CoinJar Card

What the CoinJar Card is

CoinJar has been running a crypto exchange since 2013 and its card turns a crypto balance into everyday spending. You pick one holding to act as your Spend account, and the card converts it using CoinJar's rates at the moment of payment, so there is no separate top-up step - the balance you already hold is the balance you spend. The card lives in the CoinJar app, where you can switch your Spend account, freeze the card, view spend history and change the PIN.

Free to hold, with a points-based 1%

Issuance, replacement, account management and inactivity all cost nothing: there is no monthly or annual fee, and the physical card is free to order. Every in-store or online purchase carries a 1% fee which is then returned to you as CoinJar Reward Points, so the card effectively pays 1% in points rather than in cash. Points can be used to cover future trade costs or redeemed in the CoinJar Rewards Store. The catch is that the reward only has value inside the CoinJar ecosystem, and foreign spending is expensive: transactions in a currency other than Australian dollars use the Mastercard rate plus a 2.99% fee.

Digital and physical

The card supports Apple Pay and Google Pay for tap-and-go spending from your phone or watch, and the free physical card can be tapped, inserted and swiped anywhere Mastercard is accepted, including ATMs. Cash withdrawals are only possible with the physical card and cost 1% of the amount, with a $1,000 daily cap and a $20 minimum.

Where the card fits

This is an Australian product. CoinJar's own support documentation states the card is exclusively available to Australian residents, and it settles in Australian dollars; third-party reviews report that UK residents can also apply. With a $5,000 daily spend ceiling and a 25-transaction daily limit, it suits everyday spending rather than large payments, and it is best used as an extension of a CoinJar account rather than as a standalone spending account.

CoinJar's card charges a 1% purchase fee and returns it as reward points, a model closer to a loyalty scheme than to cashback. Australian users comparing it with exchange-issued alternatives should look at the BingX Card and the Bitget Wallet Card, both of which are available in the country. The crypto cards directory lists availability by market.

Card

• Mastercard available as a digital card and a free physical card, with the physical card required for ATM withdrawals.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay support for spending from your phone or watch.
• Activate in seconds from the Card icon in the CoinJar app.
• Switch your Spend account, place the card on hold and change the PIN from the app.
• Spend from more than 30 supported digital currencies, converting at the point of sale.

Rewards

• 1 CoinJar Reward Point per $1 spent, with the 1% purchase fee returned as points.
• Points cover the cost of future trades or can be redeemed in the CoinJar Rewards Store.

Cash access

• ATM withdrawals with the physical card at any ATM accepting Mastercard, charged at 1% with a $1,000 daily limit and a $20 minimum.

What you can spend

More than 30 digital currencies are spendable with the card, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, USDC and USDT. You nominate one holding as your Spend account and the card converts it automatically at the point of sale using CoinJar's rates, so there is no manual top-up or separate card balance to manage.

Why that matters

Because the card spends directly from a crypto balance, the amount available depends on the market value of whatever you nominated. A card funded by Bitcoin is exposed to Bitcoin's price between purchases, which is convenient when prices rise and awkward when they fall, particularly for anyone using the card as their main way to pay for things.

Settlement currency

The card settles in Australian dollars, which is why the foreign exchange fee matters so much: any purchase priced in another currency converts through the Mastercard rate and then pays the 2.99% fee on top. Holding a stablecoin as the Spend account removes price volatility from the equation but does not change the FX cost of spending outside Australia.

Published fee table

• Card issuance, digital and physical: $0
• Card replacement: $0
• Account management, monthly and annual: $0
• Inactivity: $0
• In-store and online purchase: 1% of the transaction, returned to you as CoinJar Reward Points
• Foreign transaction: the Mastercard exchange rate plus 2.99%
• ATM withdrawal (physical card only): 1% of the amount, with a $1,000 daily cap and $20 minimum
• Transaction dispute: $27.50 per transaction

Working through an example

A $12 bakery purchase costs 12 cents in card fees, returned as points, so the net cost of domestic spending is effectively zero as long as you value the points. The contrast is a $200 purchase in Canadian dollars: converting to Australian dollars at the Mastercard rate gives about $218, on which the 2.99% foreign fee ($6.52) and the 1% card fee ($2.18) are both charged, taking the total to roughly $226.70. That is around 4% above the headline price, so the card is not a good travel companion compared with cards charging 0% to 1% FX.

Beyond the card fees

Card fees are published separately from CoinJar's trading fees, which apply to any crypto bought or sold in the app. If your Spend account has to be topped up or rebalanced, those trades carry their own costs, so it is worth checking the rate on your plan before treating the card as your main account.