How a card pays, which balance it uses and which payment layer does what.
Topic definitions
Definitions in this topic
32
ATM access
Also seen as ATM withdrawals · cash access
ATM access means the card can be used to request cash from compatible machines. It says nothing by itself about withdrawal fees, operator surcharges, supported formats, currencies or transaction limits.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A card can support cash withdrawal yet be costly or tightly limited, while a physical card may exist without any approved ATM capability.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide records ATM availability separately from provider pricing, third-party surcharges and limits; unknown access is never shown as supported.
Also seen as authorized payment · payment authorization
Authorization is the stage when a card transaction is checked and provisionally approved or declined. A balance may be reserved at this point even though final accounting and settlement happen later.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Conversion timing, temporary holds and declined-payment behavior can depend on authorization rather than on the later settlement event.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide separates authorization from settlement whenever the distinction affects conversion, balance availability, fees or the explanation of a reversed transaction.
Also seen as card acquisition cost · order fee · application fee
Card acquisition is the process and disclosed one-time cost of obtaining a usable card, potentially combining application, issuance and required delivery charges. Recurring plan cost remains a separate field.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A card advertised with free issuance may still require paid delivery or another mandatory one-time step before the user can obtain and activate it.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide combines only approved mandatory one-time acquisition components, preserves each underlying fee and keeps recurring membership or plan pricing separate.
Also seen as virtual only · virtual + physical · plastic · metal
Card format describes how the card credential is delivered, such as virtual, plastic or metal. It is independent from the payment model, card network and whether cash withdrawal is supported.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Format affects delivery, replacement, physical acceptance and ATM practicality, but it does not reveal custody, fees or whether spending creates debt.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide records each approved live format separately and does not present a planned, paused or sold-out physical version as currently available.
Also seen as issuance · instant issuance · virtual-card issuance
Card issuance is the process of creating and activating a card credential for an eligible account. It is separate from application approval, the price of obtaining the card and physical delivery.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A provider may approve an account without immediately issuing every card format, and instant virtual issuance does not imply instant physical delivery.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide reports issuance timing and format only from approved current evidence and keeps issuance status distinct from fees, delivery and geographic eligibility.
Also seen as issuer · issuing bank · issuing entity
The card issuer is the legal entity that issues the card and assumes the issuing role under the applicable programme. It may be different from the brand users see in the app.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Issuer identity can determine the governing agreement, region, card network relationship and certain eligibility or consumer-protection responsibilities.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide names the approved issuer by programme or residence where available and does not substitute the consumer brand, processor or network for that entity.
Also seen as payment network · card scheme · Visa · Visa network · Mastercard · Mastercard network
A card network is the payment system that carries card authorizations and settlement between participating institutions and merchants, such as Visa or Mastercard. It is separate from the blockchain used to move crypto.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The card network helps determine where the card can be accepted and which exchange-rate process may apply. It does not identify the issuer, the provider or the blockchain used for funding.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide displays only approved card-network facts and keeps them distinct from blockchain networks. Network support may contribute to everyday-usability scoring, but a familiar network name is never treated as proof of availability, low fees or provider quality.
A card processor supplies technical infrastructure that carries transaction messages and supports authorization, clearing or related programme operations. It is not automatically the issuer, network, programme operator or consumer brand.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Processor involvement explains part of the payment stack but does not by itself establish custody, legal responsibility, country availability or merchant acceptance.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide displays a processor only as its approved infrastructure role and does not award product-quality credit merely because a named processor is present.
Also seen as card agreement · programme terms · issuer terms
A cardholder agreement is the contract governing a cardholder's use of the card, including applicable fees, restrictions, liability, settlement and eligibility terms. Different regions or issuers may use different agreements.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Marketing pages can omit material conditions, while the applicable agreement identifies the legal programme and the rules that control actual card use.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide uses the applicable approved agreement as high-value evidence while keeping regional scope, effective date and unresolved conflicts visible.
Also seen as crypto-backed credit · secured crypto credit · backed credit
Collateral-backed credit lets a card purchase create debt secured by pledged assets. The user may keep the collateral invested, but borrowing costs, repayment rules and liquidation risk can still apply.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A purchase can leave the original asset in place while creating a repayment obligation. Falling collateral value or changing borrowing terms can make the card materially riskier than balance spending.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide identifies collateral-backed credit as a payment model with debt and liquidation exposure. Approved borrowing, repayment and control facts may affect relevant scores and Pros & Cons; missing risk terms are never treated as favourable.
Also seen as contactless · Apple Pay checkout · Google Pay checkout
A contactless payment uses near-field communication to present a card credential without inserting or swiping it. The credential may come from a physical card, phone or wearable device.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Contactless support affects checkout convenience, but it does not establish mobile-wallet availability, crypto custody or whether every card format supports tapping.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide treats contactless capability and named mobile-wallet support as separate approved facts instead of inferring one automatically from the other.
