EU CRYPTO CARDS · COMPARISON · LAST VERIFIED
Gnosis Pay Visa Card vs Revolut Card (with crypto spend): who issues each, and what protects your money?
Gnosis Pay (Visa) and Revolut (Visa / Mastercard) both issue their EEA cards via Lithuania, but through different Electronic Money Institutions and on different card networks. Same home regulator, different issuing entity - here is what that means for your balance.
Who issues each card, and where is it regulated?
The single most important difference between two crypto cards is rarely the cashback rate. It is which Electronic Money Institution issues the card and which regulator stands behind it, because that is the entity holding and safeguarding your money under Directive 2009/110/EC. Here is the side by side.
| Issuing entity | UAB Monavate | Revolut Bank UAB |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer jurisdiction | Lithuania | Lithuania |
| Issuer regulator | Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) | Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) / European Central Bank |
| Card network | Visa | Visa / Mastercard |
| Card type | debit | debit |
| EEA availability | Available to EEA residents as a self-custodial Visa debit card settling from an on-chain account. | Available to Revolut customers across the EEA. Crypto services are provided by a separate entity, Revolut Digital Assets Europe Limited, under separate cryptocurrency terms. |
| Brand also holds | Card programme only in our register | MiCA spot (profile) |
Which card's issuer is more strongly regulated?
Both issuers are authorised Electronic Money Institutions under the same EU framework, the E-Money Directive. The difference is the home regulator: Gnosis Pay is issued out of Lithuania under the Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas), while Revolut is issued out of Lithuania under the Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) / European Central Bank. Neither is inherently safer; both passport across the EEA. What matters is that the issuer is the named, authorised entity you can find in the EUCLID register.
Which card protects your balance, and how?
Both cards hold your spending balance as electronic money, safeguarded under Article 7 of the E-Money Directive rather than covered by the EUR 100,000 Deposit Guarantee Scheme. That means the balance is segregated or insured by the issuer, not pooled in an industry guarantee fund. The crypto behind the card is a separate exposure to the exchange. Our EMI vs bank protection page sets out the practical difference.
Which card should you actually pick?
We do not rank cards or publish a score. The honest framing is: pick the issuer and regulator you are comfortable with, confirm the card is live in your country, and read the current cashback and fee terms on the issuer's own page, because those change often and are the part most likely to be out of date anywhere else. If Gnosis Pay or Revolut also runs your spot trading, the cross-vertical profiles let you check that the same brand's MiCA and MiFID II roles are authorised too.
See each card in full: Gnosis Pay card and Revolut card.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Gnosis Pay card or the Revolut card available across the whole EEA?
Gnosis Pay: Available to EEA residents as a self-custodial Visa debit card settling from an on-chain account. Revolut: Available to Revolut customers across the EEA. Crypto services are provided by a separate entity, Revolut Digital Assets Europe Limited, under separate cryptocurrency terms. Always confirm your specific country in the issuer's current terms.
Do either of these cards come with bank-style deposit protection?
No. Both hold your balance as safeguarded e-money under the E-Money Directive, which is not the EUR 100,000 Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The safeguarding rule is the functional equivalent, with different mechanics.
Why compare issuers instead of cashback rates?
Cashback rates are promotional and change constantly, and they are widely reported elsewhere. The issuer-to-regulator mapping is the durable, decision-relevant fact and the part most comparison sites get wrong or omit.
Sources cited on this page
- Gnosis Pay - Monavate Cardholder Terms (EEA), issuer-published
- Monerium - EURe e-money issuer authorised by the Central Bank of Iceland
- Bank of Lithuania - Revolut granted specialised bank and electronic money institution licences
- Revolut Lithuania - personal terms and cryptocurrency terms (issuer-published)
- Directive 2009/110/EC (E-Money Directive) - Article 7 safeguarding
- European Banking Authority EUCLID register of EU payment and e-money institutions
Issuer and authorisation facts are verified against primary sources per our methodology. Cashback, fees and country availability are commercial product data that change frequently; read the current card terms before relying on them. Corrections welcome at our contact page.