By: Ofir Beigel | Last updated: 8/8/23
Buying Bitcoin with a credit card is now easier than it’s ever been. These days, a majority of major crypto exchanges and wallets provide the option to purchase Bitcoin with a credit card, either directly or through a third party payments provider.
In this post, I’ll review the most popular methods for buying Bitcoin with a credit card.
Buying Bitcoins with a Credit Card Summary
The easiest way to buy Bitcoins with a credit card would probably be CEX.io. Here are the steps:
- Visit Coinmamaand create an account
- Choose the amount you want to buy.
- Complete your KYC
- Enter your Bitcoin address.
- Enter your credit card details.
- The coins will be sent to your wallet.
CEX.io
Supported countries:
Worldwide
Overall rating:
If you want to read in depth about additional exchanges that accept credit cards, keep on reading. Here’s what I’ll cover:
- Coinmama
- CEX.io
- Bitpanda
- Coinbase
- Binance
- LocalBitcoins
- Bitstamp
- Coinhouse
- Indacoin
- CoinCorner
- Xcoins
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
1. Buy Bitcoin with a Credit Card through Coinmama
Pros: Good support, respectable company, fast service
Cons: Limited states in the United States
Coinmama has specialized in Bitcoin purchases through a credit card since 2013. They take a premium fee for their services, and you can buy up to $7,500 worth of Bitcoin per day with a fully verified Coinmama account. They provide a fast and reliable service with receiving Bitcoins instantly after your purchase confirmation. Coinmama support is typically pretty responsive.
For regulatory compliance, some countries and US States are served by a third party, while a handful are not supported at all.
How to Use Coinmama
1. Get a Bitcoin wallet, as Coinmama doesn’t hold the Bitcoins for you.
2. From Coinmama’s homepage, choose how many Bitcoins you’d like to buy. Enter the price either in BTC, USD, EUR or in other currencies. Alternatively, you can choose one of the offered packages.
3. Click Buy and you will be taken to the sign-up page.
4. After you fill out your initial details, you’ll need to go through an additional verification by submitting a photo ID. Verification is usually pretty quick (it took me 1.5 hours to get verified).
5. Verified users can buy bitcoins pretty easily with your credit card through the friendly interface. I suggest you use Visa or Mastercard since it’s the fastest option. With level 3 verification you can buy $7,500/day and up to $40,000/month.
6. Confirm how much Bitcoin you wish to buy.
7. Next you’ll need to enter your own Bitcoin address.
8. Finally, enter your payment details and place your order.
2. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through CEX.IO
Pros: Veteran company, high buying limits
Cons: Support can be slow, Higher exchange rates than competition
Established in 2013, CEX.IO is a cryptocurrency exchange trusted by over 4 million users. CEX.io works in most countries across the world, with very few exceptions. 48 states in the US are also supported. The site supplies a complete trading platform as well as a brokerage service.
How to Use CEX.io
1. Open a CEX.IOaccount.
2. Click on Finance, then Deposit next to the requested currency.
3. You’ll then have the option to either wire transfer the money or use your credit card to buy Bitcoins instantly.
CEX.IO also offers instant withdrawals of USD, EUR, GBP, and RUB to payment cards, meaning you can deposit and withdraw funds in and from your payment cards once they’re linked to your CEX.IO profile.
Withdrawal requests are processed automatically right after their placement, and they do not require you to log in to anythird-party services. In most cases, withdrawals are processed instantly, enabling you to gain convenient access to the funds on your Visa or Mastercard right away.
3. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through Bitpanda
Pros: Multiple payment options, relatively low fees
Cons: Not available worldwide
Bitpanda is an Austrian startup company that was founded in October 2014. The company allows you to buy Bitcoins and a variety of other assets including altcoins, stocks and metals with a credit card. Additional payment options include wire transfers, Neteller, Skrill, SEPA, and more. Bitpanda supplies its services to Europe and a handful of other countries only at a relatively low fee.
How to Use Bitpanda
1. Visit Bitpanda and sign up
2. Verify your identity
3. Choose a cryptocurrency (e.g. Bitcoin) and click “Buy”
4. Choose the “Visa/Mastercard” payment method
5. Enter the amount you wish to buy
6. Click “Next step”
7. Confirm your order
4. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through Coinbase
Pros: User-friendly interface, relatively low fees, established reputation
Cons: Not completely available worldwide, horrible support
Coinbase is the largest Bitcoin broker worldwide. It has over 73 million customers around the world. Coinbase no longer discloses a standard credit card transaction fee, however you can double-check the fee being charged before completing a purchase. The exchange is open to 100+ countries around the world. When buying more than $100 worth of Bitcoins, you will receive an additional $10 Bitcoin bonus.
How to Use Coinbase
1.Create a Coinbase account.
2. Go to Settings, then Payment Methods, and then click Add Payment Method.
3. Click Credit/Debit Card.
4. Enter your card’s information.
5. Once the card is confirmed, you can go to Buy/Sell and buy your Bitcoins.
6. The Bitcoins will be sent to your Coinbase wallet.
In order to connect your card, you’ll need to verify your identity by uploading a government-issued ID.
5. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through Binance
Pros: Good reputation, available worldwide
Cons: Slow verification process, slow support
Binance is a relatively young company compared to the above alternatives, however it has surpassed most veteran exchanges in terms of popularity and trading volumes. Previously a crypto-only exchange, Binance now accepts credit card purchases of crypto, both through themselves and third parties (such as the popular payments processor, Simplex).
6. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through LocalBitcoins
Pros: Wide variety of sellers, easy-to-use interface
Cons: Sellers will usually take higher fees for credit card purchases, possibility of scam
LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling Bitcoins. You can think of it as eBay for Bitcoin. The site offers a wide variety of sellers that accept various payment methods, including credit cards. The main issue when using LocalBitcoins is that you have to filter sellers wisely so that you won’t get scammed. One thing to keep in mind is that if you’re new to LocalBitcoins, not a lot of sellers will want to do business with you since they’re likely afraid of scammers as well.
Visit LocalBitcoins Read review
How to Use LocalBitcoins
1. Sign up to LocalBitcoins.
2. Search for a seller who accepts credit cards (unfortunately, there’s no “worldwide” search, so you’ll need to sift through different countries to find all sellers).
3. Verify that the seller has enough of a reputation, and read the terms of the trade.
4. Enter the amount you’d like to buy, and click Send trade request.
5. Follow any additional requests as required by the seller.
7. Buy Bitcoins with a credit card through Bitstamp
Pros: Great reputation, multiple payment options, accepts customers from most countries
Cons: Average fees, verification process can take a long time, not very user friendly
Established in 2011, Bitstamp is one of the oldest and most reputable Bitcoin exchanges out there. The exchange is fully licensed by the Luxembourg ministry of finance. Bitstamp fees for credit card purchases are 5% plus a standard trading fee. Its service is open to over 80 countries globally, including Europe and USA plus a selection of Asian and South American states.
How to Use Bitstamp
1. Go to the deposit page and choose card purchase from the side menu
2. Choose which cryptocurrency you want to buy
3. Select a currency to pay with
4. Choose how much currency you would like to purchase
5. Enter your card details
6. Confirm your purchase
To finish your order, you’llneed to use a 3D Secure credit card. Also, some banks may consider your credit card deposit as a cash advance. If that’s the case, your bank or credit card provider may charge extra fees.
8. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through Coinhouse
Pros: Reputable company, high buying limits
Cons: Limited countries available, high exchange rates
Coinhouse is the “House of Bitcoin” in Paris. You can buy as little as €50 worth of Bitcoins by Visa, MasterCard, with bank transfer, or with a Neosurf prepaid card, which is available in most European countries. Although the credit card fees are low, the exchange rates themselves may be high.
9. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through IndaCoin
Pros: Good support, available to most countries worldwide
Cons: High exchange rates
Indacoin is a UK-based exchange that allows users worldwide to buy Bitcoin and more than 100 other cryptocurrencies with a credit card. Purchases must be between $10 and $6,000.
In order to use your credit card, you’ll need to verify your phone number and ID verification, including a selfie. The process is fairly simple, but I haven’t tried the exchange out myself, so I can’t vouch for it.
Even though the site states that it doesn’t charge any explicit fees, its exchange rates are pretty high due to credit card processing.
Visit Indacoin Review coming soon
10. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through CoinCorner
Pros: Easy to use for beginners, supporting mobile app
Cons: High administration fees on deposits, not available worldwide
CoinCorneris a Bitcoin broker established in 2014, located in the Isle of Man. The exchange services several countries around the world. You can buy up to £50 of Bitcoin without any verification, but much higher limits are available for verified users. CoinCorner also has a supporting mobile app that allows you to send and receive Bitcoins from your account using your mobile phone.
Visit CoinCorner Review coming soon
11. Buy Bitcoin with a credit card through Xcoins
Pros: Very quick turnaround for purchases, 24/7 support
Cons: No explicitly-stated fee, accepts USD and EUR only for fiat
Xcoinsis a Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange platform which has been around since 2016.
Users of the service can purchase BTC as well as LTC, ETH, XRP, BCH and DOGE using any one of several fiat currencies via Visa or Mastercard.
Xcoins takes the speed of its service very seriously; The exchange actually promises to send your coins within 15 minutes of payment approval, or your next transaction will be free of fees. This makes Xcoin a good choice if you want to get your hands on some bitcoin quickly.
The minimum purchase amount is 50 USD or 50 EUR, with maximum daily limits of $5,000 for its lowest level of verification.
Visit Xcoins Review coming soon
12. Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Bitcoin ATM accept Credit Cards?
The vast majority of Bitcoin ATMs accept only cash as payment for Bitcoin (due to chargeback issues). You will not be able to pay with your credit card at a Bitcoin ATM.
How can I buy Bitcoins with Visa?
All of the exchanges listed on this page accept Visa cards as a form of payment.
How can I buy Bitcoins with Discover Card?
Most exchanges accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. However, some online reviews claim that exchanges like CEX.io accept Discover Card as well.
13. Conclusion: How do I know which exchange to use?
It can be kind of hard to decide which exchange is the best platform for buying your Bitcoins since there are so many of them. I suggest trying out each exchange with a small amount of money and moving on to larger funds only after you’re comfortable with the process.
Once you take the first step you’ll start to notice what you actually value in an exchange and adjust your choices accordingly.If you have any more questions or comments about the methods I just described, leave me a comment below.
