-
Bitpay Card Review: My Experience Living Off The Debit Card (2020)
In this review, I am going to cover my experience living off of the Bitpay Card. In 2017, I was hired to build a cryptococurrency hardware wallet for a prominent crypto company and I was paid directly in bitcoin and bitcoin cash. I needed to find a way to pay my bills with crypto in this legacy financial system that would not allow me to pay directly for my rent, groceries, gasoline, etc… This is when I did thorough research and discovered there were several crypto debit cards that existed.
Which one should I use? Which one works best and has the lowest fees? How much does it cost to get one? How easy is it to use? These were all questions I had when I first started researching these options and after doing a few weeks of research, it was clear that the best solution was to use the BitPay card.
I was already using BitPay to accept payment through this website when it was used for ecommerce, but I was unaware at the time that they had a crypto to Visa cash option that works for personal use. I was already happy with the experience I had using them as a payment processor, so I figured I would try their debit card for every day use. My experience and FAQ’s are detailed below!
HOW DOES THE BITPAY CARD WORK?
So here are the basic process of using the card from start to finish:
- Go to Bitpay.com/card and request a card. It will cost $9.95 as a one-time fee after you’ve filled out the application, which requires your personal details to send the card to.
- Wait 5-7 business days for the card to arrive (if you’re in the U.S.) It can take up to 21 business days for other countries.
- Once the card is received, call the 1-800 number on the front sticker to activate and set a PIN. Then go to your account to enter in the secret code sent in the letter to activate.
- Once activated, you are able to see your card available for crypto loads from the Bitpay mobile app and start using.
- Choose the wallet (either bitcoin or bitcoin cash) that you want to load onto the card, the choose the USD amount you want to add, then authenticate with your password and Face ID (if one is setup for extra security on the Bitpay wallet app)
- You’re done, money is loaded instantly and you will receive a confirmation email once you have completed the “Slide to Pay” function on the final screen.
- You are free to use this Bitpay card online, in person at any merchant that accepts Visa, or at the ATM.
My experience has been one that has shown this to be not only a very simple process, but also one that you can load money on in a pinch if you need to top off or load up your card because you don’t have enough funds. I have also experienced an issue where the card was declined once, but it was the merchant who I was using who said his bank was declining it. Once I called Bitpay’s card services, I was able to have them unblock it on their end and it went through perfectly.
WHAT CRYPTOCURRENCIES CAN I USE WITH THIS BITPAY DEBIT CARD?
Currently, the only two cryptocurrencies that can be used to load up the card on the prepaid Visa is Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). There have been plans to add more in the future, but for the time being, these are the only coins that are supported on Bitpay’s platform for debit card usage. There have been rumors that Ethereum (ETH) may be the next coin added for further altcoin support, but that has not been confirmed by the company.
HOW DO I PUT MONEY ON MY BITPAY CARD?
Once you have the card activated and you have linked your card account online, you will see the card option to “Add Funds” on the Bitpay Wallet App. Once you click on this, you can select the USD amount or toggle to the BTC or BCH side to calculate the exact amount you want to load. This will have you select the wallet you want to fund with in the drop down menu. Once you select the wallet, you will confirm the total and continue with “Slide To Pay” at the bottom, and will load instantly!
(PRO-TIP: If you are concerned about price fluctuation, you can keep your funds on your wallets and only top off the card at the exact moment before you purchase. This gives you flexibility in trying to monitor and maximize the price volatility in your favor!)
CAN I USE THE BITPAY CARD TO WITHDRAW CASH FROM AN ATM?
Yes. I have used this in a pinch where a card is not accepted when I went to a concert venue, however, keep in mind you will incur a $5 fee for ATM withdrawals and that does not include any ATM fee’s the machine you are using will incur. In some cases, it is not worth it to use this feature, but it is nice to know you have the option if it’s required.
It is also nice to know that when using a debit option at a merchant, you can easily choose the “cash back” option as a free way to get cash back, but that is usually limited to $100 dollars. This is a work around I would frequently use if I knew I needed to have some cash on hand for certain occasions and is nice to avoid those fees.
CONCLUSION
I was able to successfully use this to make most purchases I needed to make for the past 2 years. There are some bills that people pay that required ACH and will not take a debit or credit card. IN these instances, I was able to use Coinbase to as a crypto to fiat off-ramp, but I avoided using this as much as possible as the fees were not helpful, and I liked the idea that I could use crypto top make payments in the real world, without a hitch.
I also negotiated a way to start paying rent and other bills via Venmo, which was a nice workaround top using ACH. I was so hell-bent on using crypto as a viable payment source to pay my living expenses, that I went out of my way to make this happen. Any funds that I did not load onto my card, I only kept a little of it on the Bitpay wallet app and then kept the savings (as everyone should) onto my KeepKey hardware wallet.
If you are unfamiliar of the best practices for securing your cryptocurrency the right way, I will leave my link here for my FREE E-BOOK that details the top 5 ways to secure your cryptocurrency, and I recommend giving it a look, as it’s free.
All in all, this was a viable solution to live on, but I understand that some people are unable to use this in their particular country or their particular circumstance. If you live in any European or Asian countries and would like the option to use a crypto debit card, you can also try Wirex.
