We verified 4 crypto cards offered to Canadians against their issuers’ official pages. Fees fall into five groups: annual or subscription fees, foreign-currency fees, ATM fees, card issuance or replacement fees, and the spread when crypto is converted. The spread is often the largest cost and rarely appears as a fee line.
Figures as of October 31, 2026.
A crypto card’s cost is more than its annual fee. Here is every fee the issuers publish, from their own pages, with the date of each page. Where an issuer does not state a fee, we say “not stated” rather than guess.
| Card | Annual / monthly | Foreign currency | ATM | Card issuance / replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakepay Card | No annual fee | 3% (Base), 1.5% (Bright), 0% (Blue) | No Shakepay ATM fee listed; ATM operators may charge. Limits: $500 per withdrawal, $1,000 a day; physical card only; no rewards on ATM withdrawals | Free to get; virtual card at once, physical card mailed within about 21 days |
| Crypto.com Visa | Midnight Blue free; Ruby Steel CA$6.99/month or CA$69.90/year, or a CA$650 12-month CRO stake; Royal Indigo/Jade Green CA$39.99/month or CA$399.90/year, or a CA$6,500 stake; Icy White/Rose Gold CA$65,000 stake; Obsidian CA$650,000 stake | Midnight 2%; Ruby free on the first CA$700 a month then 2%; Jade/Indigo free on the first CA$1,400 then 2%; higher tiers no fee | No Crypto.com ATM fee listed in the Canadian fees article; ATM bank fees may apply. Withdrawal limits: C$700/day and C$7,000/month (Midnight), C$1,500/day (Ruby), C$2,500/day (higher tiers), C$15,000/month above Midnight | Physical card: Midnight C$4.99; Ruby C$39.99 for monthly subscribers under 6 months (free otherwise). Replacement: Midnight C$10, other cards C$70 |
| ether.fi Cash | Core: no fee listed; Luxe US$199/year; Pinnacle US$999/year | FX margin on top of the base rate for non-USD/EUR purchases, including CAD: Core 0.5%, Luxe 0.25%, Pinnacle and VIP none | No ATM fee listed; up to US$5,000 per withdrawal and US$25,000 a rolling 24 hours; no cashback on ATM withdrawals | Physical card: Core US$50 (none free), Luxe 1 free then US$100, Pinnacle 2 free then US$100. First virtual card US$10 in some regions |
| MetaMask Card | Free tier $0 (the Metal tier, $199/year, is not offered in Canada) | 1% cross-border fee when the merchant is outside your country (free tier) | Not available in Canada: the free tier is a digital card with no physical card here (the table lists 2% for physical-card ATM use) | Digital card free, activated in the app |
The fee that has no line: conversion spread
When you buy crypto, sell it, or a card converts it at the till, the price you get usually includes a spread between the buy and sell price. It is a real cost even when the fee schedule says “free”. Compare the CAD amount charged with the market price at the time to see it.
Fees that only some people pay
- Foreign-currency fees apply to purchases in another currency, including many online shops that bill in USD.
- ATM fees often start after a monthly free amount, and the ATM owner may add its own charge.
- Replacement and inactivity fees matter if you lose cards or stop using one.
- Tier subscriptions are fixed monthly costs that only make sense at higher spend: see the break-even column in the rewards vs fees tool.
Which card is cheapest at my spending?
It depends on how much you spend in foreign currency and whether you will meet Shakepay’s monthly status rules or pay for a Crypto.com tier. At $1,500 a month in CAD with $150 in foreign purchases, the rewards vs fees calculator shows each tier’s net value after fees. Change the numbers and the order changes.
