curve.fi/eurs/">https://curve.fi/eurs/</a>) to earn some passive income, paid in CRV and SNX tokens.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*VLcm2oHY7rIXOhUEzQqgcA.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>3. Tether EUR (EURt)</h3><figure><img alt="EURt stablecoin market cap" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*nrO5wIf6-0yYKgOMbwIHpw.jpeg" /><figcaption>EURt stablecoin market cap</figcaption></figure><p>Launched in 2016, <strong>EURt is similar to Tether’s other (more known) stablecoin, the USDT.</strong> It’s pegged 1:1 to the EUR, and “EURT is fully backed by a banking trust in Taiwan” (at least, that’s what they announced at launch).</p><p>If you’ve been for some time in the crypto space, you know that the USDT (Tether’s US dollar-pegged token) <strong>is by far the largest of the stablecoins</strong>. Their Euro token aims to follow in the footsteps of its bigger brother and is already used on multiple platforms for trading and staking.</p><p>Currently, there are four Tether stablecoin currencies: <strong>USDT</strong> (tied to the U.S. dollar), <strong>EURT</strong> (tied to the Euro), <strong>CNHT</strong> (tied to the Chinese yuan), and <strong>XAUT</strong> (tied to one ounce of gold per token).</p><p>In the last few years, <strong>Tether has actively grown its EUR asset</strong>, through partnerships with <a href="https://www.hedgeweek.com/2021/07/21/303874/bitstamp-launches-eurt-euro-pegged-stablecoin">Bitstamp</a>, <a href="https://www.finyear.com/Bitfinex-Launches-Tether-Tokens-USDt--Euro-Trading-Pair_a43387.html">Bitfinex</a>, <a href="https://www.hedgeweek.com/2021/07/29/304283/curve-finance-adds-euro-pegged-tether-eurt-tokens">Curve Finance</a> and <a href="https://www.institutionalassetmanager.co.uk/2021/07/26/304044/cream-finance-becomes-first-defi-protocol-support-euro-pegged-tether-eurt-tokens">CREAM Finance</a>, to name just a few.</p><p><strong>Here are the exchanges where you can trade EURt</strong>: Bitfinex, Uniswap, Bitstamp, 1inch Exchange, 0x Protocol, Paraswap, Curve Finance, and CREAM Finance.</p><p><strong>Who should consider using EURt</strong></p><p>If you’re already using DeFi exchanges, such as <strong>Curve</strong> or <strong>CREAM</strong>, for yield earning services, and you have your fiat cash in EUR, you should consider swapping into EURt and utilizing it to trade or make some passive income through interest paid on these platforms.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*zxxYERZIhBpyYujydrUQIA.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>4. Celo Euro (cEUR)</h3><figure><img alt="cEUR stablecoin market cap" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*S9lEpbxvRgLhKNiyLhXq1A.jpeg" /><figcaption>cEUR stablecoin market cap</figcaption></figure><p>“ <strong>Celo is a mobile-first blockchain ecosystem that focuses on increasing cryptocurrency adoption among smartphone users</strong>. Celo has built a global infrastructure that seeks to introduce billions of smartphone owners to transact in online currencies to make financial activities easier to access.” — from a recent <a href="https://dailycoin.com/celo-celo-price-updates-recent-developments-future-events-community-2/">DailyCoin article</a>.</p><p><strong>cEUR (Celo Euro) is a stable digital asset that tracks the Euro</strong>. With cEUR, users can transfer value faster, cheaper, and more easily on their smartphones. As with the Celo Dollar (cUSD), the Celo Euro is supported by multiple crypto assets in the Celo Reserve, including BTC and ETH.</p><p><a href="https://forum.celo.org/t/ceur-celo-euro-goes-live/876">Launched in April 2021</a>, cEUR represents another step forward for the CELO platform.</p><p>Things have been on a roll for this young stablecoin, with CELO seemingly securing new partnerships on a monthly and even weekly basis. Here are some of these partnerships:</p><ul><li>in June 2021, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/opera-to-integrate-first-stablecoins-in-its-crypto-wallet-bringing-celo-dollar-cusd-and-celo-euro-ceur-to-millions-of-users-301320137.html">they partnered with the browser ,</a> bringing cUSD/cEUR as the first stablecoins to be added to Opera browser’s built-in crypto wallet, to mitigate cryptocurrency volatility</li><li>also in June 2021, Crypto bank <strong>Anchorage Digital</strong> <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/06/24/anchorage-adds-custody-for-celos-euro-stablecoin/">said it is adding custody for the Celo Euro (cEUR) stablecoin</a></li><li>other partnerships included support for their stablecoins (cUSD &amp; cEUR), as well as for their native crypto token, CELO, helping bridge the traditional financial world with the crypto web3 space.</li></ul><p>Just to name a few of these partnerships: <strong>PayU</strong>, one of the largest payment providers for emerging markets, made a significant purchase of CELO native digital assets; <strong>Deutsche Telekom </strong>is also investing in the future of the decentralized financial economy — with a significant purchase of Celo’s native asset (CELO); and to top it all, Celo has raised more than $65 million to date from investors including <strong>Andreessen Horowitz</strong>, <strong>Coinbase</strong> and <strong>Jack Dorsey.</strong></p><p>Here are a couple of <strong>exchanges where you can find and trade cEUR</strong>: KuCoin and Ubeswap.</p><p><strong>Who is cEUR for?</strong></p><p>If you are eyeing CELO as an investment opportunity (considering their mobile users’ aim and also their relative stability when faced with crypto market volatility), <strong>cEUR would make for a valuable asset in which to park your EUR fiat.</strong></p><p>With growing interest and support from traditional finance institutions, CELO seems poised to be a significant part of the future of web3 and DeFi.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*lhncQEo8lSe3UV-hKPTsGw.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>5. Parallel (PAR)</h3><figure><img alt="PAR stablecoin market cap" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*746X1kDJ9GOGBeCnGLf6Pg.jpeg" /><figcaption>PAR stablecoin market cap</figcaption></figure><p>Launched in May 2021, <strong>PAR is a stable token algorithmically pegged to the Euro.</strong></p><p>It’s exclusively minted in relation to loans on <strong>Mimo DeFi</strong>, their lending platform, and PAR tokens are collateralized by assets accepted on Mimo DeFi.</p><p>The Mimo team is mostly based in Singapore and Dubai.</p><p>Parallel (PAR) has been billed as <strong>the first decentralized stablecoin that is algorithmically pegged to the Euro</strong>. Stability is achieved by keeping collateral locked in a smart contract vault.</p><p>“Mimo DeFi is a decentralized lending platform that allows users to mint the native stable token PAR (Parallel), algorithmically pegged to the Euro. Users lock BTC, ETH, and USDC (with more crypto options to be added) as collateral in a virtual vault while minting PAR which can be staked in the liquidity pools to earn high-yield returns.”</p><p>Also in June, the PAR stablecoin has been added to <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/06/18/2249490/0/en/MIMO-and-PAR-Tokens-Listed-on-Bittrex-Global-to-Enable-Euro-Stablecoin-Trading.html">trading on the Bittrex exchange</a>.</p><p>PAR is one of the latest additions to the Euro stablecoins field, but its market cap is growing and its future looks promising.</p><p><strong>Exchanges where you can find PAR</strong> include the likes of Bittrex, Balancer, and 1inch Exchange.</p><p><strong>Who is PAR stablecoin for?</strong></p><p>I’d say if you are already a full customer of <strong>Bittrex</strong>, or maybe the <strong>1inch</strong> DeFi exchange, and you have your fiat funds in EUR, it’s easy to swap your fiat into PAR there and use it for your crypto endeavors.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*YCj5sOByiwNnrF3hQJFU7g.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Other notable Euro stablecoins</h3><p>As we’ve seen with the <strong>top 5 EUR stablecoins</strong> above, their market cap is on the rise. I haven’t included in this top some of the other players in the field, usually because they’re still relatively small or information on them is scarce.</p><p>But if you’re studying this field, you might <strong>also look into these EUR stablecoins</strong>:</p><ul><li><strong>Jarvis Synthetic Euro (JEUR)</strong> <a href="https://jarvis.network">https://jarvis.network</a><br>JEUR is a multi-collateralized synthetic token tracking the price of Euro, built on the top of UMA and Chainlink.</li><li><strong>eToro Euro (EURx) </strong><a href="https://etorox.com/exchange/euro/">https://etorox.com/exchange/euro/</a><br>EURX is a tokenized stablecoin that is listed for trading on the eToroX Exchange. EURX is tied to the value of the Euro on a 1:1 valuation basis, making trading in EURX on eToroX the same as exchanging or trading fiat Euro. You can also use EURx on the Nexo.io exchange, and earn some interest when staking it there.</li><li><strong>EURB</strong> (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/euro-stablecoin-launched-on-stellar-by-one-of-europe-s-oldest-banks">https://cointelegraph.com/news/euro-stablecoin-launched-on-stellar-by-one-of-europe-s-oldest-banks</a>)</li><li><strong>EUR-L</strong> (<a href="https://www.coinhouse.com/eur-l/">https://www.coinhouse.com/eur-l/</a>)</li><li><strong>EURL</strong> (<a href="https://www.lugh.io">https://www.lugh.io</a>)</li><li><strong>UPEUR </strong>(<a href="https://www.universalprotocol.io">https://www.universalprotocol.io</a>)</li></ul><p>Some of these projects still have to withstand the test of time, and we’ll see which one of them can capture some market cap from the more established stablecoins in our top.</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>So which stablecoin would I recommend? The answer, for now, is obvious: if you want to exchange some of your EUR fiat currency into crypto tokens, <strong>just go for EURS, the Stasis-issued token.</strong></p><p>Its best use case is the high interest you can get from staking it on platforms such as <a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">YouHodler</a>: <strong>12% APY interest</strong> is way above what your bank might pay you for keeping your Euro fiat in their accounts, and is a simple, relatively safe way to create some passive income.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler"><strong>Find out more on how to get 12% interest on YouHodler</strong></a></p><p>As for the rest of the stablecoins in the top, they usually make sense if you are already doing business on the exchanges where they are being traded.</p><p>As I mentioned above, each exchange has its preference of integrated EUR stable coin, so it’s easier just to go with their option if you are already trusting them with your trades.</p><figure><img alt="Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/970/1*VBuZNvyOMEVFk_9-7A-Nyw.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/youhodler">Earn crypto with 12.3% APR + compounding interest on YouHodler</a></figcaption></figure><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=e268c424e101" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Best Cashback Cards with Rewards Available in Europe (2021)]]></title>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/best-cashback-cards-with-rewards-available-in-europe-2021-e30f7fa49b3c?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/e30f7fa49b3c</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[financial]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[credit-cards]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[debit-card]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[cashback]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[personal-finance]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sanely Great]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 27 Sep 2021 11:27:56 GMT</pubDate>
            <atom:updated>2025-01-12T00:09:01.526Z</atom:updated>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>Best Cashback Cards with Rewards Available in Europe (2025)</h3><p>Let’s be honest: cashback cards aren’t really a huge thing in Europe. While in the United States there’s always been a wide market for them, in the EU they haven’t really caught on as of yet.</p><h3>What exactly is a cashback card (or a cash-back card)?</h3><p>In simple terms, a cashback card is a debit (or sometimes credit) card that g<strong>ives you back a small percentage when you spend with it</strong>. It might be <strong>0.1%</strong>, it might be <strong>2%</strong>, or even something like <strong>8%</strong> (yes, EIGHT PERCENT).</p><p>Sounds great, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t like free money?</p><p><strong>Why then are there so few and apart offers for cashback cards that can be used in Europe?</strong></p><p>One explanation I’ve seen is this: they’re not so common in the EU because our debit/credit card fees are regulated and very low. In the US the price you pay at the store is usually adjusted with the seller card fees and you basically get those back with cashback. <strong>The card fees are so low in the EU that there is no margin for high percent cashbacks.</strong></p><p>Another way to put it: it’s not really a cashback in the US — it’s more like you get back the money you should not have been paying anyway (card fees).</p><p>The big banks from European countries do sometimes offer cards that have some cashback benefits and rewards, but this differs with each country, and the features of these cards usually <strong>never reach the level you see from US banks</strong> and their debit/credit card offers.</p><p>At the end of 2015, the European Union <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum%3A24040603_1">came out with legislation against credit card companies</a> charging <strong>more than 0.3%</strong> to merchants on credit card transactions, the result being that European bank credit cards have lost almost all of their cashbacks and rewards.</p><p>This is why, for example, the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut Metal cashback card</a> <strong>offers 1% for purchases outside Europe, but only 0.1% for purchases inside the EU.