The Shakepay card, weighed against its limits

Updated October 2026

Licensed

Available in US

Fast payouts

18+ Only

I went through everything Shakepay publishes about its Visa Prepaid Card, the cardholder agreement, the help centre, and the user feedback you can actually read on independent review sites, to see whether this card earns a place in a Canadian reader’s wallet. Shakepay is one of the longest-running bitcoin-focused platforms in Canada, and the card is a natural extension of its app: you keep a Canadian-dollar balance inside the Shakepay wallet, then spend it with a Visa prepaid card that gives you up to 1.5% back in bitcoin. The idea is simple, but the card sits inside a strict Canadian-only product, and a few of its quirks are worth understanding before you order one.

Conditions on this page are current as of October 28, 2026.

Verdict

The Shakepay card lands at 4.3 out of 10 in my review. That is not a harsh score so much as a realistic one. The card is solid where it works: it is free, it is well integrated with the Shakepay app, and the bitcoin cashback is a genuinely interesting feature for a Canadian who already trusts Shakepay with their crypto. The ceiling comes from two structural limits. The first is geography: this is a Canadian product, available only to Shakepay customers in all 13 provinces and territories, and the card’s terms and physical delivery are built around Canada. The second is the reward structure: a flat 1% to 1.5% back in bitcoin, paid only on eligible card purchases, with a tiered foreign-exchange charge that can erase the cashback if you travel.

For a Canadian resident who already keeps a balance on Shakepay, wants a simple prepaid Visa, and is happy to be paid in bitcoin, the card is worth the few minutes it takes to order. For anyone who needs multi-currency support, who travels outside Canada frequently, or who needs anything beyond a single CAD-denominated prepaid card, the ceiling becomes obvious fast.

Who it suits: Canadian residents who already use Shakepay, want to spend a Canadian-dollar balance in shops, and like the idea of being paid in bitcoin.

Who it does not suit: anyone outside Canada, frequent travellers who want no FX fees, anyone holding stablecoins they want to spend directly, or anyone who needs a credit card with consumer protections under Regulation Z or equivalent.

Will they give you the card

The first thing to know is that this is a Canada-only product. The card is available to Shakepay customers in all 13 Canadian provinces and territories. Shakepay is a Canadian company that is registered with FINTRAC (registration number M17065696) and is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and is registered as an investment dealer with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and provincial regulators. The card itself is issued by Peoples Trust Company under licence from Visa International, which is what makes it work as a Visa prepaid card at any merchant that takes Visa.

The cardholder agreement does not explicitly require Canadian residency on every page, but in practice the product is built and delivered for Canada. If you are not a Shakepay customer in Canada, the only public advice in the help centre is to email [email protected] and ask, and Shakepay notes that some countries and merchants are restricted. So the practical answer is: yes if you are in Canada, no everywhere else.

This also means the card is not a fit if you are an existing Shakepay user but have moved abroad, and it is not a fit if you are looking for a multi-currency product. The card holds a Canadian-dollar balance and a Canadian-dollar balance only; there is no euro or US-dollar wallet behind it, and no foreign-currency loading. If you travel frequently and want a card that does not sting you with FX every time you tap, the Shakepay card is unlikely to be the one.

How to get it

The card sits on top of an existing Shakepay account, so the path is: open and verify a Shakepay account, fund it, then order the card from inside the app. Setup takes minutes and there is no credit check, which is one of the quiet strengths of a prepaid card over a traditional credit card: Shakepay is not pulling your credit file and the card cannot overdraw because it is a prepaid product, not a credit product.

To order the physical card you go through a general order flow in the app, set a PIN during the ordering step, and the card is delivered by Canada Post regular mail within 21 days. There is no tracking. Shakepay is clear that the card arrives “regardless of where you live in Canada,” which is reassuring if you are in a remote community. The card is free for fully verified accounts; Shakepay does not state an issuance fee on the public help pages.

If your card is damaged, you can replace it through “Replace card” in the app and keep the same number, expiry and CVV. If the card is lost or stolen, the new one will have new card details, and Shakepay will reissue within 30 days after you report the loss. The replacement fee is not stated, which is itself worth flagging: before you request a replacement, ask support what it will cost.

