What a free virtual card cost on November 12, 2026
How much does a virtual crypto card cost to run? Wallet provider MetaMask’s fees page set its free virtual tier against its $199-a-year metal card on November 12, 2026.
| Item | Free virtual tier | Metal tier |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 | $199 |
| Stablecoin in the cardholder’s local currency | No fee | No fee |
| Stablecoin in a currency of neither the cardholder’s nor the merchant’s country | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Other tokens, such as wETH | 0.875% | 0.875% |
| Network gas, for example on Linea | Typically $0.01 | Typically $0.01 |
| Paying a merchant outside your country | 1% | No fee, subject to fair use |
| Card limit | $10,000 a transaction, $15,000 a day | $20,000 a transaction, $30,000 a day |
The token you spend changes the price. A cardholder in Germany paying a German shop with USDC, a dollar stablecoin, falls into the 0.5% row, while the same purchase from a euro-denominated stablecoin carries no token fee at all.
Who can get one
MetaMask’s card page listed 46 countries and territories open for sign-up on the same day, from Andorra to Uruguay, including the UK and 23 of the 27 EU countries. It also said sign-ups in the US were temporarily closed. The page says the virtual card can be activated instantly once you are approved, and the support site says the card is run with Crypto Life, a card program manager.
Once active, MetaMask’s card can be tapped in shops through Apple Pay or Google Pay, and the phone then pays with a device token instead of the card’s own number, a process known as mobile wallet tokenization.
Other programs sell the same thing to businesses. Gnosis Pay’s homepage offers companies a way to “launch virtual cards in minutes, physical cards in days.”
Where the money sits until you pay
Virtual cards split into two designs. MetaMask’s is self-custodial. According to its support page, you designate tokens from your wallet and set spending limits, and the tokens are converted to fiat only at the time of the transaction. The fee table prices that permission, listed as “delegate funds for spending”, at no fee and no minimum balance. Your funds stay in a self-custody wallet until the card draws on them.
Exchange Crypto.com’s card follows the custodial model. Its card page says the app sells your crypto for euros or another local currency first and loads that money onto the prepaid card, and the same page promotes the card on an iPhone.
Virtual does not mean anonymous
A virtual card skips the plastic, and the identity checks stay. Gnosis Pay’s published API lists a “Get KYC URL” call next to “Order card”, and MetaMask asks applicants to fill in their details before approval, so the issuer runs know-your-customer checks as it would for a plastic card.
The spending leaves a record too. MetaMask says its activity tab shows the fiat amount, the crypto conversion and the fees for every transaction, and that statements can be exported for tax or accounting.
Before you sign up, check the fee row for the token you plan to spend, and whether your country is on the list that day.