Also seen as credit line · Credit Mode · Pay Later · Borrow Mode
A credit line or Credit Mode funds a purchase by creating debt that must be repaid instead of immediately reducing the user's own spendable balance. Interest, collateral, repayment timing and limits depend on the product.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A card can look like an ordinary spending product while introducing borrowing cost, repayment obligations and possible asset-loss risk.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide shows credit use as a distinct payment path and does not assume every credit mode is collateral-backed unless approved facts establish that structure.
Also seen as cryptocurrency card · crypto payment card
A payment card connected to crypto-related balances, wallets or credit arrangements. The merchant normally receives an ordinary card-network payment, while the product decides whether crypto is converted, a prefunded balance is used or debt is created.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The label alone reveals almost nothing about custody, debt, conversion timing or total cost. A useful comparison starts by identifying the payment model and the network accepted by merchants.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide uses Crypto card as a product category, not as a score input or a promise that every purchase settles on-chain. Each profile must separately describe the approved payment model, card network, custody boundary and money-movement setup.
A crypto wallet is software or hardware that manages blockchain addresses and the credentials or signing process used to control assets. It may be self-custodial, provider-assisted or custodial, so wallet alone does not prove control.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The wallet model affects who can authorize transfers, what recovery dependencies exist and when assets cross into a provider-controlled card or settlement balance.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide does not infer self-custody from the word wallet. Funds-control and custody treatment require approved facts about keys, signing, recovery and the point at which value enters a card or provider-controlled boundary.
Also seen as debit · debit-style spending · Debit Mode · Pay Now
A debit card or Debit Mode pays by reducing an eligible balance when the purchase is processed. It does not create a new borrowing obligation, although conversion or settlement steps may still occur.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The label helps distinguish ordinary balance spending from a credit path that can add interest, repayment duties or liquidation exposure.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide records balance-funded debit behavior separately from the card's legal label and from any credit mode offered by the same product.
Also seen as account-linked · CEX-linked · exchange account
An exchange-linked card draws on balances held inside a centralized exchange or provider account. Purchases may use an existing fiat balance or trigger conversion of an eligible crypto asset.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The card inherits account access, custody, asset-support and conversion rules from the exchange, even though the merchant-facing payment uses a card network.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide identifies the exact provider account used for spending and keeps exchange dependency separate from the card network, issuer and mobile-wallet support.
A metal card is a physical card made partly from metal or sold as a metal form factor. It may require a specific plan or fee but does not change the payment network.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The premium material can be bundled with tier benefits and replacement costs, so it should not be mistaken for a different payment capability.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide treats metal as a format and plan attribute, not as evidence of better acceptance, stronger rewards, higher safety or a different custody model.
Also seen as phone-wallet payment · wallet payment · Apple Pay or Google Pay support
A mobile wallet payment uses a tokenized card credential in a phone or wearable service, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. It does not mean that the service holds or controls the user's crypto.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Mobile-wallet support can make everyday checkout easier, but it says nothing about crypto custody, card issuance in a country or whether a physical card is available.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide treats confirmed Apple Pay and Google Pay support as an everyday-usability fact. Unknown support receives no positive credit, and cryptocard.guide never shortens the label to Wallet payments where it could be mistaken for a crypto wallet.
Also seen as digital banking app · app-based financial service · challenger bank
A neobank is a financial service delivered primarily through an app or website, often with payments, cards or account-like features. The label does not identify the licensed entity, legal account type, custody model or deposit protection.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A product can look and behave like mobile banking while core services are supplied by separate issuers, payment institutions, custodians or banks. Users need those roles and protections stated directly.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide treats neobank as a product-positioning label, then records the reviewed card, account, custody, money-movement and protection facts separately. The label itself does not add score, filter eligibility or an assumption of banking status.
Also seen as spend model · spending model · funding model
The payment model describes what economically funds a purchase: a prepaid balance, a provider account, an enabled wallet asset or credit backed by collateral. One product may offer more than one mode.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Two cards with the same network can create very different outcomes. One may consume an existing balance, another may convert an asset, and another may open debt that has to be repaid.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide records the approved payment model separately from card format and legal network labels. Scoring uses the underlying approved facts about costs, control, usability and credit risk; the model name by itself earns no positive credit.
Also seen as plastic card · physical Visa · physical Mastercard
A physical card is a tangible card that can be presented, inserted or tapped at compatible terminals. Ordering, delivery, activation, replacement and geographic availability can differ from the virtual version.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A physical format may improve in-person and ATM usability, but users need separate evidence for delivery cost, timing and actual cash access.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide distinguishes live orderable physical cards from planned, paused or sold-out versions and keeps delivery availability separate from general card eligibility.
