Nexo Card scores 20 points above Zeal, led by cost abroad, card reliability, and tax on spending. Nexo Card ranks #3 and Zeal #8 of 9 published crypto cards. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Nexo Card69
vs
ZEZeal49
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #3 and #8 of 9
Nexo Card scores 20 points above Zeal, led by cost abroad, card reliability, and tax on spending.
Nexo Card #3 of 969
ZEZeal #8 of 949
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termNexo Card leads on 3 of 4 published criteria; Zeal on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermNexo CardZealWeightPoints
Cost abroad8/105/107.9+6.2for Nexo Card+3.2 of 32
Card reliability9/105/106.2+6.5for Nexo Card+3.3 of 32
Tax on spending8/102/104.8+7.5for Nexo Card+3.8 of 32
Net of the terms+20.2
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread−0.1
Reproduced gap+20.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
Nexo CardScore 69An EEA/UK-only Mastercard issued by DiPocket UAB (Bank of Lithuania EMI licence LB002009) that toggles per-tap between a collateralised Credit Mode — spending that is a borrow, not a sale — and a Debit Mode that sells; it publishes a weekday/weekend FX split and a fully tiered ATM allowance, but never names the base rate its FX fee marks up.Strength: Programme survival — 9/10Watch-out: The fee you can look up is not the fee that will hurt you. Nexo publishes its FX margin to four decimal-sharp cases and its ATM terms to four tiers, but it never says what BASE RATE that margin sits on, and it prices the Debit Mode crypto-to-fiat conversion at authorisation nowhere at all — the page says only "Tap into your crypto balance while we handle the conversion for you." Worse, the one lever that moves the ATM allowance from €200 to €2,000 a month is a Loyalty Tier set by "the ratio of NEXO Tokens held against the rest of your portfolio", and neither https://nexo.com/crypto-card nor https://nexo.com/loyalty publishes what that ratio has to be. So a buyer who wants the Platinum ATM allowance and the 2% cashback cannot work out, before signing up, how much of their portfolio they must convert into a single illiquid exchange token to get it — and if NEXO falls relative to the rest of the portfolio, the tier, the allowance and the cashback rate all fall with it, without a fee ever changing.ZealScore 49Self-custodial wallet app that front-ends a Gnosis Pay Visa debit card issued by FCA-authorised EMI Monavate Limited (FRN 901097); Zeal adds no FX markup on top of Visa's own rate, publishes no fee schedule of any kind, and the single document it points to for ATM fees is a dead link.Strength: Whose licence issues it — 6/10Watch-out: The buyer cannot find out what an ATM withdrawal costs before signing up, and Zeal's own footnote sends them to a dead page to find out. 'Other fees and charges from Gnosis Pay, such as ATM withdrawal fees, may apply as per their documentation' links to https://help.gnosispay.com/en/articles/8663251-fees-and-limits, which returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-17. The FX headline is genuinely good — Zeal adds no markup and names the Visa rate it sits on — but that is the one leg it prices. Everything else about the cost of this card (ATM percentage, ATM flat fee, free allowance, physical card price) is left to someone else's documentation, and the fees article Zeal links to for it returned HTTP 404 again on 2026-09-28.
Quick facts
At a glance
2 of 3 rows read the same for both.