</strong></p><p>This left the field wide open for cryptocurrency cards to come in and sweep the customers left behind by this move. So, while not ideal, you’ll see in this article that some of the <strong>best cashback cards</strong> give you back a percentage of your spending in cryptocurrency, as opposed to the traditional bank cards which would give back FIAT currency.</p><p><strong>Let’s take a look at the best cards that I’ve found and used that offer cashback and rewards</strong>, and are also available cross-country in the European Union.</p><h3>Top 6 Cashback Cards for Europeans</h3><ol><li><strong>Curve card</strong></li><li><strong>Wirex card</strong></li><li><strong>Vivid Money card</strong></li><li><strong>Crypto.com card</strong></li><li><strong>Revolut card</strong></li><li><strong>N26 card</strong></li></ol><p>Each one of them has its advantages and disadvantages, you can check them out in detail further down in the article, where I’ve outlined all the pros and cons of using these cards.</p><p><strong>Here’s a quick comparison of their fees and cashback perks:</strong></p><figure><img alt="Best Cashback Cards in Europe Features Comparison" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*KiS0C5n3WHFVinh1H727XQ.jpeg" /></figure><p>Now let’s get down and dirty and see why you should choose one or the others, by explaining all their features.</p><h3>1. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card</a></h3><figure><img alt="Curve card with cashback" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*P9n2mbTUshfchj67AEHYgQ.jpeg" /></figure><p>I’ll just quote from my own review of the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card</a>:</p><p>&quot;<a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> offers a card that aims to integrate all your other cards into one.</strong> Instead of carrying a bunch of different debit and credit cards, you just add them in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app, verify them, and then you can simply carry around the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card and have access to spending from any of your other bank cards.”</p><p>Here are the pros and cons of using the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card</a> for its cashback benefits:</p><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>Good, consistent cashback rate (1% at up to 6 retailers)</li><li>You can get cashback on top of the cashback from your other cards</li><li>Cashback is in cash (GBP)</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>Cashback is only available for 3 or 6 retailers</li><li>There are no other rewards included</li></ul><p>Overall, <strong>the Curve card is a no-brainer for me</strong>, the best card not just for its cashback rewards, but also for its main function, which is to help centralize all your other cards and simplify your financial setup.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Check out the Curve card here!</strong></a></p><h3>2. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card</a></h3><figure><img alt="Wirex card with cashback" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*1GDu96sCO_yFIBtsZcGlaQ.jpeg" /></figure><p>Another card that I’ve used and reviewed on my site is the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card,</a> and here’s what <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> is all about:</p><p>“In simpler terms, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> is a fintech digital platform that offers access to a physical debit card that can be funded with crypto assets</strong>. They’re also a cryptocurrency exchange, where you can buy, store, exchange, and spend a plethora of crypto assets.</p><p>Their main appeal is their <strong>crypto debit card</strong>, which can also grow your account, when used, via their up to <strong>2%</strong> Cryptoback™ rewards on all your spending (this varies based on the pricing plan you’re on, we’ll get more into all that a bit later).”</p><p>Here’s a quick breakdown of the Wirex card pros and cons:</p><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>Has good cashback rates</li><li>Offers cashback for all transactions (on the paid plans, the free plan offers cashback only for in-store transactions)</li><li>Accessible plans (paid in their WXT currency, which can make them cheaper at times, when the crypto market fluctuates)</li><li>Includes nice rewards from retailers and merchants</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>Cashback is in their own cryptocurrency (WXT), not in FIAT currency</li></ul><p>With their <strong>cashback rates between 0.5 and 2%</strong>, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> is the perfect option to use, and I’d recommend using it in conjunction with the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card.</p><p>You just add it in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app and this way you can daisy-chain cashback rewards and get some of your spendings back on both cards for some purchases.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Find out more about the Wirex card here!</a></p><h3>3. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/vividmoney">Vivid Money card</a></h3><figure><img alt="Vivid card with cash-back" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*EOheMSscA7shaDGYcgQHvQ.jpeg" /></figure><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/vividmoney">Vivid Money</a> is a newer contender on the European fintech market, but they came out with a lot of great features and they seem determined to be a real player here.</p><p>In their own words, here’s what their main selling points are:</p><p>“Grow your money easily with commission-free and instant investing. Turn your everyday spendings into stock rewards. <strong>Get cashback and save more money on fees.</strong> Open a free account in minutes and see your savings grow.”</p><p>Their free metal debit card earns you stock rewards on your spending. Additionally to the up to 10% cashback you can earn, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/vividmoney"><strong>Vivid</strong></a><strong> Prime customers get up to 3% cashback on all payments.</strong></p><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>Great cashback rates</li><li>Cashback payable in EUR and stocks</li><li>Accesible premium plan</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>The larger cashbacks (up to 25%) involve signing up friends to the app, which I don’t really like</li><li>Vivid has kind of a convoluted rewards scheme (you really have to read about all their rewards to understand them)</li></ul><p>With access to such large cashback percentages, <strong>the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/vividmoney"><strong>Vivid card</strong></a><strong> makes sense for anyone living in Europe </strong>— I think they have some of the highest cashbacks, and getting them in stocks is something I haven’t seen in any other fintech apps. Definitely worth a look!</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/vividmoney">Check out the Vivid card right here!</a></p><h3>4. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com card</a></h3><figure><img alt="Crypto.com card with cashback" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*sbsm3ehb5MY-3_dKg-ngiw.jpeg" /></figure><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a> markets itself as “<strong>the world’s fastest-growing crypto app</strong>”, and they might be right. They’re grown immensely in the last few years, have sponsorship deals with F1 and other major sports brands, and their customer base numbers in 10+ million.</p><p>Besides all the cryptocurrency features they have, here’s what interests us here: <strong>you can spend with the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com"><strong>Crypto.com Visa Card</strong></a><strong> and get up to 8% back</strong>. Now that one hell of a cashback percentage!</p><p>Also, just like with the Wirex card, you don’t actually have to be invested in the crypto world to use this card. <strong>You can just fund the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com"><strong>Crypto.com</strong></a><strong> card with your own currency (USD, EUR, GBP) and start paying with it for your daily purchases.</strong></p><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>Amazing cashback rates</li><li>Get cashback for all your transactions</li><li>There’s no monthly fee</li><li>The free card tier offers a good 1% cashback rate</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>Larger cashback rates are accessible only through premium plans (which involve “staking”, no monthly fee)</li><li>Cashback is in their own cryptocurrency token (CRO)</li><li>Long wait times for getting a card (since they’re growing so rapidly, it can take a good few weeks before your card is issued)</li></ul><p>In conclusion, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com"><strong>Crypto.com</strong></a><strong> is a terrific choice for cashback</strong>, whether you’re into crypto or not. I would have placed it higher in my cashback cards top were it not for their “staking” feature that is required for accessing the higher tier cashback plans (I don’t like having money stuck in one place, which is what “staking” basically is).</p><p>But all and all, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com"><strong>Crypto.com</strong></a><strong> has a lot going for it</strong> and is a great choice for getting something back on your spending.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Check out the Crypto.com card here!</a></p><h3>5. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut card</a></h3><figure><img alt="Revolut card with cashback" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*R4Yzp1HoPTI3raCX1QBeAg.jpeg" /></figure><p>What can you say about the probably biggest fintech app on the market now (at least in Europe)? They say it best on their website:</p><p><strong>“One app, all things money”</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut"><strong>Revolut</strong></a><strong> offers a perfect alternative to the traditional bank account</strong>, and so much more. From multicurrency to investing in stocks and crypto, to debit cards, insurance, currency exchanges, and so on. They seem to have a financial product for all needs.</p><p>As far as their debit cards, <strong>they do offer cashback</strong> — the icing on the cake, when using their plethora of products.</p><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>The most complete banking offer overall</li><li>A wide array of financial services available</li><li>Cashback is in cash (EUR)</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>Not that big cashback rates (between 0.1–1%)</li><li>Only available for their highest tier premium plan</li><li>The higher cashback of 1% is only available for purchases outside Europe, while the 0.1% is for spending inside the EU</li></ul><p>In conclusion, if you don’t have a Revolut account <strong>you should get one just to experience how a bank should look like in the 21st century</strong>, with a wide array of financial things you can try. If the highest, Metal, pricing plan of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> makes sense for your financial workflow, then you’ll also enjoy the cashback perks it brings.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut"><strong>Check out the Revolut card right here!</strong></a></p><h3>6. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/n26">N26 card</a></h3><figure><img alt="N26 card with cashback" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*h8bj9hXUQjcjJDFay1wDuQ.jpeg" /></figure><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/n26"><strong>N26</strong></a><strong> aims to replicate the traditional banking experience but bring it online and in the 21st century.</strong> It’s similar to <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> in many ways, just with a more traditional approach (which means less financial products, but more security and stability).</p><p>I’ve included the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/n26">N26 Mastercard </a>here since it does come with some cash back perks. It’s not higher up in this top because you’re not going to get an N26 account just for the cashback features.</p><p><strong>Pros:</strong></p><ul><li>The safest online banking solution overall</li><li>Cashback is in cash (EUR)</li></ul><p><strong>Cons:</strong></p><ul><li>Small cashback rates (0.1–0.5%)</li><li>Cashback is only available for their Business plans</li></ul><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/n26">N26</a> account is something you can switch your whole banking life to. For either yourself or your business, there’s probably no better, more stable, online banking solution that you can use. And for your Business plan, if you do get one, <strong>the cashback will be a nice addition to your monthly income.</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/n26"><strong>Get the N26 card here!</strong></a></p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>As you can see, <strong>there are some good options for cashback cards even in Europe</strong>. Some of them warrant an account just for using this feature, others like <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/n26">N26</a> would make a good alternative to your current traditional bank account.</p><p>One final suggestion: no matter which one of these cards and accounts you use, I do recommend also <strong>getting the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> card and linking your other cards to it.</strong> You get to simplify your financial system and also get a double-dip reward, from both <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> and the linked card, when spending on your daily stuff.</p><p><strong>Kind of a cool trick to get some more cash back!</strong></p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=e30f7fa49b3c" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Curve card: is this the one card to replace your wallet? + 5€ FREE Bonus (2024)]]></title>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/curve-card-is-this-the-one-card-to-replace-your-wallet-5-free-bonus-2022-21eb106b32f5?