You need a fully verified Shakepay account and to be at the age of majority in your province or territory. Shakepay runs an eligibility questionnaire in the app and limits you to one card per person. The help centre does not publish the full list of documents, proof-of-address rules, processing times, or rejection reasons, so if you have a complicated history (previous closed accounts, joint files, foreign documents) you may need to email support to find out where you stand before you commit.

Fees

This is the part of any prepaid card that can quietly eat your cashback, and Shakepay’s fee structure is a real differentiator across its three reward tiers. The headline is that there is no annual fee and no published issuance fee. The cardholder agreement only spells out one specific charge: a 3% Foreign Exchange Charge on non-Canadian transactions, applied to the conversion Visa makes. The help centre tells a more granular story, with three reward tiers that change both your cashback rate and your FX charge.

The reward tiers are reset by calendar month. Base is the default: 1% bitcoin cashback on card purchases, with a 3% FX charge. Bright kicks in if you exchange at least $100 (or receive $200 in eligible direct deposits) in the month: 1% cashback and a 1.5% FX charge. Blue kicks in at $1,000 exchanged (or $2,000 in direct deposits): 1.5% cashback, 0% FX charge, and priority support. There is also a Business tier, set up automatically if you have a Shakepay Business account. No metal card is mentioned anywhere in the help centre.

What does this mean in practice? Three everyday payments help to see the difference.

A $100 grocery shop in Toronto on a Base-tier account, paid by tapping the physical card. No FX, no ATM, no extra fees. You earn $1 in bitcoin. The 1% rate is your only cost, and you come out ahead.

A $50 dinner in New York on a Bright-tier account, paid through Apple Pay. Visa converts CAD to USD at its wholesale rate, then Bright charges an extra 1.5%. On a $50 USD bill that is about $0.75 in FX, and you earn $0.50 in bitcoin. You are still ahead, but only barely, and only because you are in the Bright tier.

A $200 hotel in Tokyo on a Base-tier account, paid by inserting the physical card. The hotel is in yen, so the 3% FX charge applies on top of the Visa conversion. You earn $2 in bitcoin. On a $200 bill the FX charge is roughly $6, so you have actually given up around $4 on the round trip. If you travel regularly, the FX tier matters far more than the cashback rate.

Foreign refunds use the rate paid to Visa minus the charge, so they tend to be slightly less than the original payment in your home currency. That is normal for Visa prepaid cards and not specific to Shakepay, but it is the kind of detail that surprises people when they return something abroad and the number is a touch lower than they expected.

A note on what is not on the page: the help centre does not publish a separate conversion fee, an ATM operator surcharge, a replacement fee, or a fee for closing the card. ATM operators can still charge their own fees, and the help centre only confirms the PLUS network for free in-network withdrawals. If you use a non-PLUS ATM, expect an operator surcharge that Shakepay does not control.

Top up

The card does not have its own balance. The Shakepay account has a Canadian-dollar balance, the card spends that balance, and topping up the card means topping up the Shakepay account. The two main ways to put Canadian dollars in are Interac e-Transfer and wire transfer, and Shakepay is unusually clear about both.

Interac e-Transfer is the everyday choice: free, fast, with a $5 minimum that is low enough to keep the card topped up casually, and a $10,000 maximum per transfer that will be more than enough for almost any personal card user. Wires are the larger-amount route, and they are also free, but the floor is high: Shakepay lists a $10,000 minimum for wires, which makes the option a non-starter if you only want to move a few thousand dollars.

The cardholder agreement and the help centre do not state whether you can top the card up directly with crypto. The card spends the CAD balance, so the practical path for a Shakepay user who holds bitcoin or another coin is: sell into the CAD balance in the app, then spend. Shakepay’s exchange spread on that conversion is the effective “crypto-to-card” cost, but it is not described as a card fee. If you want a card that accepts a stablecoin or a coin transfer and converts at the moment of payment, this is not that card.

