Yearly cost at three spending levels
| Monthly spend | ether.fi Cash | CL Card |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | ≤ +$162 Core | -$142.15 Standard |
| $2,000 | ≤ +$648 Core | -$322.15 Standard |
| $5,000 | ≤ +$540 Core | -$682.15 Standard |
Net value per year: cashback minus conversion, FX, ATM and fixed fees. US dollars, 20% foreign spending, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month. The card cost calculator runs the same comparison with your own habits.
Where the money goes at $2,000 a month
| Line | ether.fi Cash Core | CL Card Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Top-up and conversion fees | Not disclosed | -$528 |
| Spending fees | Not disclosed | $0 |
| Foreign exchange markup | -$72 | $0 |
| ATM fees | Not disclosed | -$34.15 |
| Annual, monthly and subscription fees | $0 | $0 |
| Cashback | +$720 | +$240 |
| Net per year | +$648 | -$322.15 |
Fees
ether.fi Cash charges Not disclosed to convert or top up and 1.5% on spending in a foreign currency. CL Card charges 2% and 0%.
ATM withdrawals: ether.fi Cash not disclosed; CL Card €2.50.
A virtual card costs nothing with ether.fi Cash and nothing with CL Card. A physical card costs an undisclosed fee and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.
Cashback and rewards
ether.fi Cash cashback: 3% to 4%. CL Card cashback: 1% to 2%.
ether.fi Cash tiers: Core: 3% on the first $2,000 a month; Luxe: 3% on the first $10,000 a month; Pinnacle: 3% on the first $50,000 a month; VIP: 4% on the first $50,000 a month.
CL Card tiers: Standard: 1%; BXX rewards: 2%.
ether.fi Cash: Membership levels also add category cashback (10% to 30% on AI, streaming and food, capped monthly), travel discounts and account balance protection against smart contract exploits of $10,000 to $500,000, which is not deposit insurance.
CL Card: Ledger's page says "1% cashback in BTC, USDC, or USDT" (BTC or USDC in the US, BTC or USDT elsewhere), claimed from the Loyalty program page. CL's own FAQ also offers 2% if you take the reward in Baanx's BXX token. Spending funded by the Cryptodraft credit line earns nothing. No spend or reward cap is published.
Availability and KYC
ether.fi Cash is offered in 91 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia and Mexico. ether.fi lists these jurisdictions. In the US the card is available in 31 states and Washington D.C. only. Belgium and Ireland are eligible, but physical cards are not delivered there. In some countries (including Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and the Philippines) the first virtual card costs $10.
CL Card is offered in 37 countries, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Canada. Ledger says "The CL Card is currently available in the EEA, the UK, the US, Canada, Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil." This file uses the EU fee schedule. You do not need a Ledger device to get the card.
ether.fi Cash needs full KYC and CL Card needs full KYC.
The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.
Limits, wallets and card types
ether.fi Cash publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $5,000 a day.
CL Card does not publish fixed spending or ATM limits.
ether.fi Cash works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and CL Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. CL Card issues a virtual card you can use straight away.
Custody and safety
ether.fi Cash scores 60/100. Licensing: we could not confirm a licence for the card issuer on its own website. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. ether.fi describes Cash as a non-custodial account. The ATM fee on Core is not published as a fixed figure.
CL Card scores 64/100. Licensing: issued by a bank or e-money institution regulated in a tier-one jurisdiction. The card is issued through UAB Monavate. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. Only money loaded to the card as e-money is safeguarded under e-money rules. Crypto deposited to the CL platform becomes Baanx's property, and Baanx's terms warn that "in the event that any of Us becomes insolvent ... You may not be able to have the full value of Your deposits restored". Baanx describes its crypto services as "not regulated financial services". We could not find a published proof-of-reserves report. We found no official enforcement actions against the card providers. Ledger's own past security incidents are not listed, because Ledger does not provide or hold funds for the card.
Full reports: ether.fi Cash safety check and CL Card safety check.
About each card
ether.fi Cash Card is a self-custody Visa card from ether.fi. It tops up with USDC and ETH.
Ledger CL Card (Europe) is a custodial Visa card from Baanx (CL Card), card account by UAB Monavate. It tops up with BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, LTC, XRP and SOL and its balance is held in EUR.
Which card fits you
ether.fi Cash fits if
- You want to keep crypto in your own wallet until each payment.
- You want a higher cashback ceiling (up to 4%).
CL Card fits if
- You spend in foreign currencies often, since its FX markup is lower.
- Most of your spending is in your home currency, where its lower conversion fee counts most.
- You weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.
Read more: ether.fi Cash fees and details · CL Card fees and details