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/21eb106b32f5</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[debit-card]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[cashback]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[curve-card]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[curves]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[credit-card-rewards]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sanely Great]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2021 18:12:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <atom:updated>2024-01-02T23:09:46.084Z</atom:updated>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/960/0*DFrQQMqbxS3m7Rj_.png" /></figure><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card (and app) is one of my most used financial products, and I’ve wanted to put this review on paper for some time now.</p><p><strong>I’ve been daily driving </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> for more than a year</strong>, and although my experience with it has been mostly positive, there were some hiccups along the way — things that could be better and things that could improve the overall user experience.</p><p>If you’re considering signing up with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>, or just looking for some information on how to better use it and if the premium plans are worth it, then I’ve got just the thing for you — my full review of the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card, focused on my own personal experience using it.</p><p><strong>The best, the worst, the stuff that matters most when integrating </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> into your financial life.</strong></p><p>Let’s get this party going!</p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Summary</h3><ol><li><strong>What is Curve?</strong></li><li><strong>Who are they (a touch of history)</strong></li><li><strong>How safe is Curve?</strong></li><li><strong>Curve products and features explained</strong></li><li><strong>Pricing of their plans (free &amp; premium)</strong></li><li><strong>Does Curve have apps (which OSs, are they good)?</strong></li><li><strong>Does Curve have Apple Pay / Google Pay integration?</strong></li><li><strong>How is the customer support for Curve</strong></li><li><strong>The Good</strong></li><li><strong>The Bad (what they can improve on)</strong></li><li><strong>Conclusion</strong></li></ol><p>This should give you a comprehensive look at all things <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> — if you’re more interested in getting an answer to a question, feel free to skip directly to that section using the menu above.</p><h3>What is Curve?</h3><p><em>I always find it easier to just give you their own explanation of the service, and then expand on that by explaining in simpler terms what it actually means.</em></p><p>So here’s what <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> says about <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>: “ <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> is an over-the-top banking platform, consolidating multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and app. The unique <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card allows customers to supercharge their legacy banks to the 21st century without leaving their bank or topping up.”</p><p><strong>What does this mean exactly?</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> offers a card that aims to integrate all your cards into one</strong>. Instead of carrying a bunch of different debit and credit cards, you just add them in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app, verify them, and then you can simply carry around the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card and have access to spending from any of your other bank cards.</p><p>That’s the main idea behind this fintech app — of course, there are many other features, which we’ll get into more detail in this review and explain how you can benefit from them, but this <em>one card to rule them all</em> idea is the foundation of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>.</p><p>Don’t get me wrong, things like <strong><em>cashback, loyalty cards, free ATM cash withdrawals, Go Back In Time option, etc.</em></strong> are like icing on the cake and they enrich the whole experience of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> — but the killer feature that drew me to this app was its card combining one, and I’d be happy just using that one.</p><p>I’m always looking to know a bit more about the companies behind the services I use, so let’s get a quick glimpse into how <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> got started.</p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Who are they (a touch of history)</h3><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> got founded in 2015 by Shachar Bialick, a former Israeli special forces soldier, born in Tel-Aviv — he’s also currently the company’s CEO.</p><p><em>“After leaving the army Shachar successfully founded and then sold a string of companies, including a door and windows business, and a recruitment firm. He also made time to get the top master of business administration qualification.”</em> — <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49635660">BBC</a></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> secured a seed funding of $2 million in December 2015 and followed with an open beta for iOS users in the “business community” in February 2016. <strong>It officially launched in Ireland, in January 2018.</strong></p><p>Right now, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> is live in <strong>31 markets across the European Economic Area</strong> (EEA) and has offices in London, Bristol, Brooklyn, and Vilnius. They’ve got <strong>2,000,000+</strong> users, with <strong>30k+</strong> monthly added sign-ups.</p><p>Having started as a London-based company, after Brexit to continue serving EU customers they expanded to Vilnius (Lithuania), where they got their electronic money institution license, to use for all clients outside the UK.</p><p>All and all, a pretty normal path, from idea to raising financing to launch a product that works and solves an actual problem. They seem to be growing at a decent rate, and constantly expanding their market and product line.</p><p>But enough history, let’s get back to the present and see how they stack up when analyzed more closely.</p><p><em>This history bit is definitely the most boring part of the article, and if you’ve actually read it, wow, and congrats! Here’s a picture of a cute bunny as a reward:</em></p><figure><img alt="(warning, not an actual Curve product)" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*Wnl5qZbGYFv0XAQ8y7kB8Q.jpeg" /><figcaption>(warning, not an actual Curve product)</figcaption></figure><h3>How safe is Curve</h3><p>In this section, I’ll show you all their <strong>security</strong> features, but also a quick summary of the <strong>controversies</strong> they’ve been touched by along their way (as any new startup has) — just to give you a fuller picture of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> as a public company.</p><p>So, on the legal and regulatory side, this is how <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> operates:</p><p><em>“The and e-money, related to cards issued in the UK, is issued by Curve OS Limited, authorized in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money (firm reference number 900926). The and e-money, related to cards issued in the EEA, is issued by Curve Europe UAB, authorized in Lithuania by the Bank of Lithuania (electronic money institution license №73 issued on 22 of October 2020).”</em></p><p>Obviously, <strong>they’ve got financial operating licenses for both UK and EU</strong>, so nothing out of the ordinary here.</p><p>What I find usually listed as a matter of concern (and this only applies to UK customers) is that <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> card purchases are not covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act</strong> (which protects anything you buy over £100 with a credit card, in case the package goes missing or arrives broken, or the retailer you bought it from goes bankrupt before delivering it, stuff like that).</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card doesn’t fall under this protection mainly because they act as a middle-man between your bank (and your money) and the retailer you buy the product/service from.</p><p><strong>The Controversies</strong></p><p>However, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> has got you covered here with their “ <strong>Curve Customer Protection</strong>” feature, which basically means they’ll raise a dispute on your behalf if you have a problem with a purchase from a retailer ( <strong>up to £100,000</strong>).</p><p>And since their card provider is Mastercard, you also have <strong>Mastercard chargeback rights</strong> (basically another layer of protection, in case your order goes missing or arrives damaged).</p><p>One other problem that <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> faced is their ongoing cat-and-mouse match with American Express. In short, they initially had support for Amex cards (from January 2019), then Amex blocked several thousand customers from using Curve’s services that week; <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> was reported as trying to sue American Express on account of anti-competitive practices.</p><p>The result today is that <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> does not have support for American Express cards,</strong> and probably never will. So if that’s something that would affect your workflow, keep it in mind when considering <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>.</p><p>On a side note, this might also be one of the reasons for their delayed expansion into the US market, which they had planned since December 2018. They have renewed their US launch interest in the latest months, so we might see them this year expand into the American market.</p><p>Another controversy came in November of 2019 when “ <em>Business Insider reported that Curve had failed to disclose to crowdfund investors that just 14% of its customers were using Curve once a month or more. According to the article, only 72,000 of Curve’s stated 500,000 customers were using its product even once a month.</em> “</p><p><strong>The Wirecard problem</strong>: when the card &amp; payment solutions company Wirecard, which <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> had partnered with, went under, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> services were affected, between 26–29 June of 2020. They moved their card issuing relationship to Mastercard and their e-money operations in-house.</p><p>There are growing pains with any startup, and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> hasn’t been spared, but they also seem to have handled these issues and moved forward, so I feel we can give them a pass here.</p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Curve products and features explained</h3><p><strong>1. The Curve card</strong></p><p>You probably understand by now the gist of how <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> works: <strong>they have a card attached to their app, and in the app you can add your other cards, condensing your whole financial accounts into one card.</strong></p><p>That’s really the simplest way of explaining Curve’s focus, but they offer many other features that can benefit you, and in this section of the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> review we’ll get into each one of these options, everything you get with a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> account.</p><p>Their Mastercard-issued debit card is the pillar of the whole <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> experience. You sign-up for an account and then you can order the card to your desired address.</p><p>While your physical card is being delivered, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> will issue you with a <strong>virtual</strong> one, in the app, so that you can start spending with it right away. Once the physical card arrives, you can activate it from the app and that’s the one you’ll be using from then on.</p><p><em>“This applies to any Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card you may own. However, if you use an American Express, Maestro, Diners Club, JCB, or UnionPay card, Curve will unfortunately not support it.”</em></p><p>The card is sent <strong>free of charge</strong>, and keep in mind that your physical card will have a different CVC code and expiry date than the virtual one; so if you input the details of the virtual card somewhere (like ad it to your Amazon account or something), you’ll need to update that info once you receive and activate the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> physical card.</p><p>To fund your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card, you’ll need to <strong>add &amp; verify your other debit or credit cards</strong>, which is easy to do from the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app. After this, if you added multiple cards, you can select the one you want to be used as the source of funds by clicking on it in the app.</p><p>Each time you add a card, you will have to verify it, which involves <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> <strong>charging and then refunding a small amount</strong>.</p><p><strong>2. Curve Cash card</strong></p><p>Once you have multiple cards added, you can swap anytime the source of your funds when you want to pay for something (and even go back and change the source of funds, with a “Go Back In Time” feature from <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>, which we’ll detail a bit further down).</p><p>There are a few ways you can use to personalize your linked cards: you have the option <strong>to change their card image, their name, and their currency</strong>. This last one is especially useful, if you know exactly your card’s currency and want to avoid being asked when paying at a POS which currency you prefer, the local or your bank’s.