FactNexo CardZeal
PricingSnapshotFrom https://nexo.com/crypto-card (HTTP 200, fetched 28 September 2026), verbatim: "Are there any foreign transaction fees? Yes, the respective foreign transaction (FX) fees depend on the day of the week of the transaction:" / "FX Fees on Weekdays" — "EEA/UK/CH: 0.2%" "ROW: 2%" / "FX Fees on Weekends" — "EEA/UK/CH: 0.7%" "ROW: 2.5%". ATM: "Depending on your Loyalty Tier, you can enjoy free ATM withdrawals up to a specific amount:" — "Base: Up to €200 / £180", "Silver: Up to €400 / £360", "Gold: Up to €1,000 / £900", "Platinum: Up to €2,000 / £1,800" — and "Once you reach your free withdrawal limit, you’ll be charged a 2% fee (minimum of 1.99 EUR/GBP) per additional withdrawal until your monthly limit resets again." Subscription: "Enjoy daily spending with no monthly, annual, or inactivity card fees." Card issue: "There’s also free shipping for the physical Nexo Card." / "The virtual Nexo Card can be activated once you have at least $50 to your Nexo account." / "To order a physical card, you need an account balance above $5,000 worth of digital assets and at least a Gold Loyalty Tier." Credit Mode: "Grow your buying power with crypto-backed Credit Lines starting from 1.9% interest." NOT PUBLISHED on that page, and cited as silent: the crypto-to-fiat conversion charge applied at authorisation in Debit Mode (the page says only "Tap into your crypto balance while we handle the conversion for you."), the base rate the FX percentage marks up, and the NEXO-token ratio needed to reach each Loyalty Tier (https://nexo.com/loyalty, fetched 28 September 2026, says only "The amount of NEXO Tokens you hold against the rest of your portfolio places you into one of our Loyalty Tiers."). Every figure above is unchanged from the 17 August 2026 read.From https://www.zeal.app/ (HTTP 200, fetched 28 September 2026), footnote 2 in the FOR CARD block, the closest thing Zeal publishes to a price for spending: "When spending in another currency with the Gnosis Pay card, Visa's wholesale foreign exchange rate is used, which is a very competitive exchange rate. The rate is subject to change and will fluctuate. Zeal does not charge any additional foreign exchange fees. Other fees and charges from Gnosis Pay, such as ATM withdrawal fees, may apply as per their documentation." Headline on the same page: "Spend abroad with no exchange fees and up to 4% Cashback." and "Spend abroad at the Visa mid-market rate". Card acquisition, https://www.zeal.app/learn/order-your-free-card (fetched 28 September 2026): "Order card for free". Cashback tier cost, https://www.zeal.app/learn/gnosis-pay-explained (fetched 28 September 2026, dated 20 November 2025): "0.1 to 1 GNO (~€10-110): 0.5-1% cashback", "5.5 GNO (~€605): 2.5% cashback", "Currently, one GNO token costs around €100-110." ZEAL PUBLISHES NO FEE SCHEDULE, although its terms (https://www.zeal.app/terms-and-conditions/, "Last updated: 19 February 2026") say "Fees applicable to the Services or any component of the Services, if any, shall be set forth at zeal.app and/or the Zeal Wallet mobile application." The ATM fee is delegated by link to https://help.gnosispay.com/en/articles/8663251-fees-and-limits, which still returned HTTP 404 on 28 September 2026.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshoteuropeeurope
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Nexo Card
69#3 of 9
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Nexo Card if cost abroad matters most — it scores 8/10 to Zeal's 5/10 there (weight 33).
Strength
Programme survival — 9/10
Tradeoff
The fee you can look up is not the fee that will hurt you. Nexo publishes its FX margin to four decimal-sharp cases and its ATM terms to four tiers, but it never says what BASE RATE that margin sits on, and it prices the Debit Mode crypto-to-fiat conversion at authorisation nowhere at all — the page says only "Tap into your crypto balance while we handle the conversion for you." Worse, the one lever that moves the ATM allowance from €200 to €2,000 a month is a Loyalty Tier set by "the ratio of NEXO Tokens held against the rest of your portfolio", and neither https://nexo.com/crypto-card nor https://nexo.com/loyalty publishes what that ratio has to be. So a buyer who wants the Platinum ATM allowance and the 2% cashback cannot work out, before signing up, how much of their portfolio they must convert into a single illiquid exchange token to get it — and if NEXO falls relative to the rest of the portfolio, the tier, the allowance and the cashback rate all fall with it, without a fee ever changing.
ZE
Zeal
49#8 of 9
Pick it when
Zeal leads Nexo Card on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Strength
Whose licence issues it — 6/10
Tradeoff
The buyer cannot find out what an ATM withdrawal costs before signing up, and Zeal's own footnote sends them to a dead page to find out. 'Other fees and charges from Gnosis Pay, such as ATM withdrawal fees, may apply as per their documentation' links to https://help.gnosispay.com/en/articles/8663251-fees-and-limits, which returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-17. The FX headline is genuinely good — Zeal adds no markup and names the Visa rate it sits on — but that is the one leg it prices. Everything else about the cost of this card (ATM percentage, ATM flat fee, free allowance, physical card price) is left to someone else's documentation, and the fees article Zeal links to for it returned HTTP 404 again on 2026-09-28.
