Nexo vs Tangem Pay

The cheaper card changes with your spending. The full fee, reward, availability and safety comparison is below.

Verdict

  • At $500 a month, Nexo comes out $30 a year ahead. At $2,000 a month, Tangem Pay comes out $168 a year ahead. At $5,000 a month, Tangem Pay comes out $564 a year ahead.
  • Nexo is a custodial card, so the provider holds your balance. Tangem Pay is self-custody.
  • On our safety check, Nexo scores 63/100 (Good) and Tangem Pay scores 80/100 (Strong).
  • Overall, Nexo rates 48/100 against 41/100 for Tangem Pay, helped by its reach: it is offered in 33 countries and territories against an unpublished number for Tangem Pay.

Net value per year at $2,000 a month (20% foreign spend, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month)

  • Nexo · Debit Mode or under $5,000≤ -$96
  • Tangem Pay · Basic (free)+$72

≤ one fee is not published and counts as zero.

Crypto card comparison
FeatureNexoTangem Pay
Countries offered33 countriesList not published
Card networkMastercardVisa
CustodyCustodialSelf-custody
KYCFullFull
Top-up assetsUSDT, USDC, BTC, ETHUSDC, USDT
Top-up or conversion feeNot disclosed0%
FX markup2%1.5% (better)
ATM fee2% + €1.99 after €200 free a month4%
Annual fee (base tier)FreeFree
Card issuanceVirtual Free · Physical Not disclosedVirtual Free · Physical Not disclosed
Cashback0% to 2%1% to 2% (better)
Apple Pay / Google PayApple Pay, Google PayApple Pay, Google Pay
Safety score63/10080/100 (better)
Overall rating48/100 (better)41/100
Get the cardGet NexoGet Tangem Pay

Yearly cost at three spending levels

Monthly spendNexoTangem Pay
$500≤ -$24
Debit Mode or under $5,000
-$54
Basic (free)
$2,000≤ -$96
Debit Mode or under $5,000
+$72
Basic (free)
$5,000≤ -$240
Debit Mode or under $5,000
+$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

LineNexo
Debit Mode or under $5,000
Tangem Pay
Basic (free)
Top-up and conversion feesNot disclosed$0
Spending fees$0$0
Foreign exchange markup-$96-$72
ATM fees$0-$96
Annual, monthly and subscription fees$0$0
Cashback$0+$240
Net per year-$96+$72

Fees

Nexo charges Not disclosed to convert or top up and 2% on spending in a foreign currency. Tangem Pay charges 0% and 1.5%.

ATM withdrawals: Nexo 2% + €1.99 after €200 free a month; Tangem Pay 4%.

A virtual card costs nothing with Nexo 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

Nexo cashback: 0% to 2%. Tangem Pay cashback: 1% to 2%.

Nexo tiers: Debit Mode or under $5,000: 0%; Base: 0.5%, capped at $50 a month; Silver: 0.7%, capped at $100 a month; Gold: 1%, capped at $150 a month; Platinum: 2%, capped at $200 a month.

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.

Nexo: Cashback applies only to Credit Mode purchases (spending borrowed against your crypto), never to Debit Mode. You need a portfolio of at least $5,000, and your Loyalty tier is set by the share of NEXO Tokens in your portfolio (Silver 1%, Gold 5%, Platinum 10%). Rates shown are for NEXO Token payouts; choosing BTC pays 0.1% to 0.5%. Monthly reward caps reset on the 1st.

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

Nexo is offered in 33 countries, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom and Argentina. Nexo lists the EEA, Andorra, Monaco, the UK and Argentina "and other selected jurisdictions", so the list is not complete; the app's Check eligibility screen is final. Bulgaria is excluded because Nexo says its services are unavailable there. Personal accounts only. The card can be issued in EUR, GBP or USD. The DiPocket card terms cover EEA and UK residents only; the issuer for Argentina is not published.

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.

Nexo 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

Nexo publishes a daily spending limit of €70,000, a monthly limit of €300,000 and ATM withdrawals of up to €2,000 a day.

Tangem Pay publishes a daily spending limit of $10,000 and ATM withdrawals of up to $750 a day.

Nexo works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Tangem Pay works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Nexo and Tangem Pay issue a virtual card you can use straight away.

Custody and safety

Nexo scores 63/100. Licensing: issued by a bank or e-money institution regulated in a tier-one jurisdiction. The card is issued through DiPocket UAB. 2023-01-19: Nexo Capital Inc. agreed to pay a $22.5 million SEC penalty, plus $22.5 million to US state regulators, over its unregistered Earn Interest Product. 2026-01-14: California's DFPI fined Nexo Capital Inc. $500,000 for making loans to California residents without a lender licence and without checking their ability to repay. Card funds are not stored with DiPocket; Nexo settles each card transaction, and the card terms say DiPocket "does not issue electronic money to you". Nexo's real-time reserves attestation (Armanino from 2021, Moore Johannesburg from April 2023) no longer has a live page, and we found no dated reserves report for 2025 or 2026.

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: Nexo safety check and Tangem Pay safety check.

About each card

Nexo Card is a custodial Mastercard from Nexo Services Sp. z o.o. (Poland). It tops up with USDT, USDC, BTC and ETH 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

Nexo fits if

  • Its fees and availability match your situation better on the table above.

Tangem Pay fits if

  • You want to keep crypto in your own wallet until each payment.
  • 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: Nexo fees and details · Tangem Pay fees and details

Nexo vs Tangem Pay: questions

Which is cheaper, Nexo or Tangem Pay?
At $2,000 a month with 20% foreign spending and one $200 ATM withdrawal, Tangem Pay leaves $168 more per year. The result can change with your spending, so the comparison above lets you enter your own amount.
Can I use Nexo and Tangem Pay in the same country?
One of the two issuers does not publish a country list, so we cannot confirm overlap. 33 countries for Nexo; country list not published for Tangem Pay.
Is Nexo or Tangem Pay safer?
Tangem Pay scores higher on our safety check (80/100 against 63/100). The score looks at licensing, custody, fund segregation, proof of reserves and incident history.
Which card has better cashback, Nexo or Tangem Pay?
Nexo pays 0% to 2% and Tangem Pay pays 1% to 2%. Caps, tier rules and fees decide what you keep, which is why the yearly figures above include both.

Sources

  1. Nexo Card: fees · checked September 28, 2026
  2. Nexo Card: availability · checked September 28, 2026
  3. Nexo Card: cashback · checked September 28, 2026
  4. Nexo Card: safety · checked September 28, 2026
  5. Tangem Pay: fees · checked September 28, 2026
  6. Tangem Pay: availability · checked September 28, 2026
  7. Tangem Pay: cashback · checked September 28, 2026
  8. Tangem Pay: safety · checked September 28, 2026