The Bitpay card is an option that does have a monthly fee, but it primarily used on that side of the world and has a similar user experience. I would recommend using this card for ANYONE that wants an option to “cash out their crypto” in a moments notice that would prefer not paying any exchange fees and needs it to happen within seconds.
What do you think? Are there any better crypto debit card options that you have used? If so, let me know in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
-
Ledger Wallet Ripple: How To Store Ripple (XRP) On The Ledger Nano S (2020)
In this article, I am going to explain how to store Ripple (XRP) on the Ledger Nano S in the Ledger Wallet Ripple. Most people I speak with talk about whether or not XRP is safe to leave on exchanges for storage. The simple answer is no. Under no circumstances is it safe or even a slightly good idea to leave ANY coins your have on an exchange. “Not your keys, not your crypto” is a statement you’ll hear repeated throughout the crypto ecosystem. If you are unsure about the safest ways to store and secure your cryptocurrency private keys, then grab my free e-book that gives you some in depth resources on how to manage your crypto safely. I also wrote a comparison review of the major differences of hot vs cold wallets, in case you are unsure.
Now, as Ripple is a top 3 market cap coin, it is imperative to know how to properly store it on a hardware wallet, and the one wallet that can easily store this right now is the Ledger Nano S. You can also store it on the newly released successor to this wallet known as the Ledger Nano X, if you want a larger storage capacity and a wallet that is wirelessly capable. Let’s get to it below!
WHAT IS RIPPLE (XRP)?
Ripple is both a platform and a currency. Let me explain. Ripple itself is platform and open source protocol which is designed for quick and cheap transactions. This was “invested” as a resource for efficient, cross-border payments that is intended to be used by big banks. The Ripple platform is very very cheap and efficient and unlike bitcoin, it is designed as a payment machine and nothing more.
XRP (the token that is represented on the ripple platform) is designed to transfer value across the Ripple platform. The intention behind this is to be able to transfer value from either cryptocurrency or fiat from peer to peer in the fastest way possible. That is it’s only function.
The other noteworthy aspect of this is, there is a predetermined amount and it is not mined or staked, like it is on POW and POS networks. In fact, there is no blockchain for this token at all. This has been the source of a lot of criticism in the ecosystem that this is not really a “crypto” currency, but rather, just a digital version of fiat.
HOW DO I BUY RIPPLE (XRP)?
You can buy ripple directly at many OTC exchanges, or other trading exchanges like Coinbase or Binance. When using Coinbase, you can link up your bank account and/or major debit card to process the transaction and if you’re not verified, it can take up to 7-10 business days to process.
If you plan on buying XRP with a credit card directly, you can use either Paxful or Changelly and use this as an OTC exchange to buy it directly (although paying with credit card will incur some extra fees). You can also go through a 2-step process and buy bitcoin with a credit card on Coinmama, and then use one of the above exchanges to swap it.
LEDGER WALLET RIPPLE: HOW DO I MOVE RIPPLE TO THE LEDGER NANO S?
- Open up Ledger Live, and make sure it’s software version is up to date.
- Head over to the Manager section on the left side bar, and search on “XRP”, then click on Install.To create an XRP wallet on your Ledger device, we first need to create an “account” for you to be able to have access to your wallet’s XRP address.
- Click on the rounded + symbol on the left portion of the Ledger Live app to add an account.
- Type in “xrp” on the search bar to easily find XRP on the list, then click on “Continue“.
- Open the XRP app on your Ledger device, then click on “Continue“.
- Wait for Ledger Live to synchronize.
- Choose a name for your wallet. For this example, we’re just going to name our wallet “My XRP Wallet“.
- Tick the blue checkbox , then click on “Add account“.
- Account successfully added!Click on “Add more” if you want to create more XRP wallets, or if you want to head over to moving your funds to your XRP wallet, just click on the small x on the top right corner of this popup.
- Your XRP wallet is now ready. Simply click on the XRP wallet you made on the “Accounts” section on the left, then click on the blue “Receive” button.
- Click on “Continue“.
- Click on “Verify“.
- For security purposes, check if the same wallet address is being shown on the Ledger Live app, and the address shown on your physical Ledger device.If everything’s fine, you can now copy the wallet address shown on Ledger Live, and you can now use that address to move your funds from other XRP wallets, or from the exchange you’re using.
- Click on the rounded + symbol on the left portion of the Ledger Live app to add an account.
WHAT ABOUT THE NEW LEDGER NANO X?
The Ledger Nano X has the same process as above for adding it to your hardware wallet using Ledger Live, the only difference is it is primarily done via the mobile app. You can still plug this device in and manage this the same way as the Ledger Nano S, however, it is able to connect to the app and manage this wirelessly, which is the major advantage.
CONCLUSION
Bottom line, if you’re in the market to acquire this coin, you will absolutely need to store it on a Ledger device. Keeping all your private keys (of any coin) on a trusted hardware wallet is imperative. Period. I will say that with the Ledger Nano S specifically, is the cheapest and is the best entry level hardware wallet if you want to store ripple at only $59. The one caveat is that you can only store 3 or 4 different coins on the app at once, that’s it. If you plan to grow your portfolio, you may want to spring for the extra money and go for the Ledger Nano X, which can hold up to 100 coins or “apps” at once. I will leave the full review of the Ledger Nano S here.
What do you think? Is there a better offline wallet to store your XRP? Let me know in the comments below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
