Yearly cost at three spending levels
| Monthly spend | Uphold | ether.fi Cash |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | ≤ -$18 Essential | ≤ +$162 Core |
| $2,000 | ≤ -$72 Essential | ≤ +$648 Core |
| $5,000 | ≤ -$180 Essential | ≤ +$540 Core |
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 | Uphold Essential | ether.fi Cash Core |
|---|---|---|
| Top-up and conversion fees | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Spending fees | $0 | Not disclosed |
| Foreign exchange markup | -$72 | -$72 |
| ATM fees | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Annual, monthly and subscription fees | $0 | $0 |
| Cashback | Not disclosed | +$720 |
| Net per year | -$72 | +$648 |
Fees
Uphold charges Not disclosed to convert or top up and 1.5% on spending in a foreign currency. ether.fi Cash charges Not disclosed and 1.5%.
ATM withdrawals: Uphold $2.95; ether.fi Cash not disclosed.
A virtual card costs nothing with Uphold and nothing with ether.fi Cash. A physical card costs $4.99 and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.
Cashback and rewards
Uphold cashback: Variable, not published. ether.fi Cash cashback: 3% to 4%.
Uphold tiers: Essential: rate not published; Elite ($99.99 a year): rate not published.
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.
Uphold: For the first 3 months after activation, the Essential card pays 2% in XRP (up to $120) and the Elite card pays 4% on crypto and metals and 3% on fiat and stablecoins (up to $300). Uphold does not publish the rate after that period. The Elite card also removes the FX and ATM fees.
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.
Availability and KYC
Uphold is offered in one country, including United States. Available to US residents in US states and Washington D.C. Not available in Louisiana, New York or US territories.
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.
Uphold needs full KYC and ether.fi Cash needs full KYC.
The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.
Limits, wallets and card types
Uphold does not publish fixed spending or ATM limits.
ether.fi Cash publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $5,000 a day.
Uphold works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and ether.fi Cash works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Neither card issue a virtual card you can use straight away.
Custody and safety
Uphold scores 64/100. Licensing: holds a licence or registration outside the tier-one list (Uphold HQ Inc. is a licensed money transmitter (NMLS ID 1269875)). No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. Uphold publishes its assets and liabilities in real time on its transparency page. Funds in the USD account are held at Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, with pass-through insurance up to $250,000 when certain conditions are met; crypto balances are not covered.
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.
Full reports: Uphold safety check and ether.fi Cash safety check.
About each card
Uphold Debit Card is a custodial Visa card from Uphold. It tops up with USD, USDC, USDT, BTC and XRP.
ether.fi Cash Card is a self-custody Visa card from ether.fi. It tops up with USDC and ETH.
Which card fits you
Uphold fits if
- You live in United States, the only market it serves.
- You weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.
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%).
Read more: Uphold fees and details · ether.fi Cash fees and details