</p><p><strong>3. Curve Cashback rewards</strong></p><p>This card is a <strong>virtual</strong> one you have in your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app, and it’s funded by your <strong>cashbacks, promos, referrals, or money</strong> other people using <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> send to you. Once you accumulate some money in here, these funds are used <em>automagically</em> by <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> to pay for purchases.</p><p>The trick is that the purchase amount has to be smaller or equal to the amount you have in your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> cash account. You can’t use this cash for the partial payment towards a purchase, with the rest being paid with another linked card, it just doesn’t work that way.</p><p>The cashback you can get by using <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> is one of its main selling points. <strong>You can get 1% back from the amount of your purchases, the period of time, and retailers available for cashback varies between Curve’s pricing plans.</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> has 3 pricing plans (which we’ll talk about in more detail later): <strong>Curve Standard</strong> (which is free), <strong>Curve Black</strong> (9.99€/month), and <strong>Curve Metal </strong>(14.99€/month).</p><p>For the premium plans, the way cashback works is pretty simple: with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Black, you get <strong>1% cashback for 3 selected retailers</strong> (unlimited time), and with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Metal you get <strong>1% cashback for 6 selected retailers</strong> (unlimited time). Keep in mind that once you confirm your choice of retailers, <strong>you won’t be able to change them</strong> (which kind of sucks and I hope they’ll reconsider this in the future).</p><p>As far as the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard free plan goes, they seem to keep changing the cashback option. When I first signed up, a few months ago, they gave me <strong>1% cashback on 3 retailers of my choice, for a limited time</strong> (I think it was 3 months, but I honestly cannot remember exactly).</p><p>The current <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard cashback option, for customers who signed up on or after 28.06.2021, is an introductory <strong>30-day Welcome Cashback offer of 1% on (almost) all transactions.</strong> After this period, if you want to still enjoy these cashback perks, you need to sign up for one of their paid plans.</p><p>In my experience, this <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> cashback worked perfectly — one of my retailers of choice was Amazon, and <strong>I got 1% back with no hitch</strong>, for all purchases made in the eligible period. Occasionally I would pay for something small with my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card, and get that satisfying notification of paying for it with free money, that is the funds accumulated in my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> cash account.</p><p>With European cards rarely offering a cashback feature on purchases, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> really has a chance here to carve out a good piece of the market with this option.</p><p>And best of all: this <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> cashback work on top of any other cashback option you might have from your linked cards in the app. For example, at times I use a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card, connected to <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>, which also has a cashback option. <strong>And this way I get cashback from both these cards, for the same purchase</strong>. Pretty sweet deal, if you ask me!</p><p><strong>4. Anti-Embarrassment Mode</strong></p><p>As far as the choice of retailers, there’s a <strong>pretty comprehensive list available</strong> (you can check it out <a href="https://www.curve.com/legal/curve-cash/">on their website</a>) and I think they’re constantly working to expand it.</p><p>But even now, there’s a pretty good chance you can find your favorite ones there and pick them for that 1% cashback on purchases.</p><p><strong>5. Loyalty Cards</strong></p><p>A fancy name for a simple feature: essentially, you can choose in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app a backup card, to be used in the event your main, selected one, fails during a transaction. This way, <strong>you’ll get no more rejected transactions</strong>, as the backup one is automatically used in such a situation.</p><p>Seems like a small feature, but it’s something almost impossible to replicate by other banking cards &amp; apps since they don’t usually have access to your other cards or accounts.</p><p>Alongside your other cards (cash card &amp; link local cards), <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> also lets you add your <strong>various loyalty cards</strong> and have them easily accessible within the app.</p><p><strong>6. Go Back in Time</strong></p><p>You can choose from a list of available retailers and scan your loyalty card. If the retailer you’re looking for isn’t in the list (as was the case with Carrefour, when I tried adding my card) you can simply click “ <em>add a different card</em> “ and scan or input the card number manually, choose a name for it and you’re good to go.</p><p>From the loyalty cards I use, <strong>Ikea</strong> was listed as a retailer in the app, and the <strong>Carrefour</strong> one I had to add manually, but in the end, they both work as intended. Nice little way to clear out your wallet or use one less app (I used to have all my loyalty cards in an app called <strong>Stocard</strong>, but since I got <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> I switched the cards and put them in their app).</p><p>Now, this is another feature that only <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> seems to be able to implement, due to its unique nature in the financial field of apps: <strong>the ability to switch payments from one card to another, up to 30 days after the payment was made (up to 5,000€).</strong></p><p>If you paid with the wrong card, or simply realize that you’d prefer to use the funds from a different card after you already made a purchase, this Back In Time option becomes really useful.</p><p>This is how it works: each transaction has this back in time feature on its details page, you can click it, choose a different card for it and the transaction gets charged on the new one. <strong>The transaction from the initial card gets refunded and you get those funds back in your account.</strong></p><p><strong>7. Curve Fronted</strong></p><p>Mind you, this refund isn’t instant and when I’ve used the feature it took a few hours to see it on my card, but it can also take up to a few days to see the refund processed. <strong>But in my experience, it worked as advertised.</strong></p><p>This is another cool feature that you’re probably not gonna use daily, but that can be a lifesaver in certain situations (think xxx subscriptions that get charged to the wrong card * <em>wink</em> * <em>wink</em>).</p><p><strong>8. Curve Flex</strong></p><p>This is mostly interesting for UK customers, and it basically offers <strong>the ability to pay your UK taxes or credit card bills with another credit card</strong>. This feature incurs a 1.5% fee per transaction for <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Black customers, and it’s free for <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Metal clients.</p><p>If you’re someone who needs this, it can actually make a lot of sense and help you maximize your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> rewards, but for someone like me, who doesn’t live in the UK, it’s probably something I won’t ever need for.</p><p>This is a recently added feature (launched in September 2021), and it’s pretty cool on its own: leveraging the Go Back In Time function of Curve, it lets you “ <strong>convert almost any purchase made on any card linked to the Curve platform in the past 12-months into an installment plan</strong>”. It works for almost any purchase made at any merchant, from any card, up to a year ago.</p><p>In essence, you can go back and look through your transactions, pick a substantial one, choose the number of installments ( <strong>3, 6, 9, or 12 monthly installments)</strong> and that’s it! <strong>Curve refunds you the original amount paid</strong> and you have access to that money right away.</p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus</a></figcaption></figure><p><strong>9. And all the other cool stuff</strong></p><p>The first installment payment is due in 30 days, and Curve Flex also gives you 7 extra days to pay — no fees added.</p><p><strong>This essentially turns the Curve card into a credit card,</strong> with powers beyond the normal credit cards, since it allows for past purchases to be also split into installments.</p><p>⁃ <strong>Fair exchange rates</strong>: <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> says their foreign exchange rate typically offers a lower markup than the big banks (up to 500€/month for the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard free plan, unlimited access for the other premium plans)</p><p><strong>Speaking of spending insights:</strong></p><p>⁃ <strong>Free ATM cash withdrawals:</strong> the sum here differs with the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> plan you’re on ( <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard gets 200€/month, while <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Black and Metal customers get 400 and 600€/month, respectively). For ATM withdrawals, keep in mind that the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> fees are added on top of your card fees if you have any for withdrawals.</p><p>⁃ <strong>Spending insights:</strong> see what you’re spending on your accounts at once with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> insights. Nothing special here, most banks and fintech apps offer this. The advantage <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> has is that you can see the spending centralized for all your cards &amp; bank accounts that you have linked in the app, so you get a much better overview of your financial habits.</p><p>“Your card issuer will also receive the MCC (merchant category code), so they can identify your spend categories, and they will also see if the transaction was a cash withdrawal.” — this is great since <strong>I can still track and analyze my expenses in the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut"><strong>Revolut</strong></a><strong> app</strong>, as my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> card is my daily driver right now.</p><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> features and products I’ve detailed here are all available for both free and paying customers, but there’s also some stuff only available for the premium plans.</p><p>Let’s take a look at those plans and see if they can benefit you more than the basic <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard one.</p><h3>Pricing of their plans (free &amp; premium)</h3><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> offers 3 tiers for their customer accounts: <strong>Curve Standard </strong>(which is <strong>FREE</strong>), <strong>Curve Black </strong>(which is <strong>9.99€/month</strong>), and <strong>Curve Metal</strong> (costing <strong>14.99€/month</strong>).</p><p>Naturally, the premium plans offer a wider variety of features, here’s a visual comparison between them:</p><figure><img alt="Curve app pricing plans" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*FkhSfLQRx0WynGp_O33TTw.jpeg" /><figcaption>Curve app pricing plans</figcaption></figure><p>As you can see, one of Curve’s main features, the cashback on purchases, looks very different based on what your customer plan is.</p><p>It’s the same percentage of <strong>1% cashback</strong> across the board, but the way you get it differs: the free Standard plan gets you only a time-limited taste of cashback, while the premium plans give a choice of 3 (for <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Black) or 6 retailers (for <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Metal), for as long as you are a paying customer on these plans.</p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus</a></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Are the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> paid plans worth it?</strong></p><p>Two other areas where the plans have different amounts of the perk are the exchange rates and <strong>free ATM withdrawals</strong>. From 500€/month to unlimited for great exchange rates, and from 200 to 600€/month for the free ATM withdrawals.</p><p>The two paid plans also come with worldwide travel insurance, and the top Metal card also gets things like <strong>mobile phone insurance</strong>, <strong>worldwide airport LoungeKey access, rental car collision waiver insurance</strong> and, of course, its <strong>premium metal debit card</strong>.</p><p>Now, this here is more of a personal choice question, where the answer lies within your own financial life.</p><p><strong>Do you use your cards a lot in a different country, paying in a different currency? </strong>Then the paid plans help you here, with their access to unlimited great exchange rates.</p><p><strong>Do you need to withdraw a lot of cash each month? </strong>Then maybe you can benefit from the higher free withdrawal limits, offered by the premium <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> cards.</p><p><strong>So, how would I go about figuring out if I want to pay for the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> premium plans?</strong></p><p>You probably don’t need all the extra stuff that the Metal plan exclusively has, but if among them there are things you regularly use (maybe you’re a frequent flyer and access to an airport lounge is high on your list), then paying for Metal might make sense for you.