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
Nexo CardLeads
Choose Nexo Card if cost abroad matters most
Cost abroad: 8/10 against 5/10 for Zeal (weight 33)
Card reliability: 9/10 against 5/10 for Zeal (weight 26)
Tax on spending: 8/10 against 2/10 for Zeal (weight 20)
Nexo CardScore 69An EEA/UK-only Mastercard issued by DiPocket UAB (Bank of Lithuania EMI licence LB002009) that toggles per-tap between a collateralised Credit Mode — spending that is a borrow, not a sale — and a Debit Mode that sells; it publishes a weekday/weekend FX split and a fully tiered ATM allowance, but never names the base rate its FX fee marks up.Strength: Programme survival — 9/10Watch-out: The fee you can look up is not the fee that will hurt you. Nexo publishes its FX margin to four decimal-sharp cases and its ATM terms to four tiers, but it never says what BASE RATE that margin sits on, and it prices the Debit Mode crypto-to-fiat conversion at authorisation nowhere at all — the page says only "Tap into your crypto balance while we handle the conversion for you." Worse, the one lever that moves the ATM allowance from €200 to €2,000 a month is a Loyalty Tier set by "the ratio of NEXO Tokens held against the rest of your portfolio", and neither https://nexo.com/crypto-card nor https://nexo.com/loyalty publishes what that ratio has to be. So a buyer who wants the Platinum ATM allowance and the 2% cashback cannot work out, before signing up, how much of their portfolio they must convert into a single illiquid exchange token to get it — and if NEXO falls relative to the rest of the portfolio, the tier, the allowance and the cashback rate all fall with it, without a fee ever changing.
ZEZeal
Zeal leads Nexo Card on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
ZealScore 49Self-custodial wallet app that front-ends a Gnosis Pay Visa debit card issued by FCA-authorised EMI Monavate Limited (FRN 901097); Zeal adds no FX markup on top of Visa's own rate, publishes no fee schedule of any kind, and the single document it points to for ATM fees is a dead link.Strength: Whose licence issues it — 6/10Watch-out: The buyer cannot find out what an ATM withdrawal costs before signing up, and Zeal's own footnote sends them to a dead page to find out. 'Other fees and charges from Gnosis Pay, such as ATM withdrawal fees, may apply as per their documentation' links to https://help.gnosispay.com/en/articles/8663251-fees-and-limits, which returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-17. The FX headline is genuinely good — Zeal adds no markup and names the Visa rate it sits on — but that is the one leg it prices. Everything else about the cost of this card (ATM percentage, ATM flat fee, free allowance, physical card price) is left to someone else's documentation, and the fees article Zeal links to for it returned HTTP 404 again on 2026-09-28.
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 868 of 8 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Cost abroad
by 3 of 10weight 7.9 of 86Nexo Card leads
Nexo Card8/10 out of 10
Zeal5/10 out of 10
Card reliability
by 4 of 10weight 6.2 of 86Nexo Card leads
Nexo Card9/10 out of 10
Zeal5/10 out of 10
Named issuer
weight 5 of 86Tie
Nexo Card6/10 out of 10
Zeal6/10 out of 10
Tax on spending
by 6 of 10weight 4.8 of 86Nexo Card leads
Nexo Card8/10 out of 10
Zeal2/10 out of 10
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86
Nexo Card6/20Zeal6/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Nexo Card18.8/30Zeal11.1/30
Nexo Card leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Nexo Card2.7/10Zeal2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Nexo Card3.2/8Zeal3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Nexo Card8.3/18Zeal8.3/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Nexo Card unless the term Zeal leads on is the one you are buying.
Zeal leads Nexo Card on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Regulatory failure: no licence where you are, or a forced market exit.
Scored by Whose licence is actually behind this card, and will they even tell me their name? · 21% (Nexo Card 6/10, Zeal 6/10)
Scored by Does buying a coffee create a taxable disposal, and will they hand me the record? · 20% (Nexo Card 8/10, Zeal 2/10)
Exit failure: you cannot get out at par, on time, or with what is yours.
Scored by Will this card still work next month, and who has to fail for it to stop? · 26% (Nexo Card 9/10, Zeal 5/10)
Not assessed by this ranking: Control failure, Liveness failure, Custody failure, Insolvency failure, Execution failure, Information failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means.
Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: What does one swipe abroad actually cost me, and can I work that out before I sign up? (33%).
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Nexo Card scores 20 points above Zeal, led by cost abroad, card reliability, and tax on spending. Published scores, out of 100: Nexo Card 69 (rank 3 of 9 crypto cards), Zeal 49 (rank 8 of 9).
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
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