Lava Card vs SwissBorg Card
Crypto native
Crypto native
Verdict
- SwissBorg Card scores higher overall (7.1 vs 6.4 out of 10).
- Lava Card is clearly stronger on: Fees.
- A full annual cost comparison is not possible yet because some fees are not disclosed or not yet researched.
Lava Card is a good fit for
- Stablecoin holders
- Frequent travellers
Stronger on: Fees
SwissBorg Card is a good fit for
- Stablecoin holders
- Frequent travellers
★ Our pickEditorial choice · score unchanged · Affiliate link
Neither card is our pick. The card we recommend instead:
Crypto native · ether.fi
Why we recommend it
- 3% cashback in ETHFI on up to $2,000 of spend a monthConditions apply
- 5.35% variable interest on your balanceConditions apply
- No annual or monthly fee on the base tierConditions apply
- Extras on the base tier: airport lounge access, travel / rental car insurance, purchase protectionConditions apply
- Self-custody: funds stay in your own walletConditions apply
Conditions apply; the review lists them with sources.
Score by criterion
| Criterion | Lava Card | SwissBorg Card |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 100 | 88 |
| Cashback & rewards | 33 | – |
| Availability | – | 100 |
| FX & international | 100 | 100 |
| Product features | – | 47 |
| Custody & security | – | 60 |
| Credit & financing | – | 30 |
| Limits & ATM | – | 20 |
| Transparency | 100 | 100 |
| Best for Cashback | 5.4 | 6.5 |
| Best for Travel | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| Best for DeFi Users | n/a | 6.0 |
| Best for Stablecoins | 7.4 | 7.6 |
| Best for High Spenders | 6.1 | 6.1 |
| Best for Low Fees | 9.3 | 8.3 |
| Best for Beginners | 6.8 | 7.5 |
Conditions apply, e.g. only for the base tier, up to a monthly cap or in some countries. Tap a value with * (or hover over it) to see them.
Product
Product status
ActiveShow source
ActiveShow source
Card type
Credit cardConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Secured: spends only the available dollar balance; no unsecured credit
Debit cardShow source
Network
VisaShow source
MastercardShow source
Custody model
CustodialConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Spends crypto balances held in the SwissBorg app
Card issuer / program manager
Card program by Rain with a partner issuerShow source
UAB Monavate (Bank of Lithuania); app operated by BlockNodes SAS (MiCA licence A2026-011, France)Show source
Fees
Annual fee
FreeShow source
FreeShow source
Monthly fee
FreeShow source
Virtual card fee
FreeShow source
FX fee
0%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
No spread on Visa's exchange rate
0%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Mastercard exchange rate; SwissBorg adds no FX fee (the crypto exchange fee still applies)
Crypto conversion fee
0.99%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Exchange fee for every loyalty rank; a real-time market-liquidity adjustment may be added
Other fees & markups
Real-time market-liquidity adjustment may be applied to the conversion price · Third parties such as Apple/Google Pay, Curve or PayPal may charge additional feesShow source
Cashback & rewards
Base cashback
1%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Users based outside the US; 3% for US users; 5% at Lava merchant partners
Max cashback
5%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
At Lava merchant partners, worldwide
Cashback paid in
BTCShow source
BORGShow source
Cashback type
CryptoShow source
Platform tokenShow source
Cashback conditions
3% back in bitcoin for US-based users, 1% outside the US · 5% at Lava merchant partners · Redeemable from 100,000 sats (0.001 BTC) · No rewards on fines, taxes, insurance, rentals and schoolsShow source
Cashback is a share of the 0.99% exchange fee: up to 5% (Standard) to up to 99% (Elite top 10) depending on the loyalty rank · BORG rewards are locked for a period (Paid to Trade programme) · Cashback is not guaranteed and can be changed or stopped at any timeShow source
Reward expiry / vesting
BORG cashback is locked for a certain periodShow source
Credit & financing
Credit line
NoShow source
Spend own balance directly
YesShow source
Availability
Available in
United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, SwedenShow source
Account / spend currencies
USDConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Page says "Spend in Dollars"
EUR · CHF · GBPConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Base currency set by country of residence
Features
Apple Pay
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Initially in Switzerland and France only
Google Pay
YesShow source
Physical card
NoConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
May follow later
Virtual card
YesShow source
ATM withdrawals
NoShow source
Spend stablecoins
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Stablecoin deposits are credited as dollars
YesShow source
Spendable assets
USDC · BTC · ETH · SOL · BORG · USDG · EUROP · TGBPShow source
Annual cost at 1,500 EUR/month
Lava Card
- Annual & monthly fees+0 EUR
- FX costs+0 EUR
- Crypto conversion–
- ATM costsunknown
- Cashback+180 EUR
- Net annual valuenot enough data
SwissBorg Card
- Annual & monthly fees+0 EUR
- FX costs+0 EUR
- Crypto conversion–
- ATM costsunknown
- Cashbackunknown
- Net annual valuenot enough data
Assumes 300 EUR foreign spend and 100 EUR ATM per month, base tier only. Use your own numbers