Cryptocurrencies play a big role in the modernization of finances. However, they’re just a part of the developing financial technology, commonly referred to as “fintech”. If you’re unfamiliar, this technology aims to improve and automate traditional forms of finance for individuals and businesses and achieves it through methods like mobile banking, investing, and borrowing. One of the most interesting things that this new movement has brought to the market is the best fintech credit cards.
Here we’ll take a closer look at this new type of way to manage your finances, explaining what the fintech credit cards are, comparing them to traditional bank cards, and giving some examples. If you’re looking for a way to change how you operate with your funds, or you’re just curious about the latest fintech trends, we may provide some interesting information for you here, so keep reading.
What Is a Fintech Credit Card?
Let’s clarify what a fintech credit card is before we go any further. This is a credit or debit card issued not by your local commercial bank, but by companies in the fintech sector. Some of them are also known as neobanks, or challenger banks, for the fact that they prioritize online over traditional financial services. This new way of operating is partially to change how banking models work, but also to save costs for customers, as well as provide access for people who aren’t able to get a regular bank account.
There are two types of fintech credit cards:
💳 Issues with a traditional banking partner or payment network
💳 Issued solely through a neobank.
The second case means the fintech company released its own credit card, however, the first case is a little more interesting. Some financial technology businesses collaborate with banks or other payment networks to provide customers with credit cards together. They maintain the classic look and feel of the card but add more perks like rewards or different features.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards vs Bank Cards: Comparison
As we’ve mentioned, some fintech cards may be a collaboration between the company and a bank. However, traditional bank cards and the best fintech credit cards differ, and here we’ll mention some of the ways how:
- Format: You think plastic when you imagine a bank card, right? That’s correct for traditional bank cards and it could be the case for some fintech credit cards as well. However, if a company provides a plastic card, it’d be an additional option, because the whole idea of fintech is using your device to easily and fast access your finances, without the need for other tools. Some bank cards now have apps you can use but you need to go through a lengthy process of applying for permission for them, getting verified, etc. Unlike that, the best fintech credit cards provide you with a super-fast way to pay using only your smartphone and the app that issued the card. You won’t have to wait in line to get your card renewed or worry you lost or broke your plastic card. You just have to keep your phone safe and your card will be secured too.
- Sustainability: Along the same lines of the format difference, we can’t ignore mentioning the eco side of the best fintech credit cards. According to publications, banks issue over 6 billion plastic cards each year! While some are trying to make cards using recycled plastic, the best way to stop plastic consumption is just to cut it off, and by using a fintech card on an app, that’s one great solution!
- Taxes: Creating and maintaining a bank account at your local bank may get more than pricy, especially if you don’t have a current stable income. The taxes for using your credit or debit card too may get very high. However, this is solved by the best fintech credit cards. As we mentioned, they have lower fees and considerably smaller interest rates, compared to traditional bank cards.
- Availability: Many individuals can’t qualify or afford a standard bank account, as well as a credit card. Here the best fintech credit cards come as a solution for the underbanked and unbanked people – they provide an easy way for them to access their finances, using only their smartphone. Since most people in developed countries have smart devices, this makes fintech a valid option for many who can’t use traditional banking.
What Are the Pros and Cons of the Best Fintech Credit Cards?
Knowing how this new type of card differs from the traditional bank cards, let’s now see what are the specific advantages and disadvantages of the best fintech credit cards, so you can consider them if you’re trying to decide if you one to get one or not.
Pros of the Best Fintech Credit Cards
✔️ Easy to access: As mentioned, this type of card is more convenient than physical cards and much easier to access and quickly use to pay or manage money.
✔️ High security: You may think fintech cards aren’t as safe since they’re used online but they actually have high-security policies about sharing users’ information, encrypting the account numbers, and making one-time payments without the option of your data being traced.
✔️ Additional perks: You can have both a fintech card on your phone, as well as a plastic one if you really miss it since many companies now provide that. But you can also benefit from higher rewards, opportunities for credit building, or easier management of your spending.
✔️ BNPL: One of the cool things this type of card provides are opportunities like buy now pay later (BNPL), meaning you can make your purchase and be taxed later for it.
Cons of the Best Fintech Credit Cards
❌ You need some technical knowledge: Even though the software of the fintech apps that provide the cards is fairly simple and quick to learn, you still need to know how to use a smart device in the first place and have basic knowledge of how applications work.