A useful quirk: closing the card does not close your Shakepay wallet. The CAD balance remains accessible in the app, and Shakepay states explicitly that funds do not expire with the card. The withdrawal fees from the wallet itself are not stated in the help centre, so if you are planning to use Shakepay as a long-term balance, ask support what an outgoing Interac e-Transfer or wire costs in CAD before you commit.

Paying with it every day

In the real world the Shakepay card is a Visa prepaid card, and what that means is: it works wherever Visa is accepted, in shops, online, and at ATMs, and it cannot go overdrawn because the money is already in the wallet. You can add the card to Apple Pay and Google Pay “where available,” and the help centre confirms a tap limit of $250, which is standard for tokenised wallets in Canada.

The headline feature is the cashback. Every eligible card purchase at an eligible merchant worldwide earns up to 1.5% back in bitcoin, and that bitcoin is credited automatically to your in-app BTC balance, where you can hold it, sell it, or withdraw it to a self-custody wallet. That is a quietly different offer from most Canadian cashback cards, which pay in points or statement credits, and it makes the Shakepay card interesting for a reader who already thinks in bitcoin.

The ATM side is straightforward but limited. You can withdraw up to $500 per transaction and $1,000 per day at any ATM that shows the PLUS logo, with no bitcoin rewards on ATM transactions. ATM operator fees may apply on top, and Shakepay does not handle cash or cheque deposits at all; this is an outgoing-only ATM product.

The cardholder agreement does not publish a list of blocked merchant categories in the help pages I read, which is unusual. Many prepaid cards in this category block gambling, crypto purchases, or high-risk MCCs, but Shakepay does not say so publicly. If you have a specific use case in mind, ask support before you order.

App and support are part of the everyday experience. The Shakepay app is where you order the card, freeze it, replace it, file disputes, and reach support. Disputes have to be raised in the app’s dispute section within 60 days of the transaction; the agreement also says that disputes received more than 90 days after the transaction can be treated as accepted. For Visa Zero Liability unauthorised-use claims the process can take up to 120 days after the paperwork, and a police investigation may be required. Transactions made before you report a card as lost or stolen may be treated as yours, which is why locking the card the moment you realise it is missing matters. If Shakepay cannot resolve a complaint, the agreement points to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (1-888-451-4519) and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (1-866-461-3222).

What can go wrong

Three things stand out. None is unique to Shakepay, but the combination is worth understanding before you put a balance on the card.

First, Shakepay is a custodial platform. Shakepay holds the keys to your CAD balance and your bitcoin balance, and the card spends from that balance. The cardholder agreement and the help centre make clear that the funds are not CDIC-insured; deposits held at a Canadian bank are typically insured up to a limit by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, and that protection does not extend to your Shakepay wallet. If Shakepay fails as a business, your card balance is not a bank deposit. Custodial platforms in this category have a history of high-profile failures, and the structural risk is that you are trusting the issuer and the programme manager with both your money and your ability to spend it.

Second, the user-feedback picture is mixed. On Trustpilot Shakepay sits at 2.3 out of 5 from 22 reviews, with only one review in the last twelve months and only one review that explicitly mentions the card, a positive one from late 2021. The themes that come up in the longer history are familiar from the category: accounts frozen or closed without a clear reason (reports dated from 2021 through to mid-2025), support taking days to respond (2021, late 2023, mid-2025), delayed or blocked withdrawals and wires (2022–2023), and at least one unreturned payment of around $250 (reported September 2026). Some users also describe being asked for source-of-funds documentation, which is a normal part of regulated onboarding but can feel intrusive if it arrives after the money is already on the platform. One third-party site cites Trustpilot ratings around 1.5/5 that disagree with the score I read, so the picture is not consistent across sources; I am reporting what is publicly visible, not endorsing it.

Third, the card is a prepaid card, and prepaid-card coverage in Canada is not the same as credit-card coverage. A credit card issued under a bank or financial-institution licence comes with clearer reversal rights and statutory protections. A prepaid card relies on the cardholder agreement and on Visa’s own dispute mechanisms, which are real but more limited. If you are switching from a credit card for the rewards, it is worth knowing that the protection you are giving up is part of the trade.