</p><p>Personally, for me the key difference between the plans boils down to <strong>the cashback option</strong>: I have the <strong>Standard</strong> card now, it’s free and it gives me 1% on my chosen retailers. I buy a lot of the stuff I need on Amazon, and being able to get some of that money back is pretty sweet. But it’s time-limited and will soon end for my free plan.</p><p>First of all, take a good look at the list of retailers available for cashback and see if they’re ones that you use in there. Then <strong>pick your top 3 (or 6) and calculate on average how much you spend at those retailers each month</strong>. Then do some more math and see what 1% of that total sum is.</p><p>If that 1% is more than what you would pay for a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Black or <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Metal plan, there you have it! That’s your answer, it makes sense to upgrade and get the difference between that sum and the price of the plan back. Obviously, alongside the other premium perks offered by those plans.</p><p>If the number you come up with doesn’t get higher than the price of the premium plans then just stick with the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Standard free plan. Enjoy the limited cashback, and afterward just use the other <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> features, like their main one that helps you get rid of the rest of your credit and debit cards and carry only one. <strong>The </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> card.</strong></p><h3>Does Curve have apps (which operating systems, are they any good)?</h3><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app is currently available across three major platforms: <strong>App Store</strong>, <strong>Google Play Store</strong> and <strong>HUAWEI AppGallery.</strong> So both <strong>iOS</strong> and <strong>Android</strong> users are covered here.</p><p>You actually need apps to take advantage of your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> account, <strong>there’s no way to use </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> on the web</strong>. So get downloading if you’re interested in getting a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> account.</p><p>In terms of the quality of the apps, I think the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app is pretty good. I’m only talking here about the iOS one, as the phone I use is an iPhone, but I see the Android one has a 4.4 rating in the Playstore, so it’s probably on par with the iOS version.</p><p>If I were to be nitpicking here, I’d just list a design thing that <em>rattles my OCD</em> when starting the iOS app:</p><figure><img alt="Curve iOS app login screen" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*Z2wOAttjTU9yIbymBYVBpg.jpeg" /><figcaption>Curve iOS app login screen</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Why, oh why, can’t they just center that text?</strong> Or do something with those dots for the PIN code. It just seems…unfinished, and a UI faux-pas. But hey, maybe that’s just me.</p><p>Other than that, the app offers <strong>easy access</strong> to all the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> features, it’s <strong>intuitive</strong> enough that you can discover pretty much everything by clicking around in it, and gets constant <strong>updates</strong>, which is always a good sign.</p><h3>Does Curve have Apple Pay / Google Pay integration?</h3><p>In short, <strong>YES</strong>! The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card <strong>works with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.</strong></p><p>In fact, that’s one of the reasons that made me sign up with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> in the first place, just for being able to use some of my other cards (such as the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> and Crypto.com debit cards) with Apple Pay.</p><p>To be honest, I haven’t used a physical card for paying for a few years now, I just use Apple Pay on my phone and watch, so Apple Pay support is the one thing I look for in any card or financial app I sign up for. And now, using my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app, I can pretty much add any card here and use it in my normal payment flow, without a hitch.</p><p><em>As a side note</em>, it always makes me crack a smile when I see all these fintech apps coming up with newer, fancier, cooler designs for their debit cards, every month almost.</p><figure><img alt="Revolut “WHALE” card design" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*PpPcaE2JYAiHbpLu9qFHMA.jpeg" /><figcaption>Revolut “WHALE” card design</figcaption></figure><p>Case in point: these <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> cards, with <em>whale</em> and <em>lambo</em>; look, I get it, it’s another marketing weapon, another content provider thing. But come one, let’s actually focus on something useful.</p><p>I keep all these physical cards in a cardholder, all stacked together, until they expire, and just use them in Apple Pay (and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>, when needed), so these designs don’t actually do anything for me.</p><p><em>But I digress.</em></p><p>One point to also add to the scoreboard is the <strong>Samsung Pay</strong> integration. Most fintech cards focus on Apple Pay and Google Pay solutions, but <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> went above and beyond here.</p><p>They also offer smartwatch integrations, with <strong>FitBit, Garmin, or Sony Wena</strong>. Pretty cool stuff!</p><p>Needless to say, you should be well covered by <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> regardless of the payment ecosystem you live in.</p><h3>How is the customer support for Curve</h3><p>As far as offered support options, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> has its customers pretty well covered. There’s the support <strong>chat</strong> option in the app, and you can also submit a <strong>request</strong> for any issue you might encounter; there’s a comprehensive <strong>Help</strong> section with FAQs, and there’s also a <a href="https://community.curve.com"><strong>community forum</strong></a>.</p><p>They’ve got a Twitter handle, <a href="https://twitter.com/askcurve">@AskCurve </a>dedicated to Customer Support queries, and <a href="https://twitter.com/imaginecurve">@ImagineCurve</a> (their main Twitter account), and you can also interact with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> staff over on their <strong>Instagram</strong>, <strong>LinkedIn</strong> and <strong>Facebook</strong> profiles.</p><p>I’ve had some experience with the Curve support team, trying to solve issues I’ve had with the app, and they seemed knowledgeable and pretty fast to respond to my queries.</p><p>To name just a few issues and how they were handled:</p><p><strong>Issue No 1: Cashback is not instant, takes a few minutes to show in the app.</strong></p><p>I thought it was instant at first and that it didn’t work, I even created a ticket to support to ask about it. By the time they got back to me, which was pretty fast, like 1 day, this was already solved. Side note here, this cashback delay should be featured more prominently on the website.</p><p><strong>Issue No 2: Getting a card declined error when paying with the card at Amazon.</strong></p><p>I had put in my virtual Curve card details on my Amazon account, purchases went without a problem, but when my Curve physical card finally arrived, I tried using it and it got constantly rejected by Amazon. I contacted support, and this was the apparent culprit:</p><figure><img alt="Curve app issue with Amazon purchase" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*N1s9LtbfI_l3qNBXfwFS3w.jpeg" /><figcaption>Curve app issue with Amazon purchase</figcaption></figure><p>Yup, the expiry date on the card was wrong. They solved pretty fast, issued me with a new card which arrived a few days later and I had no problem using it on Amazon. So, five stars here for the problem-solving skills!</p><p><strong>Issue No 3: Not receiving the verification code for adding the card to Apple Pay.</strong></p><p>This is something that happened for my second physical card when it arrived. The Apple Pay integration worked perfectly with the virtual card, but when I switched to the physical one, there was a step where Apple Pay was requesting a code sent by message for verifying the card, <strong>a code which I never received</strong>.</p><figure><img alt="Curve app issue with Apple Pay verification message" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*UrsdjnmTo9EcEOFfgZJjMQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>Curve app issue with Apple Pay verification message</figcaption></figure><p>This also got resolved by <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> support, and I was able to add &amp; verify the card in Apple Pay afterward.</p><p>These are the only issues I had with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>, and the interactions with their Customer Care team were very good, they actually solved the problems speedily. <strong>So, I would give their support team-high marks, based on my own interactions with them.</strong></p><h3>The Good Stuff about Curve</h3><p>There’s a lot of cool stuff that <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> brings to the table, and theirs is definitely a different spin on the topic of fintech apps.</p><p><strong>So far, seems like the only startup (or the best-known one) that has taken this route, and it’s working well for them.</strong></p><p>Almost all these new financial apps basically ring the same bell: multiple currency accounts, decent exchange rates, analytics, managing your card on your mobile, and so on. Just a play on the weaknesses of the traditional banking system.</p><p>Curve has carved itself a special niche inside this field of fintech apps: they’re not a virtual bank, they’re an aggregator of banking services. They don’t offer bank accounts and IBANs, just an e-money account linked to your previous banking accounts &amp; cards.</p><p>Among their features, a few stand out, things that made me sign-up for a Curve card, which makes the most sense for my own finances.</p><p>Here’s my top 3:</p><p><strong>1. The one card to include all my cards</strong></p><p>That’s pretty obvious, but it’s such a delight to compress all your cards into one (especially if you have a ton of them). No more carrying them around, no more adding a multitude of them to Apple Pay, keeping track of expenses and analytics on each one of them, in their own apps. Poof! All those struggles were gone, replaced by one app connected to one card, added to Apple Pay. Simple, minimal, the stuff of financial dreams.</p><p><strong>2. Enables Apple Pay for non-Apple Pay cards</strong></p><p>As I’ve mentioned before, I have a few cards which are not Apple Pay supported, and Curve made it very easy to use them with Apple Pay (I’m talking about my Wirex, Nuri and Crypto.com debit cards). Cannot overestimate how much this solution has helped with having a more organized financial routine.</p><p><strong>3. That 1% of sweet, sweet cashback</strong></p><p>Not many cards on the European market have this cashback option and most of the ones that do have it give you that cashback in cryptocurrency (like <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> or <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a>). <strong>Curve gives you back that cash in traditional, fiat currency</strong> (in British pounds).</p><p>Now, I know that it’s time-limited for the free plan, but think of it as a free trial: you can test it, see in the app’s analytics how much you get back from your purchases each month, and if it makes sense for you just pull the trigger and go for one of the paid plans. It’s that simple of a decision.</p><p><strong>A special mention</strong> here for a feature I’ve never seen elsewhere, the Go Back In Time feature, that lets you change the source of funds after the purchase. This is such a clever trick, and the only reason I’m not ranking it higher is that I don’t see myself using it that often. But it’s definitely something nice to have.</p><h3>The Bad things about Curve</h3><p>Look, I always have this section in my reviews because there’s always stuff that goes wrong in their usage, or stuff that doesn’t work well enough. But in this case, to be honest, <strong>there’s nothing inherently negative I can say about </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong>.</strong> So let’s turn this into something a bit different:</p><p><strong>Stuff that Curve can improve on:</strong></p><p>⁃ In the section about their customer support I’ve mentioned some issues that arose and got solved by <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>. The good thing is the speedy and helpful support. The thing that could be improved is lowering the number of issues. I’ve only been a client for like half a year, and still experienced several issues that is kind of high for such a short period. <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> should improve its internal systems and procedures</strong>, to avoid these issues from happening in the first place.</p><p>⁃ <strong>Give me back cashback in EUR, not Pounds</strong> — look, I get it, Curve’s a British company, but since all my accounts are in EUR, all my spending is in EUR, why not have my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Cash account also in EUR, and avoid the constant currency exchange when paying with it? Seems to me like something they can introduce in the future.</p><p>⁃ <strong>Give some sort of cashback on the free </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> Standard plan, for an unlimited period </strong>— I get that they’re trying to have you sign up for the higher tier plans, but other cashback cards providers manage somehow to also give something back on the free plan (again, like <a href="https://danminea.com/my-experience-with-wirex-worth-it-or-not/">Wirex</a> or <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a>). I’d say a 0,5% on one retailer should do it, or something similar.</p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Signup Bonus</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>I’m gonna come right out and say it: <strong>I’m a fan of the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> card.</strong> It has a unique take on the fintech genre, and it’s genuinely useful for getting rid of the clutter that can become your daily financial life.</p><p>I’m using my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card every day, basically, all my purchases run through their system, and are funded by my other cards, which I can rotate as a money source in whatever way I might need.</p><p>The cashback is a real perk, and I’ll probably upgrade to the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> Black tier once my cashback period on the Standard plan ends. Hello, Amazon Prime day!</p><p>All and all, one of the easiest recommendations I’ve ever had to give: <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> is definitely worth checking out</strong>, go ahead and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">read more on their website</a>.</p><p>And I’d love to hear how you use it if you do end up as a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> customer!</p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=21eb106b32f5" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[My Experience with Wirex: Worth it or Not? + 10$ FREE Bonus(2024)]]></title>
