Bitrefill Card

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Bitrefill Card scores 6 of 16 on the CBL Card Score. Bitrefill, Visa. Crypto yours until top-up; euros held by partners. Wallester AS, Estonian payment institution licence.

CBL Card Score: 6 of 16

Criterion	Points	What we found	Source
Custody	1 of 2	Custodial once funded. Crypto stays in the user's own wallet until a top-up: "Keep custody of your own crypto until you want to use it" (official, card features page). On top-up, Lightspark converts the crypto into euros, which are "added to your Bitrefill Card account" (official, terms section 28.6). The terms do not say who holds the euro balance. Wallester AS reports that client money is held "in accounts opened in the name of the company, but on behalf of and for the benefit of clients", safeguarded with BNP Paribas (official, Wallester AS annual report 2024).	official checked 20 October 2026
Issuer and licence	1 of 2	Wallester AS, Estonia, registry code 11812882 (official, Bitrefill terms, 30 Sep 2026). Finantsinspektsioon register lists Wallester AS under Estonian payment institutions, activity licence 4.1-1/224 granted 18 Dec 2017 for issuing payment instruments and executing payment transactions (official, fi.ee register, last changed 16 Oct 2026). Wallester's annual report calls this "a payment institution license", not an e-money licence (official). Scored 1 because the issuer holds a payment institution licence rather than an EMI or bank licence.	official checked 20 October 2026
Availability	0 of 2	Residents of 28 countries: the EU member states listed in the help centre except Hungary, plus Norway and Iceland (official, help article "Who is eligible", 1 Oct 2025). US citizens and Russian citizens without EU/EEA citizenship are excluded regardless of residency (official). No UK, Gulf or US service. No waitlist; the card page says "download our app and get your free card now" (official, checked 20 Oct 2026).	official checked 20 October 2026
FX fee on a foreign-currency purchase	2 of 2	"The Bitrefill Card has no foreign exchange fees" and the card "applies the VISA exchange rate for transactions in foreign currencies", with no markup stated (official, help article, 6 Mar 2025). Applies to all currencies.	official checked 20 October 2026
Funding cost	0 of 2	"No, there are no issuance fees for both the digital and physical Bitrefill Cards" (official, help article, 21 Feb 2025); "No issuing fees, postal fees* or monthly fees" (official, features page). Replacement physical card €10 including delivery (official, help article). Crypto top-up fee 1.99%, a fixed fee on top of the "variable cost of exchange" set at the partner's market rate when the top-up is confirmed (official, help article, 8 Oct 2025). USDC is accepted; USDT is no longer supported (official, help centre). SEPA pay-in 1.99% (official, terms). No monthly fee; inactivity fee €10 a month after 12 months with no spending or cash-out, charged only while funds remain (official, pricing page and terms).	official checked 20 October 2026
Apple Pay and Google Pay	1 of 2	Google Pay: "Yes, you can add your Bitrefill Card to Google Pay" (official, help article, 12 Feb 2025). Apple Pay: "Currently, Apple Pay is not supported for the Bitrefill Card. Apple Pay support will be available soon" (official, help article, 17 Jul 2025). Physical cards cannot be added to either wallet (official, help article, 6 Mar 2025).	official checked 20 October 2026
Freeze and dispute policy	1 of 2	Freeze and unfreeze in the app (official, features page). Dispute article: contact the merchant first, then Bitrefill support with transaction details; a formal dispute "can take 5-12 weeks to resolve"; no window to raise a dispute and no response time stated (official, help article, 6 Mar 2025). Unauthorised transactions are reported to support@bitrefill.com and "Reporting an unauthorized transaction does not guarantee we will be able to reverse the transaction" (official, terms, 30 Sep 2026). No complaints timeline found.	official checked 20 October 2026
Yield on idle balance	0 of 2	None found on the card page, features page, pricing page or terms (official, checked 20 Oct 2026).	official checked 20 October 2026

Total 6 of 16. Official means the company's own site, terms or help centre. Third-party means a named review site with its own check date; a third-party fact is reported, not verified, and the score stands until an official source confirms or contradicts it.

Score history

20 October 2026

6 of 16

First score

Standing

Company	Bitrefill. The site is "owned and operated by Airfill Prepaid AB (559001-6035)", Stockholm, Sweden (official, site footer). The terms (last updated 30 Sep 2026) say "The Bitrefill Card is issued, and the related Payment Services are provided, by Wallester AS", an Estonian company licensed by Finantsinspektsioon, and that crypto-asset services and the virtual IBAN are provided by Lightspark Payments Europe AS, licensed by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (official). The programme launched with Striga Technology AS, Tallinn, virtual currency licence FVT000546, which Lightspark later acquired (third-party: Striga customer story, undated, checked 20 Oct 2026; cryptocardhub, 11 Aug 2026, dates the switch to February 2026).
Network	Visa (official, card page title "Virtual & Physical Visa Card"). official
Rails	Bitrefill's terms name Wallester AS, licensed by Finantsinspektsioon, as the card issuer and payment services provider (official). Lightspark Payments Europe AS converts crypto into euros and provides the virtual IBAN (official). Airfill Prepaid AB runs the brand and the site (official).
Website	www.bitrefill.com/card
Health tag	Watch The issuer Wallester AS holds an Estonian payment institution licence and reports client funds safeguarded with BNP Paribas, but the crypto and conversion side moved from Striga to Lightspark in 2026, the terms do not say who holds the euro balance, and no dispute window or complaints timeline is published (official and third-party).
Last checked	20 October 2026