Also seen as loaded balance · card balance · prepaid balance
A prepaid balance is value already moved into the balance used by a prepaid card. It is usually available for card purchases, but withdrawal, conversion and refund rules can differ from other app balances.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Moving funds into this balance may change custody, liquidity and exit options, even when the original funding wallet remains under the user's control.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide names the specific loaded balance and its approved routes instead of assuming that every provider or wallet balance is card-spendable.
Also seen as prepaid · prefunded · preloaded · load first, spend later
A prepaid card spends from value placed into a dedicated card balance before the purchase. Regional agreements may use another legal label, so the load-first spending behavior is the important comparison point.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Users must know whether funds need to cross into a separate balance before spending and what control, conversion or withdrawal limits apply afterward.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide classifies prepaid behavior from approved funding and spending facts, not from a provider's marketing label or the card network alone.
Also seen as programme manager · programme provider · card product
A programme operator manages the consumer card programme, coordinating product rules, servicing and partner relationships. The operator may not be the legal issuer, payment processor, card network or custodian.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Several companies can appear on one card page, and understanding the operator's role prevents responsibility from being assigned to the wrong entity.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide records provider roles separately and labels an organisation as programme operator only when approved evidence supports that responsibility.
Also seen as Funding Account · Spot Account · exchange balance · Everyday balance
A provider account balance is value recorded inside a named product account that can fund card activity. Its custody, supported assets and transfer rights follow the provider's account rules.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
A balance visible in the same app may not be spendable by the card, and moving value between provider accounts can add conditions or conversion.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide uses the provider's approved account name and states whether that balance directly funds the card, requires an internal move or remains unavailable for spending.
Also seen as final settlement · card settlement · merchant settlement · hybrid settlement
Settlement is the later stage when the card transaction is finally accounted for between the relevant parties and balances. It can occur after authorization, asset conversion and temporary balance reservation.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Rewards, final exchange amounts and released holds may depend on settlement, so an approved purchase is not always the last financial event.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide describes the approved settlement boundary and timing without assuming that merchant settlement, wallet deduction and provider accounting occur simultaneously.
Also seen as asset priority · payment priority · Spend Order
Spend order is the rule that selects which eligible balance or asset is used first when several can fund a card purchase. It may be fixed by the provider or configurable by the user.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The order can determine which asset is sold, which conversion cost applies and whether a preferred balance remains untouched after a purchase.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide shows spend order only when approved evidence establishes the priority rule; an asset list alone is not treated as proof of selection order.
Also seen as card balance · spend balance · cash balance
A spendable balance is the value the card can currently draw from under its payment rules. Savings, vault, rewards or wallet balances may be visible nearby without being immediately usable.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Knowing the usable balance prevents users from assuming that every asset shown in an app can fund a purchase without conversion, transfer or borrowing.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide identifies the approved balance that actually funds purchases and keeps non-spendable savings, vault and reward positions outside that label.
Also seen as digital card · virtual Visa · virtual Mastercard
A virtual card is a card credential delivered digitally rather than as a physical object. It may support online purchases and mobile wallets, but issuance timing, regions and transaction limits still apply.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Virtual access can be fast and convenient, yet it may not support ordinary cash withdrawal or every merchant that expects a physical card.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide marks a virtual card as available only when current approved evidence supports issuance, rather than relying on a roadmap or a generic app screenshot.
Also seen as delegated spending permission · delegated spending cap · per-token card access
A wallet spending permission authorizes a card service or smart contract to use selected wallet assets within stated limits. Granting permission does not itself move those assets into a deposit account.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
Permissions can preserve a wallet-linked flow while creating approval, revocation and partner dependencies that differ from simply loading a card balance.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide records the approved permission scope, asset coverage and revocation boundary, and never relabels a delegated permission as a crypto deposit.
Also seen as wallet-linked asset · wallet-direct · enabled wallet asset
A wallet-linked card authorizes spending from supported assets connected to a crypto wallet, often through permissions or conversion at payment time. The merchant still receives a conventional card-network transaction.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The arrangement can preserve wallet control longer than a prepaid flow, yet card use may still depend on permissions, partners, conversion and settlement rules.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide requires approved evidence for the wallet connection, supported assets and control boundary; the phrase wallet-linked does not automatically prove self-custody.
Also seen as Web3 bank · crypto banking · onchain banking · on-chain banking
Web3 banking is a broad product label for services that combine wallet, crypto-asset or blockchain features with familiar financial tools such as cards, transfers or account interfaces. It is not a defined custody, licensing or protection model.
Practical explanation
Why it matters
The phrase can describe very different stacks: a self-custody wallet with a card, a custodial crypto account with fiat rails, or a conventional provider that adds token features. The label alone does not tell users who controls funds or which protections apply.
How we treat it
cryptocard.guide does not award or remove points for the Web3 banking label. It decomposes the product into reviewed facts about custody, supported assets and networks, payment model, transfers, providers and eligibility.