            <link>https://medium.com/@sanelygreat/my-experience-with-wirex-worth-it-or-not-10-free-bonus-2022-7cb2d845f5dc?source=rss-e32e012d6390------2</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/7cb2d845f5dc</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[wirex-card]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[cryptocurrency]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[crypto]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[cashback]]></category>
            <category><![CDATA[wirex]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sanely Great]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2021 16:06:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <atom:updated>2024-01-02T23:10:17.750Z</atom:updated>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/960/0*9Co_wJuGmiDyLwjr.png" /></figure><p>You might have heard about <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> when looking for the best crypto debit card, something to connect and use your crypto holdings in day-to-day expenses.</p><p>But their features run much deeper than that, and in this article, I’m gonna give you a rundown on the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to using <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>, from my own personal experience with them.</p><p>Since I wanted to go really in-depth for this <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> review, the article will be on the longer side, so I’ve broken it down into specific sections, — <strong>read it all or feel free to jump around to the part that interests you most.</strong></p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Summary</h3><ol><li><strong>What is Wirex?</strong></li><li><strong>Who are they (a bit of history)</strong></li><li><strong>How safe are they</strong></li><li><strong>Wirex products and features explained</strong></li><li><strong>Pricing of their plans</strong></li><li><strong>Does Wirex have apps (which operating systems, are they any good)?</strong></li><li><strong>Does Wirex have Apple Pay / Google Pay integration?</strong></li><li><strong>How is the support for Wirex</strong></li><li><strong>The Good</strong></li><li><strong>The Bad</strong></li><li><strong>What they can improve on</strong></li><li><strong>Conclusion</strong></li></ol><p>This should give you a great overview of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> and help you decide if it’s a good fit for your needs.</p><p>And now, without further ado, let’s get into the meat of things!</p><h3>What is Wirex?</h3><p>In their own words, “ <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> is a worldwide digital payment platform and regulated institution, that has forged new rules in the digital payments space.”</p><p>In simpler terms, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> is a <strong>fintech digital platform</strong> (located in London, UK, and with offices around the world — Atlanta, Toronto, Tokyo, and Singapore, Kiev) <strong>that offers access to a physical debit card that can be funded with crypto assets</strong>. They’re also a cryptocurrency exchange, where you can buy, store, exchange, and spend a plethora of crypto assets.</p><p>Their main appeal is their <strong>crypto debit card</strong>, which can also grow your account, when used, via their up to 2% Cryptoback™ rewards on all your spending (this varies based on the pricing plan you’re on, we’ll get more into all that a bit later).</p><p><strong>They have their own native crypto token</strong>, WXT, which you can buy and trade in the app and gives you access to their more premium features, like <strong>cryptoback rewards, annual savings bonus, and a decent amount of exclusive merchant offers.</strong></p><p>We’ll explore each one of their features in the following sections of the article, but for now, let’s take a closer look at <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> itself and how they got here.</p><h3>Who are they (a bit of history)</h3><p><a href="https://wirexapp.com/r/danminea">Wirex</a> was launched in 2014 by CEOs and co-founders Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev — it got its start under the name E-Coin, and in February 2016 they’re rebranded to their current one, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>.</p><p>“In 2015, E-Coin successfully crowdfunded around $200K from 93 investors via the online investment platform BnkToTheFuture. In March 2017, Wirex raised $3 million in a Series A funding round from the Fintech fund established by Japanese financial giant SBI Group.” (via Golden, <a href="https://golden.com/wiki/Wirex-EAVXPWM">https://golden.com/wiki/Wirex-EAVXPWM</a>)</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> now operates in 130 countries with 3m+ registered users and has offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo, Delaware, Toronto, and Kiev.</p><p>In short:</p><p><strong>* 3.1m+ registered users in 130 countries<br>* 220k+ monthly active users<br>* £3bn+ cumulative transaction volume<br>* £315m turnover, £4m net profit (last 12 months to June 2020)</strong></p><p>They’ve also been, since the start, kind of a pioneer in the domain of crypto-focused fintech, pushing the field forward and being one of the first to make strides into linking the legacy financial system with the new, crypto-based, decentralized one.</p><p>For example:<br><strong><em>“In 2020, Wirex became Mastercard’s first “native” crypto-friendly principal member.”</em></strong></p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>How safe are they</h3><p>As a company, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> is a licensed and regulated platform</strong> — in 2018, they received their e-money license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).</p><p>The safety of your account with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> looks solid, and they do offer access to two-factor authentication (2FA), which has become a minimum standard for fintech companies.</p><p>After the account setup process, when you have to go through the Proof of Identity process (pretty quick and straightforward), I’ve never had any account login issues or anything of that sort.</p><p>As with most of the other fintech apps, there are always reports from users of accounts blocked or frozen, so best to keep this in mind when dealing with online-type services, but <strong>I haven’t found the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> ones to be more than the average of the industry.</strong></p><p>These usually happen because all these financial companies have to obey the anti-money-laundering laws, and they usually employ AI and algorithms to do the first-line work. Surprise-surprise, these algorithms sometimes mess up.</p><p>But this is a common problem in this new fintech field, which you have to deal with regardless of the app you choose.</p><p>The only security problem I’ve encountered (which I’ll detail further down in the article) is an issue I had with the iOS app, specifically an error when trying to set up the PIN code of the app (might be just something that happens on a certain combination of app version + device + version of OS, and I’ve already reported it to their support team).</p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Wirex products and features explained</h3><p>Here’s where we get into the nitty-gritty details of the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> services and see how they can best benefit you.</p><p><strong>1. Wirex Payments</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> gives you access to multiple accounts in a variety of currencies, <strong>both fiat, and crypto</strong>. Here’s what’s available at the moment in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> app:</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> traditional currency accounts:</p><p><strong>EUR — Euro<br>GBP — Great Britain Pound<br>CAD — Canadian dollar<br>CZK — Czech koruna<br>HUF — Hungarian forint<br>PLN — Polish złoty<br>RON — Romanian leu<br>HRK — Croatian kuna<br>USD — United States dollar</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> cryptocurrency accounts:</p><p><strong>BTC — Bitcoin<br>ETH — Ethereum<br>XRP — Ripple<br>LTC — Litecoin<br>XLM — Stellar<br>WXT — Wirex Token<br>MKR — Maker<br>LINK — Chainlink<br>WAVES<br>AAVE<br>UNI — Uniswap<br>YFI — Yearn.finance<br>DAI<br>NANO<br>XLM — Stellar Lumen<br>ZRX — 0x<br>UMA<br>BAT — Basic Attention Token<br>FTT — FTX Token<br>LINK — Chainlink<br>OMG — OMG Network<br>SNX — Synthetix</strong></p><p>They’re adding new cryptocurrencies regularly, I remember getting a notification from the app each time there’s a new one available, so their roster of cryptos is always on the rise.</p><p><strong>You can fund your FIAT accounts using a linked local card</strong> — basically, you just link &amp; verify your normal debit card, and then you can use it to top up your accounts on <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>, which works like a normal online payment transaction.</p><p>For your crypto accounts, after you add your favorite ones in the app, you activate them, and then you have access to their wallet address (you can use the QR code or just copy &amp; paste the address).</p><p>Once you do this, you can<strong> top up your </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> wallets by sending crypto from your external crypto wallet</strong> to their respective address. Alternatively, just use your linked local debit card to top them up (this basically works like a transaction on a crypto exchange, where you receive tokens for your sum of money — <strong>your fee consists of the OTC rates + commission</strong> -&gt; which, after some digging around, I found it to be <strong>2.49%</strong>, kind of on the high side).</p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><p><strong>2. The Wirex Card</strong></p><p>The star of the app is, without a doubt, their <strong>multi-currency debit card, powered by MasterCard.</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> turned their card into something of a too-good-to-be-true kind of deal, by allowing you to link it and spend from all your accounts in the app (both FIAT and crypto), the best part is the on-the-fly conversion at the point of sale, <strong>with NO EXCHANGE fees</strong>.</p><p>Honestly, the zero-fees thing is a killer feature, allowing you to keep your investments in multiple stores of value and use them whenever you need, without worrying about converting them beforehand. This means you can have, for example, EUR and USD, along with BTC and ETH, in your Wirex account, and use all of them for your daily expenses.</p><p>A cool little feature, that I really like, is <strong>the ability to pinpoint in the app the order of preference for your spending</strong>, meaning you can drag and drop your accounts (in the card section) and set them up as needed: for example, you want to first spend your USD and then dip into your Bitcoin wallet? No problem, put USD at the top and your BTC account underneath.</p><p>If you’re traveling, your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card also helps you pay in the local currency, <strong>by converting your currencies to the one used in the foreign country you’ve traveled to</strong>, giving you access to 150+ currencies at live interbank rates, with zero fees for the exchange.</p><p><strong>Instant Rewards </strong>is another sweet spot from your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card: in essence, when you spend money with it you receive up to 2% in WXT (their own <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> token) with their Cryptoback rewards program.</p><p>Now, this varies significantly based on the pricing plan you’re on: <strong>from 0.5% Cryptoback (for in-store purchases) on their Free plan and up to 2% Cryptoback (both for in-store and online purchases) on their Elite plan.</strong></p><p>We’ll talk more in the following section about their free vs. paid plan features, but I have to tell you, right off the bat, that this cashback rewards feature makes the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card one of the best options for earning money while spending money (especially in Europe, where there aren’t many credit or debit cards which offer cashback programs, unlike the US, where there’s loads of them).</p><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card <strong>doesn’t have any monthly maintenance fee</strong>, and there are <strong>free ATM withdrawals of up to €400 per month</strong>; after this sum, there’s <strong>a 2% fee</strong> for withdrawing cash.