ether.fi Cash vs SwissBorg Card
Crypto native
Verdict
- ether.fi Cash scores higher overall (8.1 vs 7.1 out of 10).
- ether.fi Cash is clearly stronger on: Fees, Product features, Custody & security, Credit & financing.
- SwissBorg Card is clearly stronger on: FX & international, Transparency.
- A full annual cost comparison is not possible yet because some fees are not disclosed or not yet researched.
ether.fi Cash is a good fit for
- People who want to keep control of their keys
- Stablecoin holders
- Users who need credit rather than a debit/prepaid card
- Everyday spenders who want cashback
Stronger on: Fees, Product features, Custody & security, Credit & financing
SwissBorg Card is a good fit for
- Stablecoin holders
- Frequent travellers
Stronger on: FX & international, Transparency
Score by criterion
| Criterion | ether.fi Cash | SwissBorg Card |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 100 | 88 |
| Cashback & rewards | 69 | – |
| Availability | 100 | 100 |
| FX & international | 40 | 100 |
| Product features | 100 | 47 |
| Custody & security | 85 | 60 |
| Credit & financing | 75 | 30 |
| Limits & ATM | – | 20 |
| Transparency | 74 | 100 |
| Best for Cashback | 7.7 | 6.5 |
| Best for Travel | 6.7 | 7.6 |
| Best for Self-Custody | 8.1 | n/a |
| Best for DeFi Users | 8.1 | 6.0 |
| Best for Stablecoins | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Best for High Spenders | 7.0 | 6.1 |
| Best for Low Fees | 7.4 | 8.3 |
| Best for Beginners | 9.0 | 7.5 |
| Best Crypto Credit Card | 7.9 | n/a |
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
Crypto-backed creditConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Marketed as a credit card; Direct Pay mode spends your own balance
Debit cardShow source
Network
VisaShow source
MastercardShow source
Custody model
Self-custodyConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Account is non-custodial; the card itself is issued by a third-party issuer under separate terms
CustodialConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Spends crypto balances held in the SwissBorg app
Card issuer / program manager
Third National (issuer under Visa license); program by Ether.Fi Cash Ltd.Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
International cardholder agreement (Ltd.); US persons are covered by separate US agreements
UAB Monavate (Bank of Lithuania); app operated by BlockNodes SAS (MiCA licence A2026-011, France)Show source
Tiers / plans
Core · Luxe · Pinnacle · VIPShow source
Fees
Annual fee
FreeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core membership; Luxe ($199/yr) and Pinnacle ($999/yr) can optionally be bought or earned via Liquid deposits / ETHFI staking
FreeShow source
Monthly fee
FreeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core membership
FreeShow source
Physical card fee
$60Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core, including shipping; Luxe and higher get 1 free
Virtual card fee
FreeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
First virtual card free on Core; $10 in some regions and for further cards
FreeShow source
FX fee
1.5%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Non-USD purchases, Core: 1% FX base fee + up to 0.5% (Luxe +0.25%, Pinnacle/VIP none). Purchases charged in EUR: 0% FX markup.
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
ATM fee
Not disclosedConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core: ATM withdrawals available, fee not stated; Pinnacle and VIP: free, up to 10 withdrawals per month. The marketing page that listed 2% now redirects to /personal.
