Is It Possible to Buy Crypto with a Credit Card?

Is it possible to buy crypto with a credit card? You can technically buy crypto with a credit card but, mind you, there will be high fees charged for it which may eat up a major portion of your returns, if that is your primary intention.

Also, whether or not you will be allowed to buy crypto coins using a specific credit card will largely depend on the particular credit card issuer as well as the crypto exchange platform you have chosen for that matter.

Therefore, you should be absolutely sure before you use your credit card for buying crypto coins.

For that, you will first need to research quite a lot in order to find out those crypto exchanges that meet your needs instead of signing up with any exchange that you come across first and be disappointed later on.

However, the main concern is not the availability of credit cards as a payment method but the fees related to such transactions.

This fee can consist of several components such as the commission and additional fees.

Sometimes, the card issuers may consider cryptocurrencies as cash equivalents and therefore can treat any crypto transaction as cash advance.

In this case, you should also be aware of the additional cash advance fee, a higher rate of interest, and commissions related to it.

There are lots of such nuances that you ought to know before you use your credit card to buy crypto coins.

If you are unaware of these intricacies then you are in the right place because this article will have everything covered for you.

Is It Possible to Buy Crypto with a Credit Card?

Ideally, several crypto exchanges out there will not allow buying crypto coins with a credit card, and those that will, may not do so in a few specific jurisdictions.

On the other hand, you may be allowed to buy crypto coins with a credit card sometimes under some circumstances.

Usually, there are a few main reasons that most of the credit card companies do not allow their cardholders to use their card to purchase crypto coins with it. These are:

• Uncertainty of the crypto market and its products which makes it more of a speculative game rather than an investment
• Their particularity about taking risks and not encouraging making dicey purchases with their credit cards
• Poor regulation and control of the crypto markets which not only adds to the uncertainty but also may lead to legal complications which banks typically dislike and
• Cash equivalence or the ability to trade crypto for actual money which may lead to illicit transactions, potential money laundering, funding criminal activities, and tax evasions.

For example, American Express allows making such transitions as of now on strict terms but, on the other hand, Bank of America has changed its stance since 2020 when a Reddit member complained that these transactions are considered as cash advances.

As said earlier, you should also check it out with the particular crypto exchange because some may allow making direct deposits only while others may support making crypto purchases with debit cards only and not credit cards.

Few crypto exchanges may even accept specific types of credit card only.

A few of them may accept MasterCard while some others may accept Visa payments, and few may accept both types of cards.

You should therefore, check these limitations as well from the crypto exchanges.

Though the availability and acceptance of the credit card purchase option depends largely on the vendor, most of the major credit card companies in the US do not allow their cardholders to use their credit cards to buy crypto coins.

These banks, such as Citibank, fear the volatility of the crypto assets as well as the potentiality of fraud while making such transactions.

While a few credit card issuing banks and companies may block such purchases, others may charge high cash advance fees from a cardholder trying to make a crypto purchase.

Therefore, take some time to clarify things with the credit card company first and then go ahead with your venture.

At this point it is worth mentioning that you should call up the bank and talk to the representative because you will not find any information on whether the banks allow crypto purchases with a credit card on their websites.

Make sure that you are clear, direct, and specific when you speak and also ask about the fees that they might charge if they allow making such purchases.

Working Process

If you want to use your credit card to buy crypto coins, you will need to follow the right process to make things work for you.

However, the working process is pretty straightforward and therefore you should not worry much about it but follow these specific steps:

As said earlier, you should first find a crypto exchange that will allow making crypto transactions with a credit card.

Once you do, the process starts with signing up with the exchange.

You will need to furnish some personal info as well as verify your identity.

Depending on the exchange you choose, the verification process may vary but rest assured that your identity will certainly be verified by an exchange that allows making crypto transactions with a credit card.

Assuming that you have double checked with your credit card issuing company that they allow making crypto purchases and do not consider it as cash advances, you must then enter your payment method as your credit card.

You may save it as your preferred payment method after you provide them with your credit card information.

Next, you must select the crypto coin type you want to buy to set up your transaction.

Also, you will need to mention the currency in which you want to buy the crypto as well as the amount of your purchase.

Once you are done with all these steps, you can go ahead and start buying your crypto coins with your credit card.

At this point, it is good to be informed that you should pay the balances off as soon as possible or else, the interest will keep on piling up on your credit card balance.

However, if you have a specific type of credit card that offers rewards, you can buy crypto with it when you redeem the rewards, provided you are allowed to do so.

This will save a lot of fees involved in the process.

Some cards may even allow making auto-purchase transactions which involves buying the predetermined crypto coins at the end of each billing cycle.

This will once again help you to get some fees waived.

Ways to Buy Crypto with Credit Card

The crypto exchanges that allow buying crypto coins with a credit card usually have an interface that is easy to use.

Though there may be little variances in the features of the interface of each of the crypto exchanges, usually these are the steps that you need to follow to buy crypto with a credit card:

• Visit the crypto exchange platform
• Create an account
• Verify the details
• Log in to your account
• Click on ‘Add a Payment Method’ button
• Select “credit card’ method to set the payment option
• Add your credit card detail
• Upload your ID such as Driving License or any other government issued ID proof to confirm your identity
• Furnish the Billing Address details
• Click on ‘Add Card’ button after verification is completed
• Go again to the Buy/Sell option
• Select the type of coin you want to buy and
• Enter the amount.

When all these processes are completed and the transaction fee amount is paid and confirmed, the amount of crypto coins you want to buy will be sent to your wallet. You can see the funds in your account within a few minutes.

Fees to Expect

There are different types of fees charged for crypto purchases made with a credit card by a cardholder and these fees are to be paid both to the crypto exchanges from where the coins are bought as well the credit card issuer.

