Banking 3.0: The First Fully Self-Custodial Crypto Card Gnosis Pay

Gnosis is one of the oldest and most respected blockchain projects in the Ethereum ecosystem, founded in 2017. The company is known for creating critically important infrastructure for Web3, including Gnosis Safe (the largest non-custodial smart wallet managing over $100 billion in assets), CowSwap (a decentralized exchange aggregator), and Gnosis Chain. In 2023, Gnosis launched a revolutionary product — Gnosis Pay, the world’s first fully self-custodial crypto card.

Gnosis Pay is a Visa debit card that allows you to spend cryptocurrency directly from your own wallet without transferring funds to third parties. Unlike traditional crypto cards from Coinbase or Crypto.com, where you entrust your assets to a centralized platform, Gnosis Pay works with a self-custodial Safe wallet. This means that even if Gnosis Pay ceases operations tomorrow, you will retain full access to your funds — they belong exclusively to you.

The card was officially presented at the EthCC conference in Paris in July 2023. Gnosis Pay is issued by Gnosis Pay Co Ltd (registered in the United Kingdom, № 14919639) through a partnership with Monavate Limited, which has a Visa Europe Limited license and is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as an electronic money issuer (FRN: 901097).

Features and Benefits

Gnosis Pay offers a unique combination of traditional payment solutions with Web3 innovations:

• Full self-custody: the main difference between Gnosis Pay and competitors is true self-custody. Your funds are stored in a Safe wallet (a smart contract on Gnosis Chain), and only you control the private keys. The Gnosis platform has no access to your assets, except for permission to debit EURe/GBPe/USDCe within the limits you set.
• Zero transaction fees: Gnosis Pay does not charge fees for purchases in stores or online payments. There are also no foreign exchange fees (FX fees) or off-ramping fees. This makes the card one of the most profitable on the market.
• Stablecoin support: the card works with regulated stablecoins EURe (euro from Monerium, regulated in the EU), GBPe (British pound), and USDCe (US dollar). All three stablecoins are available on Gnosis Chain.
• Own IBAN account: users from EU countries receive their own Estonian IBAN account linked to the Safe wallet. This allows you to top up the card through regular SEPA Instant bank transfers or receive salary directly to the crypto wallet.
• Cashback up to 5% in GNO tokens: Gnosis Pay offers a multi-tier cashback program that depends on the amount of GNO tokens in your Safe wallet. The basic level is 1% for those holding from 0.1 GNO. Maximum cashback of 4% is available for owners of over 100 GNO. Owners of OG NFT (Original Gangster NFT — a non-transferable token for early users) receive an additional +1%, reaching a maximum of 5%.
• Weekly cashback payments: unlike many competitors, Gnosis Pay pays cashback weekly directly to your Safe wallet in the form of GNO tokens through an on-chain airdrop.
• Integration with Apple Pay and Google Pay: the virtual card fully supports contactless payments through mobile wallets for convenience.
• Instant conversion: when paying for a purchase, stablecoins are automatically converted to the required currency at the real exchange rate. There is no need to pre-load the card with fiat money.
• Acceptance at over 80 million merchants: as a Visa card, Gnosis Pay is accepted wherever Visa works — in over 200 countries worldwide.
• Availability: the card is currently available in 32 European countries (including the entire European Economic Area), the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Brazil. Expansion to the USA, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Mexico is planned.
• Smart Safe wallet features: since the card is linked to a Safe wallet, you can use all its capabilities — multisig, account recovery, setting spending limits, batch transactions, and interaction with DeFi protocols.

We’ve always had this really strong line between crypto and the real world. We’re trying to erase this bit by bit so people can use their real-world money in crypto and use their crypto to pay for things in the real world

Friederike Ernst

Co-founder and COO in Gnosis

On banking 3.0, the core banking infrastructure is no longer on those 50 year old traditional systems—it’s built on Web3. Gnosis Pay card holders store their crypto themselves, in a Gnosis Pay Safe. This is your base of the account, it has card capabilities, so you can spend your money like a Visa card — said Deep Shah, Gnosis Pay Founding Team and Head of Growth.

How to Order and Activate Gnosis Pay

The process of obtaining Gnosis Pay requires some technical knowledge, but the platform provides step-by-step instructions:

1. Create a Safe wallet: go to https://safe.global and create a Safe wallet on the Gnosis Chain network. This will be your main self-custodial wallet for Gnosis Pay.
2. Complete KYC verification: visit https://gnosispay.com and start the verification process through partner Fractal ID. You will need to provide identity documents in accordance with regulatory requirements.
3. Connect Safe wallet: after successful verification, connect your Safe wallet to Gnosis Pay through the web application.
4. Order a physical or virtual card: choose the card type:
   • Virtual card — available instantly and free, suitable for online purchases and Apple/Google Pay
   • Physical card — made from recycled ocean plastic, costs approximately €30 (although the fee is often waived during promotional periods)
5. Top up Safe wallet: transfer EURe, GBPe, or USDCe to your Safe wallet address or use SEPA Instant to top up via IBAN (for EU users). You can also exchange other cryptocurrencies for stablecoins directly in Safe.
6. Set limits: establish daily spending limits for additional security through the Gnosis Pay web application.
7. Activate the card: for the physical card, make the first transaction or enter the PIN code for activation. The virtual card is ready to use immediately after issuance.
8. Connect to Apple Pay/Google Pay: add the virtual card to your mobile wallet for contactless payments.