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
3%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core membership, on the first $2,000 of card spend per month
Max cashback
4%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
VIP membership, on the first $50,000 of card spend per month
Cashback paid in
ETHFIShow source
BORGShow source
Cashback type
Platform tokenShow source
Platform tokenShow source
Interest on balance
5.35%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
USD Earn vault (ether.fi Liquid), variable APY, not guaranteed; EUR vault 5.29% APY; DeFi vault risk
Cashback-eligible spend cap
$2,000/monthConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core; Luxe $10,000, Pinnacle/VIP $50,000 per month
Cashback conditions
Rates step down progressively with total monthly spend · EUR transactions use lower thresholds and rates · Spend tiers reset at the start of every monthShow 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
Converted to ETHFI at settlement, locked for 7 days, then must be claimedShow source
BORG cashback is locked for a certain periodShow source
Reward exclusions
ATM withdrawals and cash advances · P2P payments and transfers · Currency exchange services · Tax and government payments · Gift cards, stored-value cards, money orders and cash equivalents · MCC 6011, 6012, 6211, 6513 (rent), 6532, 7995 (gambling)Show source
Credit & financing
Credit line
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Borrow Mode
NoShow source
Credit type
Crypto-backed creditShow source
Collateral assets
USDC · USDT · EURC · frxUSD · weETH · WETH · eBTC · ETHFI · sETHFI · OP · WHYPE · beHYPE · liquidETH · liquidBTC · liquidUSD · liquidReserve · liquidEUR · liquidRWA · QQQx · SPYx · PAXG · TBLLxConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Aave LendGateway Product LTV list for the Optimism lending market (parameters updated August 27, 2026); eUSD no longer counts as collateral
Max loan-to-value
81%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Aave LendGateway Product LTV for USDC, USDT, EURC, frxUSD; volatile assets lower (weETH/WETH 55%, ETHFI/OP 20%); legacy Cash DebtManager LTV was 90% for stablecoins
Interest notes
Variable APY set by the underlying Aave v4 lending market per asset; accrues immediately and compounds continuouslyShow source
Grace period
None; interest accrues immediately after borrowingShow source
Repayment
Repay all or part of the outstanding balance at any time, without penalty, by means permitted in the Ether.Fi AccountShow source
Liquidation risk
YesShow source
Spend own balance directly
YesShow source
Spend by borrowing against collateral
YesShow source
Availability
Available in
AD, AO, AG, Argentina, Australia, Austria, BS, BH, BD, BB, BZ, BO, Brazil, VG, Bulgaria, Canada, KY, Chile, Colombia, CR, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, DM, DO, EC, SV, France, Germany, GI, Greece, GG, GT, GY, HN, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, IM, Italy, Japan, JE, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, MV, Malta, Mexico, MC, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, OM, PW, PA, PY, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, PR, Romania, Saudi Arabia, SC, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, KN, LC, VC, SR, Sweden, Switzerland, TW, Thailand, TT, TC, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, UY, VU, Belgium, Ireland, United StatesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Subject to KYC; Belgium and Ireland eligible but no physical card delivery; US only in listed states (AL, AK, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OK, PA, SC, TX, UT, VA, WV, WY); unlisted jurisdictions cannot apply for virtual or physical card
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
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
Only where Apple Pay is supported
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Initially in Switzerland and France only
Google Pay
YesShow source
YesShow source
Physical card
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Not shipped to every eligible region
NoConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
May follow later
Virtual card
YesShow source
YesShow source
ATM withdrawals
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Not permitted in North Korea, Iran and Myanmar
NoShow source
Spend stablecoins
YesShow source
YesShow source
Airport lounge access
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core: 2 free passes to premium lounges; unlimited from Pinnacle
Travel / rental car insurance
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Auto rental coverage, shared across all memberships
Purchase protection
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Purchase and price protection, all memberships
Spendable assets
USDC · LiquidUSDConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Direct Pay Mode spend assets; Borrow Mode can use all vault assets as collateral
USDC · BTC · ETH · SOL · BORG · USDG · EUROP · TGBPShow source
Blockchains
Ethereum · Polygon · Optimism · Arbitrum · ScrollConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Definition of Supported Blockchains in the card terms (page spells Arbitrum as 'Arbitrium'); other networks may be added
Limits
ATM limit
$25,000Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Per rolling 24 hours, same for all tiers; max $5,000 per transaction and 5 withdrawals per 24 hours
Security & custody
Regulation / licences
Ether.Fi states it is not licensed to provide financial services as part of the Card ServicesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Nigeria: card marketed by BANEX Microfinance Bank, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria; terms governed by Puerto Rico law
Deposit protection
NoConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Account Balance Protection (Core up to $10K) is not yet live and is not deposit insurance
Smart-contract risk
YesShow source
Annual cost at 1,500 EUR/month
ether.fi Cash
- Annual & monthly fees+0 EUR
- FX costs−54 EUR
- Crypto conversion–
- ATM costsunknown
- Cashback+540 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