When it goes wrong

Freeze and unfreeze in the app (official, features page). Dispute article: contact the merchant first, then Bitrefill support with transaction details; a formal dispute "can take 5-12 weeks to resolve"; no window to raise a dispute and no response time stated (official, help article, 6 Mar 2025). Unauthorised transactions are reported to support@bitrefill.com and "Reporting an unauthorized transaction does not guarantee we will be able to reverse the transaction" (official, terms, 30 Sep 2026). No complaints timeline found.

The dispute route, in order: the company's own support desk, then the card network's chargeback rules, then the regulator of the issuer where one is named. A frozen card is a question, not a verdict: the Frozen Account Survival Kit applies to cards too.

Costs

FX	"The Bitrefill Card has no foreign exchange fees" and the card "applies the VISA exchange rate for transactions in foreign currencies", with no markup stated (official, help article, 6 Mar 2025). Applies to all currencies. official
Funding	"No, there are no issuance fees for both the digital and physical Bitrefill Cards" (official, help article, 21 Feb 2025); "No issuing fees, postal fees* or monthly fees" (official, features page). Replacement physical card €10 including delivery (official, help article). Crypto top-up fee 1.99%, a fixed fee on top of the "variable cost of exchange" set at the partner's market rate when the top-up is confirmed (official, help article, 8 Oct 2025). USDC is accepted; USDT is no longer supported (official, help centre). SEPA pay-in 1.99% (official, terms). No monthly fee; inactivity fee €10 a month after 12 months with no spending or cash-out, charged only while funds remain (official, pricing page and terms). official
ATM	2.49% on ATM withdrawals, physical card only (official, pricing page). ATM limits reported as €350 a day and €3,000 a month (third-party: cryptocardhub, 11 Aug 2026).
Tiers	Starter (€10,000 a month, €15,000 lifetime deposit cap) and Plus (€15,000 a month, unlimited SEPA withdrawals, extra identity checks); same fees on both (official, pricing page, checked 20 Oct 2026).

Cashback, as of 20 Oct 2026

1% on every crypto deposit and 1% on every purchase, "no cap", paid in EUR as Bitrefill store credit the same day the payment settles, no expiry (official, card page and card FAQ, checked 20 Oct 2026). Store credit buys gift cards, eSIMs and refills on bitrefill.com and cannot be withdrawn (official, FAQ). Bank withdrawals, cash-outs and ATM withdrawals earn nothing (official). Free eSIM of up to 20GB a month for depositing over €500 of crypto in the month (official, card page).

Cashback is a dated fact, not part of the Card Score. Promo rates change too often to score.

Availability

Residents of 28 countries: the EU member states listed in the help centre except Hungary, plus Norway and Iceland (official, help article "Who is eligible", 1 Oct 2025). US citizens and Russian citizens without EU/EEA citizenship are excluded regardless of residency (official). No UK, Gulf or US service. No waitlist; the card page says "download our app and get your free card now" (official, checked 20 Oct 2026). official

Identity checks: Identity verification run by the card partner before activation; Plus needs further identity and address checks and may need source of funds documents (official, help centre and card FAQ).

What we still need confirmed

Facts marked official come from Bitrefill's own pages or terms. Facts marked third-party are reported by a named review site and count as reported, not verified. These items are open for the next Monday sweep:

• Wallester AS licence class: the register lists a payment institution licence. Rescore issuer to 2 if CBL treats an EU payment institution licence as equal to an EMI licence, or if an e-money authorisation is found. open
• Who holds the euro card balance and under what safeguarding terms (Wallester cardholder terms at wallester.com were not fetched). Rescore custody to 0 if no segregation statement covers the card balance. open
• Apple Pay launch. Rescore wallets to 2 when the help article says it is live. open
• Dispute window and response time in the Wallester cardholder terms. Rescore freeze to 2 if both are published. open
• Whether the physical card is still free to order in every listed country (the features page carries an unexplained asterisk on postal fees). open
• tile_color taken from the dominant colour of the logo file in assets/logos/ on 20 Oct 2026; confirm against brand assets. open

See a mistake? Email hi@cryptobanklist.com. Every factual correction is logged on our corrections page.

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