Fees and Limits

Gnosis Pay stands out with an exceptionally transparent and minimal fee structure:

Fees:

Card issuance:

• Virtual card — free
• Physical card — €30 (or £30 for GBP), although the fee is often waived during promotional periods
• Delivery included in the price

Transactions:

• In-store purchases — 0%
• Online payments — 0%
• Foreign exchange fees (FX) — 0%
• Off-ramping fees — 0%

Note: some sources mention a “Stabilization Fee” of approximately 1.5%, which is charged to manage the bridge between on-chain assets and off-chain Visa settlements. However, the official Gnosis Pay documentation does not indicate this fee as standard for all users.

ATM cash withdrawals:

• First 5 withdrawals per month or up to 200 EUR/GBP/USDC (whichever comes first) — free
• After exceeding the limit — 2% for each additional withdrawal

Monthly maintenance:

• 0 € — no subscription fee

Limits:

Daily spending:

• Up to €8,000 (or equivalent in GBP/USD) per day
• Users can set lower limits for additional security

Cash withdrawals:

• Up to €500 per day at ATMs
• Some ATMs may charge their own fees

Contactless payments:

• Up to 50 EUR/GBP/USD without PIN (physical card only)
• For mobile wallets (Apple Pay/Google Pay), the limit does not apply

Cashback:

• Minimum amount for display — 0.01 GNO (approximately €2.55)
• Weekly payments without minimum withdrawal threshold
• Weekly cashback limits depend on the tier (based on spending amount and GNO holdings)

Cashback structure:

Tier 1: 0.1 – 1 GNO → 1% cashback
Tier 2: 1 – 10 GNO → 2% cashback
Tier 3: 10 – 100 GNO → 3% cashback
Tier 4: 100+ GNO → 4% cashback
OG NFT bonus: +1% additional (maximum 5% total)

Disadvantages and Precautions

Despite revolutionary capabilities, Gnosis Pay has certain limitations:

• Setup complexity: unlike traditional crypto cards, Gnosis Pay requires understanding of Safe wallets, bridging between networks and working with Gnosis Chain. For cryptocurrency beginners, the initial setup can be challenging.
• Limited cryptocurrency support: the card works only with three stablecoins — EURe, GBPe, and USDCe on Gnosis Chain. If you hold Bitcoin, Ethereum or other tokens, you need to first exchange them for supported stablecoins.
• Single network support: unlike many competitors that support multiple blockchains, Gnosis Pay works exclusively on Gnosis Chain. This means you need to bridge assets from other networks.
• Usage restrictions: the card cannot be used for car rentals, automated fuel pumps, gambling, pawn shops and some other merchant categories. There may also be issues with pre-authorized payments.
• Cashback depends on GNO volatility: to receive significant cashback (3%+), you need to hold a substantial amount of GNO tokens, which are a volatile asset. If the GNO price falls, your cashback also depreciates. For basic users (1% cashback), the benefit is minimal.
• Geographic limitations: currently, the card is available in a limited number of countries. Although coverage is expanding, users from the USA, Asia and many other regions still do not have access.
• Delay in on-chain transactions: when you initiate an on-chain transaction from your Safe wallet, a 3-minute delay is applied through the Delay Module to prevent double spending. During this time, the card cannot be used.
• Manual Safe configuration: users are not recommended to manually change the configuration of the Safe wallet linked to Gnosis Pay, as this may disrupt the card’s operation.
• No deposit insurance: unlike traditional bank accounts, self-custodial funds are not protected by government deposit insurance (such as FDIC in the USA).

Gnosis Pay represents a true revolution in the world of crypto cards — it is the first solution that offers full self-custody combined with global Visa acceptance. The concept of “banking 3.0” from Gnosis is not just beautiful words — it is a real attempt to build the financial infrastructure of the future based on blockchain technologies.

The main advantages of Gnosis Pay — true ownership of assets, zero transaction fees, own IBAN account, cashback up to 5% in GNO tokens and the ability to interact with DeFi protocols — make it a unique offering on the market. For users who value decentralization, privacy and control over their own funds, Gnosis Pay is the ideal choice.

However, it is worth considering the technical complexity of setup, limited cryptocurrency support (only 3 stablecoins), cashback dependence on the volatile GNO token, and geographic limitations. This is a product for advanced cryptocurrency users who are ready to invest time in learning and setup for the sake of true financial freedom.

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