ShakePay Releases Bitcoin Cashback Card

Up to 4% Cashback in Bitcoin

One of the events I’ve been waiting for all of 2021 is for ShakePay to release their Bitcoin VISA Debit card. For my non-Canadian readers, ShakePay is the best cryptocurrency exchange in Canada for beginners. They only sell BTC and ETH and allow people to shake their phone once per day to earn free bitcoin.

They had a year long promotion to elevate Shakepay users on the VISA card waitlist, but as a Christmas bonus, they’ve just given the card to everyone on the waitlist. You can now add your ShakePay card to ApplePay or GooglePay allowing you to pay at any terminal that accepts tap payments.

Since Mrugakshee and I are travelling internationally, we had the perfect opportunity to try out our new virtual ShakePay cards.

Up to 4% Cashback

By default the card gives you 2% cashback on all purchases, paid in bitcoin. By inviting two of your friends or family that we’re previously on the waitlist, you can get up to 2% more cashback in bitcoin. I believe the 4% cashback is just a temporary promotion, meaning that after a while, they will knock you back down to 2%.

Still though, 4% cashback in bitcoin is a pretty sizeable amount of cashback. I’m getting 5% on my Crypto.com VISA Debit card, but I had to lock $50k worth of CRO to get it. ShakePay is offering this cashback for free; meaning you didn’t have to stake anything to get the card, and it is paid out in Bitcoin.

Cashback in Bitcoin

The less friction there is to getting ahold of more bitcoin, the better. In some ways, I like the ShakePay cashback card more than Crypto.com. The bitcoin is deposited directly into my account, and then is free to transfer elsewhere (BTC withdrawals in ShakePay are free).

As I stated before, this is different than Crypto.com wherein I would have to trade CRO for BTC, then pay a bitcoin transaction fee if I wanted to put my BTC elsewhere.

That being said, after using the ShakePay card, there are a couple of drawbacks.

Drawback #1

The cashback is not instant. Yet?

Exactly how long I needed to wait for the cashback to arrive in my account is unknown, as immediately after using my card, I got on a plane. I can say though, that the cashback arrived in my account within 24 hours. Contrast this to Crypto.com wherein the cashback is paid in CRO immediately after the purchase. If you value immediacy, then the Crypto.com card is likely the better option as you can do whatever you like with the CRO directly after receiving it.

I do wonder whether or not ShakePay will eventually make the cashback instant, or if we will be stuck waiting up to 24 hours for the cashback to be deposited. Part of me tells me that waiting up to 24 will be the norm, as ShakePay has to wait for the VISA transaction to clear before giving cashback.

If ShakePay gave instant cashback, I could manipulate them by charging a transaction, get the BTC cashback, transfer it out of my ShakePay account, then reverse the charge. The reason why you can’t really do this with Crypto.com is because most people have locked funds on their Crypto.com account. If they really wanted to, they could just debit any of your locked funds, or shut down your account.

Drawback #2

It’s only for Canadians. So far?

I do hope that one day ShakePay will roll out in other countries. When I am recommending people get into Bitcoin (in Canada) I recommend ShakePay as they are a super-simply, fun and an easy to use service. Who wouldn’t want to shake their phone once per day for free bitcoin?

Although they’ve stated multiple times that Canada is their focus for now, I can see a future wherein they go to the United States, Europe, or Australia.

Other Cashback Cards in the World

If you’re reading this and you’re not Canadian, then you obviously won’t be able to use the ShakePay card. But you’re in luck, tons of companies are coming out with their own Crypto VISA Debit cards.

The Fold Card

Fold is a company with a Mobile App, and a VISA Debit Card. From what I understand, it is a card that is offered in most developed countries/regions (Europe, Canada, USA, Australia). It works exactly like any other VISA Debit card you’ve used. Load it with funds, and swipe it any VISA terminal.

They’ve got a fun twist to their platform though. Once per day you can “spin the wheel” for a chance to win up to 100% cashback in bitcoin on your next purchase. 100% cashback beats 5% cashback any day of the week.

BlockFi

The BlockFi credit card is not out yet, but the thing that really sets it apart is that it is an actual credit card. Other cryptocurrency companies have opted to go the VISA Debit route for a number of reasons (regulations, simpler to set up, etc).

Although the BlockFi credit card is not available on the market quite yet, I am eager to get my hands on one because it is a true credit card, and doesn’t require me to have funds available and deposited onto BlockFi itself. This ultimately means I have more flexibility for spending money. I am still curious as to how the credit card will actually work, and whether or not I will need to pass additional KYC and a credit check.

Binance

The Binance Visa Debit card is also not yet available to the public, but I’m excited for it for its own unique offering. According to Binance, they will allow you to spend any of your cryptocurrencies. This is different than Crypto.com and ShakePay wherein you need to load your card with fiat currency (CAD, USD, GBP, etc) in order to spend using your card.

The reason I am excited for Binances’ card is because it will create that much more utility for any cryptocurrencies you are keeping on the platform. Being able to spend any cryptocurrency instantly is part of the supposed destiny of cryptocurrencies in general, and Binance is trying to bring that into fruition.

Cards Help you Go Full Crypto

My ability to Go Full Crypto has increased significantly after receiving the ability to spend my cryptocurrency through Crypto.com. As far as I’m concerned, it completely solves the problem of “not being able to spend crypto”.

Meanwhile, more cards on the market will force the companies offering the card to continually add more perks and rewards to their cards in order to remain competitive with each other.

The more adoption of these cards, the more these companies will need to stockpile BTC in order to make good on giving cashback to everyone using these cards. This is ultimately good for the adoption of cryptocurrencies in general, but specifically bitcoin.

Ultimately that means you (the consumer) will benefit from this competition and stockpiling of BTC. You can bet that I will be posting more letters and updates as I get ahold of more of these cards.

Cheers,

Keegan

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