What do foreign purchases cost on each tier?
| Card / tier | $150 foreign/month | $500 foreign/month | $900 foreign/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shakepay Card — Base | −$54 | −$180 | −$324 |
| Shakepay Card — Bright | −$27 | −$90 | −$162 |
| Shakepay Card — Blue | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Midnight Blue | −$36 | −$120 | −$216 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Ruby Steel (annual subscription) | $0 | $0 | −$48 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Ruby Steel (CRO stake) | $0 | $0 | −$48 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Royal Indigo / Jade Green (annual subscription) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Royal Indigo / Jade Green (CRO stake) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Icy White / Rose Gold | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Crypto.com Visa — Obsidian | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ether.fi Cash — Core | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ether.fi Cash — Luxe | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ether.fi Cash — Pinnacle | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| MetaMask Card | −$18 | −$60 | −$108 |
How do subscriptions compare with stakes?
Crypto.com’s Ruby Steel and Royal Indigo/Jade Green tiers can be reached two ways: a subscription (CA$69.90 or CA$399.90 a year) or a 12-month CRO stake (CA$650 or CA$6,500). The subscription is a known cost; the stake has no fee but carries CRO’s price risk for the year. The stake tool shows the price drop that makes the stake the more expensive route.
Are there fees the issuers don’t publish?
ATM operators can charge their own fee, which none of the issuers controls. Exchange rates applied by the network or platform can include a margin. And MetaMask’s product page does not state an FX fee for the Virtual card, so we list it as “not stated” rather than zero.
| Card and tier | Shakepay Card — Base |
|---|---|
| Purchases in CAD | $1,500 a month |
| Purchases in a foreign currency | $150 a month |
| Rewards (at the CAD value when credited) | $198.00 a year1% of eligible spend, paid in BTC |
| Fixed fees | $0.00 |
| Foreign-currency fees | −$54.00 |
| Net a year | $144.00No fixed fee to recover. |
Open this example in the calculator →Computed 2026-11-03.
What this means for you
At typical spending, the foreign-currency fee is the fee most people actually pay. Check how much of your spending is billed in USD.
A free tier with no rewards (Crypto.com Midnight Blue) still costs 2% on foreign purchases. Free is not the same as cheap.
Sources
- Shakepay — Card — no date shown; read October 31, 2026
- Shakepay Help Centre — What are the Shakepay reward statuses? — page dated October 31, 2026
- Shakepay Help Centre — Cashback rewards with the Shakepay Prepaid Visa Card — no date shown; read October 31, 2026
- Shakepay Help Centre — What are the fees and limits of the Shakepay Card? — no date shown; read October 31, 2026
- Shakepay Help Centre — How do I order and use my physical Shakepay Card? — no date shown; read October 31, 2026
- Shakepay Help Centre — How does the Shakepay Card work? — no date shown; read October 31, 2026
- Shakepay Visa Prepaid Card — Cardholder Agreement (Peoples Trust Company) — no date shown; read October 31, 2026
- CSA — Crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians — page dated September 18, 2026
- Crypto.com — Crypto.com Visa Card (Canada) — no date shown; read November 1, 2026
- Crypto.com Help Center — Prepaid Visa Card Fees and Limits (Canada) — no date shown; read November 1, 2026
- Crypto.com Help Center — Prepaid Card Rewards & Benefits — no date shown; read November 1, 2026
- Bank of Canada Valet — USD/CAD (FXUSDCAD) — page dated November 2, 2026
- ether.fi Help — In which countries is the Cash card available? — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — What are the benefits of a personal Cash credit card? — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — How does cashback work? — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — What’s the foreign exchange (FX) rate used on Cash transactions? — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — ATM withdrawal limits for personal Cash cards — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — Which transactions don’t earn cashback? — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — Borrow Mode vs Direct Pay Mode — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- ether.fi Help — How do I add my card to Apple Wallet or Google Pay? — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
- MetaMask — MetaMask Card — no date shown; read November 3, 2026
- MetaMask Support — MetaMask Card limits and fees — no date shown; read November 4, 2026
Educational information, not financial, tax or legal advice. 6 min read. Reviewed October 31, 2026.