Therefore, before you incur the charge make sure that you know about the exact cost of your crypto purchase and the benefits it will provide, or lack thereof.

Here are some of the charges that you will incur:

Crypto exchange fees – These are the fees charged by the crypto exchange you chose to buy the coins from.

These fees may include service fees and commissions on transactions as well. Typically, for US cardholders the commission may be up to 2.99% for a minimum purchase of $20.

You may check for the current rate of such fees charged by the exchange which may differ from one crypto exchange to another based on the location, type of credit card used, and the amount of purchase made.

Credit card company fees – The credit card companies also can charge a variety of fees from the cardholders when they use their card to buy crypto coins.

Usually, the credit card companies that treat crypto purchases like cash advances considering them similar to withdrawing money from an ATM using a credit card charge different types of fees such as:

• Cash advance fees, which can be typically either 5% or $10, whichever is greater, in addition to the fees charged by the exchange and
• Cash advance interest at a higher APR or Annual Percentage Rate which can be as high as 25% if the market conditions do not demand for more.

This interest starts to add from the day of purchase and will continue to accumulate until the credit is paid off.

Usually, in comparison, you will have up to 25 days to pay off your regular credit card dues before this type of interest starts accruing.

Sometimes, you may even have to pay foreign transaction fees if you purchase crypto coins from a vendor of a different country.

Factors to Consider

When you buy crypto coins with a credit card you will need to consider a few factors first to determine whether or not such a move will be beneficial to you at all in the first place.

First, you will not be entitled to gain any credit card rewards or receive any sign-up or spending bonus because such purchases are just like cash advances.

Second, you may get a much lower limit than a regular credit card purchase when you buy crypto coins with your credit card.

Once again this is due to the terms and limitations applicable on cash advances.

Thirdly, there is a high chance of fraud in making these types of transactions, especially if the vendor is not vetted properly to protect the valuable information given by the cardholders such as their credit card number, name and CVV or Card Verification Value number.

Also, you may end up incurring heavy debt when you purchase crypto with a credit card.

You may not be able to pay back the fees and high interests that get accrued which will jeopardize your credit score.

You may also lose your entire investment due to the volatility of the crypto market but still legally owe the credit card company their money.

Finally, you should consider the volatile crypto market which does not guarantee making profits on your investment.

Though the prospects are high, chances of incurring losses are equally high.

Expert tip: Buying crypto coins with a credit card is a very risky venture.

Therefore, make sure that you know what you are getting into and the consequences of default or if you are unable to make profits.

Ideally, experts say that if you have to rely on credit to buy crypto coins simply for the sake of getting in on the craze, it is a very strong sign that you are not yet ready for it.

You should abstain from such ventures especially if you know that you are not that focused or serious on building your portfolio.

You should not invest in crypto coins out of FOMO and expose yourself to the least favored asset class or else the Fear of Missing Out will push you further into a debt hole.

Pros

You should not buy crypto coins with your credit card simply because you are allowed to do so.

You should, instead, weigh the pros and cons first and then go ahead with it.

One of the significant benefits of buying crypto coins with a credit card is that you can buy crypto coins even if you do not have hard cash with you.

This will save you from missing out on the opportunity to make profits due to the price changes simply because you did not have the liquid cash to buy the coins.

Another significant advantage of buying crypto coins with a credit card is that you can potentially get a lower interest rate on your investment as well as earn rewards at the same time on your spending, provided the card issuer does not consider it as a cash advance.

Apart from the above, here are a few other benefits that you will enjoy when you buy crypto coins with your credit card:

• You will be able to buy crypto coins online very quickly and easily
• You can buy the coins by using fiat currency
• You may even reduce or waive foreign conversion fees
• Use of multi-currency will offer diversified investment choices and
• You will not need to use any other third-party sites to buy crypto.

However, remember that credit cards issued by all credit card companies and banks may not offer the same type of benefits and privileges and therefore you are advised to go through the terms, conditions, and clauses beforehand.

Cons

On the flipside, one of the major downsides of buying crypto coins with a credit card is that most credit card companies consider such transactions as cash advances and it is unknown to most of the cardholders as well.

Therefore, you will end up paying much higher fees in comparison to any regular credit card purchase unnecessarily.

Remember, there is no card reward for cash advances and there are no grace periods interest charges as well.

You will have to pay these in any way because fees related to credit card purchases are very real, much unlike crypto returns that are primarily hypothetical.

Also, you will also need to pay additional fees to the crypto exchange platform apart from the potential costs every time you make a transaction using your credit card.

This means that you should expect to have significant returns from your crypto assets if you want to break even after paying all these fees and commissions on your credit card purchase.

Another significant aspect is that buying crypto coins with a credit card will affect your credit score.

This is because your credit utilization will be more.

This is the primary factor that affects the credit score and is measured by the total amount of debt you have.

This will indicate that you rely too much on debt and your credit score will go down.

If you cannot pay it off on time it will increase the outstanding balance of your credit card thereby pushing your credit score further down.

Finally, buying crypto coins with a credit card will make your already volatile investment much riskier.

This is because you are buying the coins with the money that you do not possess which indicates that you cannot afford to lose them.

This is ideally in contrast to the principle of crypto investment which says ‘Do not invest more money that you cannot afford to lose.’

Additionally, in the case where there is a loss of value of your crypto investment, your losing amount is further compounded by the high rate of interest and other fees that you are legally obligated to pay to your credit card issuing company at any cost.

Conclusion

You can buy crypto with your credit card on some crypto exchanges and under certain terms and conditions. You must know these and other aspects before you start using your card and this article must have helped you a lot in this aspect.