</p><p><strong>3. The Wirex Multicurrency Exchange</strong></p><p>This feature is another one that stands out and puts <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> a step above other similar fintech apps: <strong>their currency exchange using exclusive OTC and interbank rates, with zero fees on all fiat-to-fiat exchanges.</strong></p><p>What does this mean, in plain English? Basically, you can fund your account with your local, preferred currency, and then exchange it in the app for whichever currency you need, at the best rates you can get on the market.</p><p>For example, I’ve used it for funding my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> account with RON and then turn it into EUR, with the rate being noticeably better than anything I’ve used before (including <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a>, which always had the best rates for me when it came to this kind of exchange).</p><p>Buying crypto at Over-the-Counter (OTC) rates is another thing you’ll appreciate — essentially, these are again the best rates you can access, but keep in mind you’ll also have to pay their commission, 2.49% of the order (definitely higher than some other dedicated exchanges and apps, such as Binance or Coinbase Pro, but what you’re getting for this is <strong>simple convenience and ease of use</strong>).</p><p><strong>4. The Wirex X-tras (their rewards)</strong></p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> has a pretty extensive <strong>rewards program</strong>, with features designed to give you the most out of using your account, and of course, nudge you towards their paid premium plans. We’ll take a look at each of their rewards features, but from the start, we can see that even the ones available on the free plan are pretty sweet and make for a very competitive offer when compared with other crypto-focused financial apps.</p><p>This is by far the queen of the ball, and probably the feature most users create a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> account for.</p><p><strong>How does Cryptoback work?</strong> Each time you use your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card for payments you can earn a bit of money back (between 0.5–2%) in WXT (Wirex Token). In the app, there’s a special rewards account where your WXT accumulates, and you have access to it to spend it, exchange it, sell it, to do whatever you please with it.</p><p>First, you should know that <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> has 3 pricing plans for its members (which we’ll discuss a bit more in the next section):</p><ul><li><strong>STANDARD</strong> — their free plan, which offers 0.5% Cryptoback™ (only for in-store purchases, not online ones)</li><li><strong>PREMIUM</strong> — which offers 1% Cryptoback™ (both for in-store and online purchases)</li><li><strong>ELITE</strong> — which offers 2% Cryptoback™ (both for in-store and online purchases)</li></ul><p>The pricing of their premium plans, although listed on the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> website as being €9.99/month for PREMIUM and €29.99/month for ELITE, actually varies, since these plans can only be paid using their WXT token (which, being a cryptocurrency, tends to be volatile and fluctuate greatly over time, as any crypto enthusiast surely knows).</p><p><strong>How do these crypto cashbacks compare to the competition?</strong></p><p>Let’s take a look at probably their closest competitor in this field: <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com"><strong>Crypto.com</strong></a> — they’ve also got crypto-backed cards, with cashback in CRO (their own token), the difference being how you pay for the premium plans: you have to stake CRO on their platform (essentially, buy and hold CRO in your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a> account, leaving that money locked there in order to access the rewards of their programs).</p><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a> free credit card plan does offer 1% cashback, but good luck actually getting the card. I have ordered it more than 2 months ago, and no sign in sight of actually getting it.</p><p>As for the premium plans of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a>, they indeed go up to a mind-boggling 8% in CRO cashback on their top tier plan, but for that plan, you have to stake 2.5 million CRO on their platform. Doing some simple math, at the current price of CRO, which is 0.0975 EUR per coin, you’d have to leave stuck on <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a> about around 243k EUR.</p><p><strong><em>That’s… yeah, a lot!</em></strong></p><p>And that’s the story for all their premium plans, you have to stake some money which you can’t access unless you want to lose your account rewards. From 2500 CRO up to that 2.5 million CRO.</p><p>Personally, <strong>I much more prefer the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> method of a subscription, with accessible rates that give you access to up to 2% in cashback crypto</strong>. <em>It ain’t much, but it’s honest work!</em></p><p>Yes, the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a> free plan for their debit card does offer 1% in cashback as opposed to <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>’s 0.5%, that is if you <strong>EVER</strong> receive the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a> card. But their other premium plans don’t make much sense unless you are willing to leave your money stuck somewhere for an extended period of time.</p><p>Another cool reward for <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> accounts is their annual <strong>Savings Bonus</strong> on your WXT balance.</p><p>That’s available only for the paid plans and gives you an interest rate on your WXT holdings of between<strong> 4% (on the PREMIUM plan) and 12% (on the ELITE plan)</strong>. These numbers have doubled recently, previously you could only get 2% on the PREMIUM plan and 6% on the ELITE.</p><p>The savings bonus you get is also in <strong>WXT</strong> cryptocurrency, and 12<strong>%</strong> on the higher tier plan (at the moment) makes it a pretty compelling argument for holding onto some <strong>WXT</strong> in your account.</p><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card also gives you access to <strong>a selection of merchant offers</strong> (discounts, free trials, etc), best to check them out right on the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> site and see if there’s something that you could use: <a href="https://wirexapp.com/mastercard-offers">https://wirexapp.com/mastercard-offers</a></p><p>The <strong>3 months free of Headspace subscription</strong> is the one that caught my eyes, but there’s also a few clothing and cosmetics stores there at the moment (best to check on the website, these are likely to change over time).</p><p>Nothing earth-shattering, just something to keep in mind when using your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card.</p><p>This is just your standard referral benefit for when you’re sending people to their site &amp; app to become clients themselves.</p><p>In short, you get $5 in WXT when the person you refer uses their <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card for the first time, and another 5$ in WXT once they buy $100 of crypto through <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>.</p><p>They run various offers from time to time, so this number is always changing (right now you can get up to 25 € for referrals, for example).</p><p>You can find your referral link on “X-tras” in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> app, then by going to “Invite Friends”.</p><p>Full disclosure: that’s the link I’ll be using in this article, if you do end up signing up I can add a little WXT to my account.</p><p><strong>So I do appreciate you </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>using this link</strong></a><strong> and buying me a coffee (doesn’t cost you anything) when </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>signing up </strong></a><strong>to </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p>All the fintech apps have a similar feature, nothing major here, but a nice-to-have option if you like the app and share it with your friends.</p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Wirex Pricing Plans</h3><p>Time to get a bit more in-depth into the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> different pricing plans, what they offer, how much they cost, and if they’re really worth paying for.</p><p>As I’ve mentioned before, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> offers a free <strong>STANDARD</strong> plan and 2 paid plans, the <strong>PREMIUM</strong> and <strong>ELITE</strong>.</p><figure><img alt="Wirex card pricing plans" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*-hUHPDS47moerkQfbdmW_A.jpeg" /><figcaption>Wirex pricing plans</figcaption></figure><p>The pricing you see on the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> website for the paid plans, 9.99 EUR/month for the PREMIUM and 29.99 EUR/month for the ELITE one, isn’t set in stone, since you actually have to pay for these in WXT (which fluctuates as all cryptocurrencies do).</p><p>These are the actual rates for these paid plans (in WXT):</p><blockquote><strong><em>PREMIUM — 999 WXT / monthly or 9999 WXT / annually<br>ELITE — 2999 WXT / monthly or 29999 WXT / annually</em></strong></blockquote><p>How do these prices translate into cash (at the current prices of WXT)?</p><blockquote><strong><em>PREMIUM — about 5 EUR / month or 51 EUR / annually<br>ELITE — about 15 EUR / month or 153 EUR / annually</em></strong></blockquote><p>Why this difference between the prices on the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> website and the actual thing you have to pay? Mainly because the crypto market is in a bit of a correction phase right now, with Bitcoin dropping almost 50% in the last weeks and dragging down every other coin with it.</p><p>In short, now would be a great time to profit and get a paid <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> account, which is also discounted almost by half, since itțs linked to WXT, <strong>which is very cheap as I’m writing this.</strong></p><p>Of course, things will vary in the future and these numbers might be drastically changed when you’re reading this, so do check how much WXT is priced before upgrading to the paid plans. Wouldn’t hurt if you’re also to wait a bit for a lower price if you’re not in a hurry to upgrade, and when WXT is cheaper to pounce and get the annual plan.</p><p><em>And now the big question:</em> <strong>Are the Wirex Paid Plans Worth It?</strong></p><p>We must now invoke the power of math for a little while, put on our thinking hats, and do some calculus.</p><p>Currently, <strong>PREMIUM</strong> costs <strong>51</strong> €/year and offers <strong>1%</strong> crypto cashback, and ELITE costs <strong>153</strong> €/year and offers <strong>2%</strong> in crypto cashback.</p><p>Let’s take a monthly spend of <strong>2000</strong> € as an example: on <strong>PREMIUM</strong> you’d get <strong>20</strong> € back every month, which translates into <strong>240</strong> € cashback in a year. Since you pre-paid for this plan <strong>51</strong> €, you’d have a profit of <strong>189</strong> €. Not bad for doing nothing special and just using your card as you normally would.</p><p>For the <strong>ELITE</strong> plan, the numbers look like this: on a <strong>2k</strong> € monthly spend, you’d get back in cashback <strong>2%</strong>, which is <strong>40</strong> €/month or <strong>480</strong> €/year. Subtracting the cost of the plan ( <strong>153</strong> €/year), you’d make a yearly profit of <strong>327</strong> €.</p><p>We all like free money, and getting paid back more when you spend more is a cool trick. Of course, you know best how much you spend on average every month, and you can assess for yourself how much you’d get back with a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card.</p><p>So what’s the catch here? There isn’t really one, other than the obvious fact that the cashback you receive is <strong><em>also in WXT</em></strong>, which can be up or down depending on the state of the market. But its trend is usually an upward one, so in addition, you could also make money from the price of WXT rising, and also from the interest accumulated on your WXT holdings (remember? <strong>4 to 12% yearly</strong>, at the moment).</p><p>All and all, a pretty sweet deal that should soften the impact of your daily spending and give you a little of it back in the form of crypto.</p><p>We mustn’t forget the <strong>FREE</strong> <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> plan, which gives you <strong>0.5%</strong> cashback in WXT for your in-store purchases. That’s still dope, the drawback being that we currently spend so much more online, so this cashback would kick in a whole lot fewer times than in the case of the paid plans. Still, a cool addition to have on top of the other features of the free debit card.</p><p>In summary, to answer the question above: <strong>YES, it definitely is worth it to get a paid </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> plan, if you can afford it and makes sense for your average monthly spending.</strong></p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>Does Wirex have apps (which operating systems, are they any good)?</h3><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> does have mobile apps for both <strong>iOS</strong> and <strong>Android</strong>, you can find the links on their website or just go through your phone’s app store and search for “wirex”. You can also use your <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> account on the web version, just sign in to your account on the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> website.</p><p>In terms of their design and usability, I can only speak for the iPhone version, which is the one I have installed and used since creating my Wirex account.</p><p>The <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> app is <strong>OK</strong>, nothing too fancy, gets the job done. I have had a few issues with it, like the constant error I get when trying to set up a passcode in the app, but usually, things get fixed over time and I wouldn’t get bogged down into analyzing every little feature or bug.