Ripio Card

What the Ripio Card is

Ripio is one of Latin America's longest-running crypto platforms, and its card is an international prepaid Visa issued in virtual and physical form. It behaves like a prepaid card rather than a debit or credit card: when you pay, the amount is consumed immediately from the balance in your wallet, in whichever currency or cryptocurrency you have selected as the payment source.

Cashback in crypto

Paying with any cryptocurrency earns 2% cashback in USDT, BTC or ETH, while paying in Argentine pesos earns 0.5%. New card users get a boosted 4% on crypto payments and 1% on peso payments for their first 30 days. Ripio also runs periodic promotions through the card that lift the rate further on selected merchants.

How you use it

You choose which asset funds each purchase from the card section of the app, and the card fails if that balance is empty - a detail worth internalising, since a payment will be rejected rather than silently falling back to another asset. The virtual card is issued first and works immediately for online purchases, subscriptions, games and QR payments, while the physical card arrives by post free of charge and works at any Visa merchant. Both can be added to Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

What it costs

There is no issuance fee, no delivery charge and no maintenance fee, and Ripio advertises free card management including the ability to pause the card and set daily limits. Cash withdrawals are supported at ATMs, supermarkets and service stations. As with most Latin American cards, the cost you should scrutinise is the conversion rate applied when your crypto becomes a peso or dollar purchase rather than the headline fees.

Ripio's card is free to issue and free to maintain, with 2% back in BTC, ETH or USDT. Lemon returns up to 2% in Bitcoin and sidesteps Argentina's foreign-currency tax, while Belo's LUX card is free to hold but pays no cashback. Our Best Crypto Cards directory compares them.

Cards

• Virtual Visa issued immediately for online purchases, subscriptions, streaming, games and QR payments.
• Physical Visa delivered to your home free of charge, accepted at any Visa merchant.
• Both card types can be added to Apple Pay and Google Wallet for contactless payments.

Controls

• Choose which cryptocurrency funds your purchases from the card section.
• Set daily spending limits and pause the card whenever you want.
• Track monthly spending in the app.

Cash access

• Withdraw cash at ATMs, supermarkets and service stations.

Ordering

• Open or log in to the Ripio app, request the physical card and accept the terms.
• Use the virtual card while the physical one is being delivered.

Supported assets

You can pay with any cryptocurrency available on Ripio, provided you hold a balance in it and have selected it as your payment source in the card section. In practice BTC, ETH and USDT are the headline assets, with cashback paid in BTC, ETH or USDT.

How payment selection works

The card does not draw from a single blended balance. You nominate which asset each purchase should consume, and the card declines if that specific balance is insufficient - so the wallet needs the chosen asset funded before you tap, even if you hold other crypto. Switching the payment asset is done from the card section at any time.

Stablecoins

USDT is the practical choice for regular spending because it tracks the dollar and avoids price movement between your top-up and the transaction, while BTC and ETH are better suited to earning the same 2% cashback on assets you intend to keep accumulating.

Published terms

• Card issuance: free, including the physical card delivery
• Maintenance fee: none, on both virtual and physical cards
• Cashback: 2% in BTC, ETH or USDT on crypto payments, 4% for the first 30 days
• Cashback in ARS: 0.5%, or 1% for the first 30 days
• ATM and merchant cash withdrawals: available, fees not published

What is not published

Ripio does not publish the conversion spread applied when a cryptocurrency balance funds a card purchase, nor the fees for cash withdrawals via ATMs, supermarkets or service stations. Because the card is prepaid, the rate at which your BTC, ETH or USDT becomes a peso or dollar payment is the dominant cost - worth checking inside the app with a small test purchase before relying on the card for larger spending.

Value assessment

At zero issuance and zero maintenance cost, the card has no downside to holding. The cashback rate is strong for the region, and the 30-day 4% introductory rate is among the highest available, though it is time-limited by design.