❌ Supported merchants: Some online merchants may not support the type of fintech card you’re using yet, as they’re gaining popularity but not as widely accepted as physical bank cards just yet.
What Are the Best Fintech Credit Cards in 2022?
In the fast-growing financial technology market, many companies are offering the service we’re discussing here. We can’t cover all of them, but we’d like to mention some of the best fintech credit cards that can count as worthy competitors of traditional bank cards. Here’s our list:
- Revolut
- Paysafe
- cred.ai
- Aspiration
- Chime
- TomoCredit
- Jeeves
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: Revolut
Revolut is a fintech company with a wide variety of services like currency exchange, commission-free stock trading, crypto like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and XRP, commodities, as well as debit and virtual cards. We’re including this company as a provider of some of the best fintech credit cards because you can not only you can use the banking services and card through the app, but you can apply for a plastic card that can be used globally. This fintech credit card has no hidden additional fees, allows you to pay your interest in up to 62 days and you earn 1% cashback on your cashless purchases for 3 months, and though later this decreases 0.1%, it’s still a pretty good perk.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: Paysafe
You’ve heard of Paysafe, right? The multinational online payments company. But did you know it also classifies among our best fintech credit card providers with its service Paysafecard? It certainly does. Technically, this isn’t exactly a credit card, but an innovative fintech payment solution. It’s based on vouchers with a 16-digit PIN code, independent of any bank account, credit card, or similar personal information. The amount you can purchase depends on your location and whether you decide to register on their site, but what you can do with this payment method is pay online by entering the code at the checkout of the website you need it for.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: cred.ai
This company is like the cool kid on the block, not only does it look edgy and different, but it wants to fight with the traditionalists (banks in this case). We can’t miss it as one of the best fintech credit cards since they provide a mobile app with a card, as well as a free metal physical card with a rad unicorn on it. But what’s more, using their services you can get your paycheck up to two days early, you don’t pay fees or interest, and never overspend. It has many additional perks on the app, as well as the Stealth Card, which you can use to feel more secure in different instances, like signing up for a free trial, for example.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: Aspiration
Remember when we mentioned earlier that the best fintech credit cards are better for the planet? This company took this by heart as they advocate to use their services, leave your bank and save the planet. Aspiration claims they want to make a difference in the financial world, by not using customers’ money to fund oil pipelines or pay for political campaigns. They work for different sustainability causes and as a part of that, they launched the Zero credit card in 2021, which turns every purchase into a newly planted tree. This means that not only will you be benefiting from their fintech solutions, as they provide different things on their app, but also contributing to the mending of our planet if you use their card.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: Chime
Another established company that provides some of the best fintech credit cards is Chime. You can benefit from their mobile banking services, as well as receive a free debit or credit physical card to access their banking system. This company won’t charge your overdraft fees and you benefit from other cool perks like getting paid early, no monthly fees, a high-yield savings account, and more. If you’re sending your friends or family money frequently, you’d be glad to know that by using Chime’s services, you’ll pay no fees for the transaction, no matter the bank account the recipient uses.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: TomoCredit
TomoCredit may be a suitable option for young people looking for the best fintech credit cards, as they issue their cards without credit scores. That means that young adults, students, and even immigrants who are financially struggling can benefit from this company’s services. Additionally, the company provides different rewards to users and perks for using the card at different merchants.
The Best Fintech Credit Cards: Jeeves
If you’re looking for the best fintech credit cards as a business owner, Jeeves may be a solution for you. They provide an all-in-one expense management platform for companies and they’re on our list because they give you unlimited cards for your employees who can use them and earn up to 4% cashback and benefits.
Would You Use the Best Fintech Credit Cards?
We’ve listed some of the best fintech credit cards at the moment, now it’s all up to you – would you use one? Or perhaps you’re still a traditional card kind of gal? We can’t pick on your behalf. However, we’d like to remind you of the things we mentioned here – how more accessible the fintech cards are, they’re also more eco, though you can get a plastic card from most companies if you’re keen on one, and they come with many benefits and rewards.
Even if you don’t want to use the best fintech credit cards, you have to give it to them – those companies are sure on the way to changing how finances work. While banks are trying to get more digital, they still require you to wait in line or pass many procedures until you get the job done. What fintech companies and their cards provide is speed, security, and rewards to prompt you to try their services and make you want to stay. It’s exciting to see how much these innovators will change the way our finances work and now you can decide whether you want to participate in this change or join later.
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