Tap Global Review
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Ease of Use
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Beginner Friendly
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Payment Options
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Speed
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Fees
Summary
Tap Global is a simple and easy-to-use mobile app (iOS and Android) that allows you to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and four other cryptocurrencies at the real exchange rate with low fees (1.5%).
It also has a connected Prepaid Mastercard, which can be loaded up using your cryptocurrency balance and used wherever Mastercard is normally accepted.
Although its crypto debit card doesn’t reward any cashback like Crypto.com, they have transparent and competitive fees when you buy or sell any supported cryptocurrency (which isn’t the case with the Crypto.com app).
This post has been sponsored by Tap Global, but I’ve produced this review myself and I have full editorial control of what is said (just like everything else on quickpenguin.net).
Tap Global is a mobile app that allows you to buy, sell, and store Bitcoin (BTC) and 4 other cryptocurrencies.
With the Tap Global Mastercard, you’re also able to convert your cryptocurrencies into cash and spend the balance anywhere that supports Mastercard.
How’s this compare to the best bitcoin debit cards in the UK and EU?
Find out everything you need to know in this Tap Global review.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- You’ll pay 1.5% in fees when you buy or sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tap (XTP), or Huobi Token (HT). Lower fees are available if you upgrade your account.
- Quotes the real exchange rate when buying/sell supported cryptocurrencies.
- Contactless Prepaid Mastercard (issued and delivered for FREE).
- Physical cards being issued quickly (received mine in about a week).
- Deposit GBP with a UK bank transfer or debit card (FREE).
- £500 of free ATM withdrawals per month. Higher limits unlocked if you upgrade your account.
- No monthly account management fees.
- 4.2-star Trustpilot rating (but less than 100 reviews).
Disadvantages
- Only accessible via its mobile app (iOS and Android).
- Doesn’t support many cryptocurrencies (only 5, but more coming soon).
- Unless you have ‘Tap Titanium’, you’ll pay fees when you exchange between fiat currencies.
- Can buy Bitcoin (BTC) cheaper in alternative places.
- No cashback on any spending (other crypto cards offer this).
What Is Tap Global?
Founded in 2017 by Arsen Torosian, Tap Global launched its mobile app (and prepaid Mastercard) on the 24th February 2020.
They have more than 18 team members, with the CEO noting that they’ve had “amazing growth” since launching earlier in the year.
Their main aim to simplify cryptocurrency so that it’s more accessible for everyone to make use of.
According to their website, they have several investors – including Alphabit, FBG Capital, Alpha Sigma Capital, and more.
It has been granted a distributed ledger technology (DLT) license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, which the founder has described as “the gold plated of crypto licences”.
Main Features
Crypto Features
- Store Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tap (XTP), and Huobi Token (HT) in their hosted mobile wallet. You can also send from and receive from these wallets.
- I was quoted prices that were close (within about 0.1%) of the spot prices you’d get on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
- Buy and sell cryptocurrencies with GBP and EUR without paying more than 1.5% in fees. This is reduced if you upgrade your account and/or pay your fees using Tap (XTP).
Card Features
- The Tap Global card is a prepaid Mastercard that can be used anywhere that Mastercard is normally accepted (in-store and online).
- Cards are 3DS-enabled, which means that purchases you make online with your card will be authorised using a one-time password sent to your phone (if the seller supports this feature).
- Full control over what features enabled on your card. This means you can disable contactless payments, lock it via the app, and more – whenever you want.
- Contactless support.
Supported Countries
The Tap Global app is available to UK residents and more than 40 other countries.
They’re looking at expanding into countries with decent cryptocurrency adoption in the future – with Asia “high on the list”.
Expand the box below to see the full list.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
The Tap Global app currently allows you to buy, sell, and store 5 cryptocurrencies.
This includes:
In a recent blog post, Tap Global confirmed that they’re adding 10 new cryptocurrencies (including Cardano, Chainlink, Ripple, and Dogecoin).
They are looking at adding more cryptocurrencies to the app in the future. These additions will likely only include cryptocurrencies with a larger market capitalisation (i.e., top 50).
Supported Traditional (Fiat) Currencies
When I started using the Tap Global app, I was able to access 3 fiat currencies.
This includes:
- Pound Sterling (GBP)
- United States Dollar (USD)
- Euro (EUR)
The GBP and EUR accounts seem fully functional (i.e., send, receive, and store), but the USD account only allows you to hold USD and send it to other Tap Global app users.
They’re looking to add more fiat currencies in the future, but I couldn’t find details on which ones.
Payment Methods
You can add cash to your Tap Global app wallets using:
- UK Bank Transfer
- SEPA Bank Transfer
- Debit Card
Loading money using a bank transfer or debit card is FREE, but you’ll need to:
- Send a minimum of £22 if using a UK bank transfer.
- Add a minimum of £20 if using a debit card.
Loading funds into your account using a debit card is instant, but deposits made with a UK bank transfer will take longer (but should be credited same-day).
- On the Tap Global app dashboard, select ‘Add Money’.
- On the pop-up, select ‘Add via Bank Transfer’.
- You’ll then see this warning. If you’re happy for GBP to be your main currency, then select ‘Continue’.
- You’ll then see the bank details you need to send the GBP to via UK bank transfer. It should hit your Tap Global GBP wallet on the same day you send it.