Security on the card itself is reasonable: you can lock or freeze the card instantly in the app, two-factor authentication is supported, the PIN is set during ordering, the lost-and-stolen line is open 24/7 at 1-855-574-2539, and the PIN may be disabled after three wrong entries. One quirk is that the PIN cannot be changed once set, so a forgotten PIN means replacing the card.

A small operational note. The card-limits help article was updated on 21 April 2026, the reward-status article on 31 August 2026, and the physical-card ordering flow was changed to a general order flow (help article 16221106). A third-party site, CryptoCardHub, says the physical card was rolled out gradually by waitlist rank starting 21 May 2026, but the official help article I read does not mention a waitlist. Treat the third-party claim as unofficial and not confirmed by Shakepay.

What to take instead

Shakepay is the right card for a narrow reader, and the alternatives below are worth knowing if you are slightly outside that lane. None of them is a perfect stand-in; each one changes the trade.

Gemini Credit Card is a Mastercard World Elite credit card, with no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and tiered rewards paid instantly in bitcoin or 50-plus other cryptos on Gemini. The headline rates are 4% back on gas, EV charging and transit (capped at the first $300 a month), 3% on dining, 2% on groceries, and 1% on everything else, with a 10% Vault Rewards bonus at selected merchants. There is also a referral programme. The catch: it is a credit card, not a prepaid card, so it has a credit check, a credit limit, and a fiat repayment obligation. The rewards side is genuinely richer than Shakepay’s 1% to 1.5% flat rate, but only for readers who want a credit product and can pass underwriting.

Lava Card is pitched at “no annual fees, no FX fees, and no FX spread,” with spend accepted at 150 million merchants in 150-plus countries and the ability to deposit in local currency or stablecoins. Rewards are advertised as up to 5% back in bitcoin on every purchase, although the conditions are not fully spelled out on the public page. Lava is a stronger fit for a reader who wants to load stablecoins directly and travel without an FX sting, but the underlying programme details are thinner than what Shakepay publishes, so it is worth a careful read of the cardholder agreement before you commit.

Trastra is a prepaid Visa card topped up from a Mover wallet using cryptocurrencies, and is currently available in 31 listed countries including Germany, France and the UK, with EEA-wide availability described as a goal. Non-European residents are told “not at the moment,” and the rule appears to be residence-based. Cost, fees and rewards are not stated on the public card page, which makes it hard to compare apples to apples, and a third-party batch note that mentions crypto cashback is not reflected on the public product page. Trastra is the alternative for a European reader who wants a crypto-funded prepaid Visa, but you should treat the cost and reward claims as unconfirmed.

A quick comparison of the four:

The table is a snapshot, not a recommendation. The Gemini rate is uncapped on most categories, capped only on the 4% tier; the Lava rate is a published maximum, and Trastra is largely not stated publicly. Treat the gaps as a reason to read the cardholder agreement, not as a reason to assume the lower rate.

Who I would recommend it to

I would recommend the Shakepay card to a Canadian resident who already has a Shakepay account, wants a free Visa prepaid card for everyday spending, and is happy to be paid in bitcoin. I would not recommend it as your only card, and I would not recommend it if you travel outside Canada often, if you want to hold non-CAD balances, or if you need a credit card’s statutory protections.

The most useful way to think about the card is as a wallet extension, not a primary card. If you treat the CAD balance as you would treat a chequing sub-account, the 1% to 1.5% bitcoin cashback is a clean little boost on top of an already-trusted platform, and the lack of an annual fee means there is no cost to keeping it in your back pocket. If you treat it as a replacement for a credit card, you will miss the protections, and if you treat it as a travel card, the 3% Base-tier FX charge will eat your rewards faster than you earn them.

A practical test: before you order, look at the last three months of your spending. If the vast majority is in Canadian dollars at Canadian merchants, the Shakepay card will quietly earn you bitcoin on the side. If a meaningful slice is in foreign currency, either push for the Blue tier, where the FX charge drops to 0%, or look at a different product.

