Safety check methodology
Every card is scored out of 100 on seven factors, each with a published source.
| Factor | Points |
|---|---|
| Licensing | Tier-one bank or e-money licence 25, other regulated 15, unregulated or undisclosed 0 |
| Custody | Self-custody 10, hybrid 7, custodial 4 |
| Fund segregation | Disclosed 20, not disclosed 5, no 0 |
| Proof of reserves | Published within 90 days 10, older 5, none 0 |
| Incident history | Starts at 20. Minus 8 per incident in the last 12 months and 4 per incident 12 to 36 months ago. Enforcement actions count double. Floor 0. |
| Terms and fee transparency | Full 10, partial 5, none 0 |
| Network | Visa or Mastercard 5, other 3 |
Bands
Strong from 80, Good from 60, Fair from 40, Limited from 0.
Tier-one licensing
A tier-one issuer is a bank or e-money institution regulated in the EU or EEA, the UK, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Canada or Australia.
Changes
24 September 2026: the factor for naming the program manager and BIN sponsor was removed. Its 10 points moved to licensing (now 25) and fund segregation (now 20), the two protections that decide what happens to customer money if an issuer fails. Every card was rescored under the same rules.
Data rules
- Values come from the issuer’s own website or terms, a regulator, or an official announcement by a named partner such as the issuer’s custodian. Third-party review sites are never a source.
- Every value records the page it came from and the date it was checked.
- An unknown value is recorded as unknown and shown as “Not disclosed”. It is never estimated.
- A card is scored only after every factor has been checked. Until then its report shows the facts without a score.
- Data older than 60 days is flagged for review, and data older than 120 days blocks a release until it is rechecked.
Corrections
Each report has a correction form. A disputed factor is marked “Under review” on the report within 7 days, and the outcome is logged. The editorial policy covers the full process.