Three products, three KYC levels
This is the thing to understand first, because it causes more confusion than anything else about the platform.
| Product | ID required | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet | None | Non-custodial — BitPay never holds your keys, so there is nothing to verify |
| Gift cards | None | Closed-loop retail purchase, treated like any other gift-card sale |
| Prepaid Mastercard | Full verification | An open-loop card issued by a regulated institution — the issuer's rules, not BitPay's |
| Merchant processing | Full business onboarding | Commercial account with settlement obligations |
The gift-card store
Around 100 brands, purchasable from the wallet, at face value on most items, delivered instantly. No verification for a standard purchase.
Honest assessment: it is a convenience feature rather than a destination. If you are already in the BitPay wallet holding funds and you want an Amazon card, buying it in the same app is genuinely easier than opening another platform. If you need a specific brand, an unusual region, or the long tail of retailers and utilities, the catalogue will not have it and you should be on Bitrefill or Coinsbee.
There is also no standing rewards programme, which matters more than it sounds. Bitrefill's sats-back on a face-value card is a real discount; BitPay offers periodic promotions instead. Over a year of regular buying that difference is not trivial — see crypto cashback and rewards.
The prepaid card
A prepaid Mastercard funded from your crypto balance, requiring full identity verification, with its own fee schedule. It works, and it is subject to the same economics as every other product in that category.
We are consistently sceptical of prepaid cards on this site and it is worth restating why: they are the most expensive way to spend crypto. Issue fees, load fees, FX on foreign transactions, potential monthly maintenance and dormancy charges on small leftover balances. A brand gift card bought at face value costs 0–2% all-in; a prepaid card commonly costs 3–8%. The full itemisation is in prepaid cards funded with crypto.
Pros and cons
What works well
- Wallet, gift-card store and prepaid Mastercard in a single app
- Gift cards purchasable without identity verification
- One of the oldest and most established names in crypto payments
- Also a merchant payment processor, so the same brand handles both sides of a transaction
- Face-value pricing on most gift cards
- Non-custodial wallet, so you are not obliged to leave funds with them
What to watch out for
- Three products with three different verification levels — easy to trigger the strict one unintentionally
- The prepaid card requires full KYC and carries its own fee schedule
- A much thinner gift-card catalogue than Bitrefill or Coinsbee — around 100 brands
- Card availability is US-centric
- No standing cashback programme
- The bundled approach means each individual component is beaten by a specialist
Use BitPay if
- You want a non-custodial wallet and a gift-card store in one place.
- You need an open-loop card and are comfortable with full verification for it.
- The ~100 brands cover what you actually buy.
- You value one support relationship over optimising each component.
- You also run a business that wants crypto merchant processing.
Look elsewhere if
BitPay: FAQ
Does BitPay require KYC for gift cards?
No — gift cards can be bought without verification. The prepaid Mastercard is a different matter: it requires full identity verification because the card issuer's rules apply, not BitPay's. Knowing which product you are using determines what you will be asked for.
Is the BitPay card worth it?
Only if you specifically need open-loop spending. It is a prepaid card, so it carries the usual fee stack — load fees, FX, potential dormancy charges — and prepaid cards are the most expensive way to spend crypto. If a gift card exists for what you are buying, buy the gift card. See prepaid cards funded with crypto.
How big is BitPay's gift-card catalogue?
Around 100 brands — adequate for common US spending, thin against Bitrefill's ~8,000 or Coinsbee's 5,000+. If the brand you need is stocked, the experience is fine. If it is not, you are on the wrong platform.
Is BitPay a wallet or an exchange?
A non-custodial wallet with a gift-card store and a card product attached, plus a separate merchant-processing business. It is not an exchange — you cannot trade on it — and being non-custodial means you hold your own keys, which is a genuine advantage over exchange-based alternatives.
BitPay or Bitrefill?
Bitrefill for gift cards, without much argument — deeper catalogue, Lightning support, sats-back rewards. BitPay if you want a wallet and a spending card from the same provider and are willing to accept a smaller catalogue for that convenience.
Sources and further reading
Figures on this page were checked in August 2026. Fees, country lists and promotions change without notice — always confirm on the operator's own site before you pay.
- BitPay — wallet, gift card store, card product and merchant processing
- BitPay card — prepaid Mastercard terms and verification requirements