A small word on history. The card is a live, currently offered product, with the help-centre articles updated multiple times in 2026. The user-feedback picture is mixed, and the platform-risk concerns are real, but neither is a deal-breaker if you are already a Shakepay user. The single most useful thing you can do is treat the balance as you would treat a wallet you carry around, not as you would treat a savings account.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Shakepay card?

The Shakepay card is a Visa Prepaid Card issued by Peoples Trust Company under licence from Visa International and marketed by Shakepay. It draws on the Canadian-dollar balance in your Shakepay wallet, so you fund the wallet in CAD and the card spends that balance. There is no credit check and the card cannot go overdrawn, because it is a prepaid product, not a credit product.

How does the Shakepay card work?

You open a Shakepay account, complete identity verification, fund the CAD balance in the wallet (typically by Interac e-Transfer), then order the physical card from inside the app. When you tap, insert or pay online, Visa routes the transaction to Peoples Trust, which draws the amount from your Shakepay CAD balance, and Shakepay credits any eligible cashback in bitcoin to your in-app BTC balance.

Is Shakepay a bank?

No. Shakepay is a registered money services business in Canada (FINTRAC registration M17065696) and is a member of CIRO and registered as an investment dealer with the AMF and provincial regulators, but it is not a bank. Funds held in your Shakepay wallet are not CDIC-insured, and the card is a prepaid card, not a bank-issued debit or credit card.

Is the Shakepay card available in my country?

The card is available to Shakepay customers in all 13 Canadian provinces and territories. Shakepay does not list non-Canadian availability on the public card pages; the published advice is to email [email protected] to ask, and Shakepay notes that some countries and merchants are restricted. In practice the product is built and delivered for Canada.

How do I get the Shakepay card?

Open and fully verify a Shakepay account, fund the CAD balance, and order the physical card from inside the app. You will be asked to set a PIN during the order flow, and the card is delivered by Canada Post regular mail within 21 days, with no tracking. The card is free for fully verified accounts, and you are limited to one card per person.

How do I top up the Shakepay card?

You top up the Shakepay account, not the card directly, and the card spends that balance. The two published routes are Interac e-Transfer (free, minutes, $5 minimum, $10,000 maximum) and wire transfer (free, 1–2 working days, $10,000 minimum). There are no activation fees or minimum balances.

How do I add the Shakepay card to Apple Wallet or Google Pay?

You add the card through the wallet app on your phone, the same way you would add a Visa debit or credit card. Shakepay confirms Apple Pay and Google Pay support “where available,” with a tap limit of $250 per transaction. If your phone does not pick the card up automatically, the card details in the Shakepay app can be added manually.

Is the Shakepay card free?

The card has no annual fee and no published issuance fee, and Shakepay is explicit that it is free for fully verified accounts. What can cost money is the 3% Foreign Exchange Charge on non-Canadian transactions at the Base tier, ATM operator surcharges at non-PLUS ATMs, and the spread when you sell bitcoin or other crypto into the CAD balance to spend. Reward tiers Bright and Blue lower the FX charge to 1.5% and 0% respectively, but require monthly qualifying activity.

Is the Shakepay card safe?

The card supports app-based two-factor authentication, instant card freeze, a 24/7 lost-and-stolen line, and PIN lockout after three wrong entries. The honest caveats are that Shakepay is a custodial platform, so the company holds the keys to your balance; the funds are not CDIC-insured; and prepaid cards in Canada do not have the same statutory protections as credit cards. The platform’s Trustpilot rating is 2.3/5 from 22 reviews, with user-feedback themes around account freezes, slow support and delayed withdrawals.

Is the Shakepay card worth it?

For a Canadian resident who already keeps a balance on Shakepay and spends mostly in CAD, the 1% to 1.5% bitcoin cashback is a clean extra return on money you would be spending anyway, and the lack of an annual fee means there is no cost to having the card. For a reader outside Canada, a frequent traveller, or anyone who needs a credit card’s protections or a multi-currency balance, the card is not the right fit and one of the alternatives above will serve you better.

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