</p><p>And yes, the app is consistently updated, showing their team actively working on improving it, which is always a good sign.</p><h3>Does Wirex have Apple Pay / Google Pay integration?</h3><p>In short, no. <strong>There’s no official Apple Pay or Google Pay integration, at the moment, for the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> card.</strong></p><p>But, at least on iOS, <strong>there is a way that I am using the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> card with Apple Pay.</strong> I have installed on my iPhone another fintech app, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a>, which acts as an aggregator of debit cards, and also offers its own card — which, lo and behold, does have Apple Pay integration.</p><p>So I’ve just added my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card into the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app and now when I pay with Apple Pay, <strong>I can simply use the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> card to fund the purchases.</strong> The process was very simple, just adding the card, verifying it in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app and everything was set to go.</p><p>No issues, no glitches, just make sure to select the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card in the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> app when you want to use it for payments.</p><p><strong>A simple workaround that makes the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> card available to use with Apple Pay.</strong></p><p>I have not tried this on Android, but the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> card does state it can be used also with Google Pay, so this might also be a workaround for Android users looking to add the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card to their Google Pay wallet.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Give Curve a go</strong></a><strong>, it’s free and also has some neat features of its own.</strong></p><figure><img alt="Curve card 5€ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*732uhMNBbRzTXbGwLNGtvg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve card 5€ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>How is the support for Wirex</h3><p>Like most of the new fintech apps launched in the past few years, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> is clearly also dealing with a growing customer base, which they struggle to service on the support side. It’s always hard to scale your customer care team at the same rate as your customer base, and this is a long, painful growth process that definitely affects users — but which usually gets better over time.</p><p><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> offers a <strong>customer support chat</strong> option in the app, which I have used to get some pre-written answers to some normal questions, but also to contact support and chat to a real, live person. I found the wait times decent, and the support person friendly and helpful, though limited in the actual capabilities of solving complex problems. I’ll go into higher detail further down, in the “things that can be improved” section.</p><p>There are more options for customer support than just the chat. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on their — or by searching their <strong>Help Centre,</strong> you can always submit <strong>a support ticket</strong>.</p><p>You can also get in touch with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.</p><p>All and all, the support options are varied, the actual replies to your queries are sometimes delayed and you can find a lot of users complaining on Reddit and other online venues about the long wait times for replies on support tickets.</p><p>Just something to keep in mind that can go less than smooth in your relationship with Wirex.</p><h3>The Good Stuff about Wirex</h3><p>There’s a lot to appreciate, things that make <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> a top-notch option in the personal finance field of apps. I’ll just list here the options I’m most excited about and makes the most sense for my own personal usage:</p><ul><li><strong>Multiple currencies accounts</strong>, that can be easily topped up with your local debit card and can be exchanged later at interbank rates, with zero fees on all fiat-to-fiat exchanges. This is a game-changer for me personally, being able to easily add RON and exchange to EUR, at the best rates I’ve found so far.</li><li><strong>The Cryptoback cashback rewards,</strong> giving you up to 2% in WXT back on their highest-paid plan. This is basically “free money”, if you can afford the initial cost of the paid plan and if the value of WXT is low enough that it makes sense to use. Yes, it’s an upfront subscription cost involved, but I personally like it better than the “staking crypto” method, which other competitors, such as <a href="https://go.danminea.com/crypto.com">Crypto.com</a>, use.</li><li><strong>The Apple Pay integration, via the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve"><strong>Curve</strong></a><strong> app</strong>, gives you additional ease of use for the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card. I honestly don’t much care if they ultimately give the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card native Apple Pay (or Google Pay) integration, since it’s so simple to set up with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/curve">Curve</a> (with which I also use other cards not supported natively by Apple Pay).</li><li><strong>The interest reward you get paid for your WXT holdings in the app</strong>. Even if you don’t keep any large amounts in WXT in your account, if you use the <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card you’re bound to accumulate some WXT in cashback, which if you left there gets to work and accumulates interest for you (up to 12% annual rate, on the highest-paid plan). Pretty sweet deal!</li></ul><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>The Bad (Improvable) Stuff about Wirex</h3><p>It’s not all roses, to be honest, when dealing with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>. There are no deal-breakers, at least for me, especially when considering them head to head with the multiple benefits you get as a <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> user, but still…let’s just say that things can always be improved.</p><p>I should mention that the issues I had and talk about here are not listed as a form of complaining, just with the idea of maybe helping others that go through similar ones, and also to help you when considering their services.</p><p>Here are my top 3 issues encountered while using <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>:</p><p><strong>Issue no 1 — The Wirex app</strong></p><p>As I’ve mentioned before, <strong>I cannot for the life of me set up a PIN code in the app</strong>. I’m always greeted with this error and asked to contact support.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*TOfpiTvDPZkECB0CMoWV0A.png" /><figcaption>Wirex app error</figcaption></figure><p>This is pretty annoying, I’ve already chatted with support about it and they’ve created a ticket to send the issue to the technical team, but still, I really hope it gets fixed soon, in an app update or something.</p><p><strong>Issue no 2 — No top-up available with Revolut debit cards</strong></p><p>This is an issue I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere, maybe it’s just a problem for a small niche of users who have both <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> accounts.</p><p>In short, I’ve tried multiple times to add, as a local debit card in the app, one of my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> ones, and each time the card verification failed, informing me that the verification code was incorrectly input (which it wasn’t).</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*qz1R_AwKMbOqkRYe8jb1ew.png" /><figcaption>Wirex top-up error</figcaption></figure><p>As usual, I’ve chatted with support about this problem and this was their reply:</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*srJ7z-Mx-RCxgOSHPnugNw.png" /><figcaption>No top-up with Revolut for Wirex accounts</figcaption></figure><p>So yeah, <strong>at the moment you cannot use a </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut"><strong>Revolut</strong></a><strong> card to top up your </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> account.</strong> They are “in contact with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> to find a general solution” for this issue. If that’s something that would affect your workflow with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>, best to be aware of it. I don’t know when this will get solved, no timeframe offered by support.</p><p>I haven’t had any issue with any of the other debit cards I’ve added and used for a top-up, so this might be just affecting <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> cards. But if you try to verify a card, input the correct verification code and still get an error, this could be the explanation on why it’s happening and you should chat with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> support and let them know.</p><p><strong>Issue no 3 — In-store purchase categorized as online</strong></p><p>This is something that happened to me once when using the free plan of <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>. This plan gives you 0.5% in cashback WXT only when used for in-store transactions.</p><p>I went to a restaurant, paid with my <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> card, everything went smoothly, <strong>but no Cryptoback was received in the app.</strong> I contacted support and asked, and they said the merchant had categorized the transaction as online, so the system couldn’t give me the cashback rewards for it.</p><p>Unfortunately, nothing could be done (short of me going back to the restaurant and whining to them about it, which I bet wouldn’t have helped either). Tough luck!</p><p>Now, this is something of no relevance to the paid <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> plans, which give you cashback on both online and offline transactions. Just something that can happen on the free <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> plan. I don’t see a simple solution here, other than contacting support, and I also don’t know how often this can happen (for me, it did only once).</p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><h3>What they can improve on</h3><p>There are always things that could go smoother, and <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> has its fair share of them.</p><ul><li><strong>The app design looks a bit outdated and convoluted,</strong> the premium plans have no obvious location in their own tab, you can only find them while clicking around in the app. I would make them more obvious and easy to access.</li><li><strong>Stating the prices of the </strong><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex"><strong>Wirex</strong></a><strong> paid plans in EUR on the website can be a little misleading </strong>(and also far from the actual price, which is basically half now). Just put the prices in WXT and link the WXT live price there, or calculate it automatically so that the actual number is on the page, in fiat currency.</li><li><strong>Improve support times and make it easier to chat with a real person in the app</strong>. It gets a little difficult to actually talk to someone from support, I can understand the staffing constraints, but great support is one of the top features users look for in any service.</li><li><strong>Fix issues</strong> like PIN code error in the app, not being able to top-up with <a href="https://go.danminea.com/revolut">Revolut</a> cards and not being able to top up with British pounds (something affecting UK customers, which also cannot sign up for <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> right now due to some regulatory stuff that’s being worked on)</li><li><strong>Official Apple Pay / Google Pay support</strong> would be <em>nice to have</em></li><li>Take steps towards becoming more of an online bank, like offering <strong>other means of top-up (such as bank transfers), various IBAN accounts, spending analytics</strong>, and so on.</li></ul><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>In my experience, <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a> offers probably t <strong>he best experience for anyone looking for a good, easy to fund, multi-currency debit card, with crypto support and cashback rewards.</strong></p><p><strong>Their paid plans make sense and are decently affordable</strong>, putting some of your current life spendings back in your pocket, and offering interest rates far above what you might find in a traditional bank.</p><p>This is not an account that can be your only one — more like an additional financial account,<strong> where you can deposit your monthly spending, earn some cashback for it, get interest for holding WXT tokens, purchase other crypto assets</strong> — an interesting mix of traditional banking with new fintech features, all flavored with crypto vibes.</p><p>Personally, except for few hiccups I’ve detailed above, <strong>I’ve used it successfully and it’s been a great addition to my financial life workflow.</strong></p><p>I hope my review helps in your decisions regarding <a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex</a>, drop me a line here or on <a href="https://twitter.com/DanMinea">Twitter</a> for any thoughts you might have and I’ll be glad to give you my feedback.</p><figure><img alt="Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*y83Hyhw8t4puPtFV2xYBbQ.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://go.danminea.com/wirex">Wirex card 10$ FREE Bonus when signing up</a></figcaption></figure><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=7cb2d845f5dc" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
        </item>
    </channel>
</rss>