Yearly cost at three spending levels
| Monthly spend | CL Card | Tangem Pay |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | -$142.15 Standard | -$54 Basic (free) |
| $2,000 | -$322.15 Standard | +$72 Basic (free) |
| $5,000 | -$682.15 Standard | +$324 Basic (free) |
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 | CL Card Standard | Tangem Pay Basic (free) |
|---|---|---|
| Top-up and conversion fees | -$528 | $0 |
| Spending fees | $0 | $0 |
| Foreign exchange markup | $0 | -$72 |
| ATM fees | -$34.15 | -$96 |
| Annual, monthly and subscription fees | $0 | $0 |
| Cashback | +$240 | +$240 |
| Net per year | -$322.15 | +$72 |
Fees
CL Card charges 2% to convert or top up and 0% on spending in a foreign currency. Tangem Pay charges 0% and 1.5%.
The conversion fee applies to every dollar you load, so Tangem Pay's lower rate matters most for everyday spending in your home currency. On $1,000 of spending, the gap is $20.
ATM withdrawals: CL Card €2.50; Tangem Pay 4%.
A virtual card costs nothing with CL Card and nothing with Tangem Pay. A physical card costs an undisclosed fee and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.
Cashback and rewards
CL Card cashback: 1% to 2%. Tangem Pay cashback: 1% to 2%.
CL Card tiers: Standard: 1%; BXX rewards: 2%.
Tangem Pay tiers: Basic (free): 1% on the first $10,000 a month, capped at $100 a month; Plus ($29.99 a month): 2% on the first $15,000 a month, capped at $300 a month.
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.
Tangem Pay: Paid in USDC at the end of each billing cycle. Only purchases of $30 or more earn cashback, and in-store purchases at EU and UK merchants are excluded. The Plus plan fee is waived with $4,500 of monthly spending. A $999-a-year Prestige plan with 4% cashback is listed as coming soon.
Availability and KYC
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.
Tangem Pay does not publish a country list. Tangem says the card is available in the US (not every state) and in select countries across Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. It does not publish a country list; eligibility is checked in the app during onboarding.
CL Card needs full KYC and Tangem Pay needs full KYC.
The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.
Limits, wallets and card types
CL Card does not publish fixed spending or ATM limits.
Tangem Pay publishes a daily spending limit of $10,000 and ATM withdrawals of up to $750 a day.
CL Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Tangem Pay works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. CL Card and Tangem Pay issue a virtual card you can use straight away.
Custody and safety
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.
Tangem Pay scores 80/100. Licensing: holds a licence or registration outside the tier-one list (Card issued by Nimbus LLC dba Third National, licensed as a Money Transmitter by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (licence TM-0207, NMLS 2612780). Tangem's own pages name Rain, a Visa Principal Member, as the issuer; Third National's site runs on Rain's legal pages.). The card is issued through Nimbus LLC dba Third National. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. Tangem Pay is run by Paera LLC, not Tangem AG. The card is legally a collateralised charge card. Your USDC or USDT sits in a smart contract you control, but Paera can liquidate it if a balance goes unpaid. The terms list a late fee of up to $40 and a liquidation penalty of up to $35. They also ask for 3 business days' notice before you withdraw collateral, while the app FAQ says you can withdraw at any time. The account is tied to a single Tangem Wallet, and losing that wallet means losing access to the card balance.
Full reports: CL Card safety check and Tangem Pay safety check.
About each card
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.
Tangem Pay is a self-custody Visa card from Paera LLC (Tangem Pay program). It tops up with USDC and USDT.
Which card fits you
CL Card fits if
- You spend in foreign currencies often, since its FX markup is lower.
Tangem Pay fits if
- You want to keep crypto in your own wallet until each payment.
- 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: CL Card fees and details · Tangem Pay fees and details