Who issues the Bitpanda card in the EU, and what protects your money?

Who issues the Bitpanda card and who regulates them?

The Bitpanda Visa Card is issued by Transact Payments Malta Limited, incorporated in Malta and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Authorised and regulated by the MFSA as a Financial Institution under the Financial Institutions Act, issuing the card pursuant to a licence from Visa Europe Limited.

The card runs on the Visa network, with Transact Payments Malta Limited (Visa licence) as the issuing principal. Bitpanda itself acts as the programme manager and distribution channel: it builds the app, runs the crypto-to-euro conversion and sets the rewards, while the regulated issuing of electronic money sits with the EMI named above. You can confirm the issuer independently in the EBA EUCLID register.

Is the Bitpanda card available to EEA residents right now?

Available to Bitpanda users across the EEA.

Bitpanda relaunched its card in April 2025 with Transact Payments Malta Limited as issuer, replacing the previous issuer (Contis). This is exactly the kind of change that matters: the brand stayed the same, but the regulated entity behind the card changed, and with it the issuer you are relying on.

What protects your money on the Bitpanda card?

The fiat balance behind the Bitpanda card is held by Transact Payments Malta Limited, the issuing Electronic Money Institution, not by the crypto brand. Under Article 7 of Directive 2009/110/EC the issuer must safeguard that balance, either by segregating it in a separate account at a credit institution, or by holding an equivalent insurance policy or guarantee.

EMI safeguarding is not the same as bank deposit insurance. The EUR 100,000 Deposit Guarantee Scheme that covers bank deposits does not apply to an e-money balance. If you want to confirm the issuer is authorised, search its name in the EBA EUCLID register. We explain the difference in full on EMI vs bank protection.

Does spending crypto on the Bitpanda card trigger tax?

Spending crypto on the Bitpanda card is, in most EU member states, a disposal of the crypto-asset at the moment of the transaction. That can trigger a capital-gains calculation against your cost basis, even for small everyday payments, because the card converts crypto to euro at the point of sale.

From 1 January 2026 the DAC8 directive (Directive (EU) 2023/2226) obliges crypto-asset service providers to report transactions to tax authorities, so your card spending becomes visible to your tax office automatically. The practical takeaway is record-keeping, covered on crypto card vs regular debit card.

Fees and rewards for the Bitpanda card

These are the Bitpanda card's published commercial terms. Every figure below shows where it came from: hover or tap the question mark to read the issuer's exact wording and open the source document. A "two-source verified" figure was confirmed in two independent issuer documents; "stated by issuer" means we found it in one. Anything we could not confirm, or where the issuer's own documents disagreed, reads "Not confirmed".

Fee data last checked 2026-06-29. Figures are the issuer's own published terms; confirm current terms before relying on them.

What else does The Crypto Register track for Bitpanda?

Bitpanda appears in more than one of our registers. The card is only one of the regulatory roles a crypto brand can hold. Each role is licensed separately, by a different authorisation and often a different legal entity.

• Bitpanda MiCA (spot) status - whether the brand's spot crypto business holds a MiCA authorisation, and from which regulator.
• Bitpanda MiFID II (derivatives) status - whether the brand can legally offer crypto derivatives in the EEA under MiFID II.