- On the Tap Global app dashboard, select ‘Add Money’.
- On the pop-up, select ‘Add via Debit Card’.
- Select ‘Add Card’ when the next page shows.
- You’ll then need to add your card details.
- Once you’ve added it, select this as your payment method.
- Input how much you want to add to your Tap Global GBP wallet and select ‘Continue’.
Fees
Tap Global Card Fees
Getting a Tap Global account and getting a physical card delivered is FREE. There are no domestic transaction fees, but you will pay up to 1.5% in fees when buying things that aren’t priced in your card’s currency.
There are no loading fees if you top-up your card using a local bank transfer or personal debit card, but there are fees if you use a non-EEA card (1.99%) or business card (3%).
Fees depend on what card you have, but here are the fees and limits I picked out for the standard (free) version:
| Fee or Limit | Charge |
|---|---|
| Card Loading Limit (Daily) | €2500 (equivalent in local currency) |
| Card Loading Limit (Annual) | €30000 (equivalent in local currency) |
| Free ATM Withdrawals | €500 per month |
| Outgoing UK/SEPA Bank Transfer Fee | £2 or €2 |
There’s no account management fee either, but you will be charged a small monthly fee if you don’t load-up or use your card once every 12 months (€3).
It’s not cheap to use this card abroad (1.5% fee when spending anything that’s not GBP/EUR), but otherwise it looks good.
Buying Bitcoin with Tap Global
The maximum fee you’ll pay when buying Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies using the Tap Global app is 1.5%.
| Tap Global Cards | Cryptocurrency Fees |
|---|---|
| Tap Free | 1.5% |
| Tap Black Account | 1% |
| Tap Titanium | 0% |
If you use Tap (XTP) token to pay your trading fees, then you’ll receive a discount on the fees that you pay. A nice little bonus.
The Tab Global app integrates with multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and claims to offer the best exchange rate available to users. When I checked, I found that I was offered an exchange rate that was close (within about 0.1%) of what was available on Binance.
You cannot buy Bitcoin (BTC) or other supported cryptocurrencies DIRECTLY with a debit card or UK bank transfer. This means you’ll have to deposit GBP with a debit card or UK bank transfer into your Tap Global GBP wallet.
- Open the Tap Global app and select ‘Crypto’ in the Assets section.
- On the next screen, select the blue ‘Trade’ button.
- Select ‘Buy’ to purchase cryptocurrency with the balance in your cash wallet.
- Enter how much you’d like to buy and then click ‘Confirm Trade’ when you’re happy.
- The fees are NOT taken from the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) you want, so you can’t just spend your whole balance – you’ll have to leave a little behind to pay these fees.
- Done! You’ll now see the Bitcoin (BTC) in your crypto wallets section.
Tap Token (XTP)
Tap (XTP) is an ERC-20 token (issued by Tap Global) that seems to have two purposes:
- Receive discounts on the fees you pay when buying and selling cryptocurrencies when you use Tap (XTP) to pay your fees.
- Unlock access to better versions of the Tap Global Prepaid Mastercard when you lock-up Tap (XTP) in the mobile app.
Like Binance Coin (BNB): “10% of the profits created by the Tap project will go into burning Tap tokens”.
Tap (XTP) is available to buy in the Tap Global mobile app but isn’t widely available in many other places. When I checked, the place with the highest trading volume was Bittrex.
Investors have been given tokens, but the lockup period was recently extended until 1st June 2026.
Interface
The mobile app is straightforward and easy-to-use.
I have no complaints – it worked without any issue while I was testing it out.
Alternatives
Two of its main competitors are Wirex and Crypto.com.
Wirex has been around the longest in the UK. It provides crypto-friendly accounts (which can be used to send/receive GBP like a normal bank account) and a debit card that provides up to 1.5% cashback (in-store only).
Unfortunately, it’s not that cheap to buy or sell cryptocurrencies with. When I last checked, they were charging a fixed fee of 1%, but the exchange rate was about 1.5% higher than the best price on places like Binance – not good.
Wirex Review
Then we have the Crypto.com Visa Card. With it, you can earn up to 8% in cashback (in-store and online) and get other benefits (e.g., 100% cashback on Spotify). It also allows you to buy, sell, and store 170+ cryptocurrencies.
However, you can’t deposit GBP into the Crypto.com app right now – which means you’ll need to use a debit or credit card to buy cryptocurrencies. And, disappointingly, they’ve continued to increase their fees (now 2.99%).
Summary
I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes.
There’s a seed of something awesome that could challenge Crypto.com – the dominating crypto debit card that’s available in the UK right now.
Here’s what I’m looking forward to:
- Automatic conversion of cryptocurrencies into fiat when you use the Tap Global card in-store or online.
- Upgraded versions of the Tap Global card with a higher amount of free ATM withdrawals every month and lower fees when you buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
- Addition of more popular cryptocurrencies.
But even in its current state, it’s a decent crypto debit card – the only disappointing thing is that it doesn’t offer any cashback (while alternatives do). But on the flip side, you can buy and sell cryptocurrency with lower fees using Tap Global.
Check out their website to learn more about them.
Any Questions?
Thanks for reading this Tap Global review!
Got a question about Tap Global? Or want to share your own experience?
Comment below and let me know!
Will there be a big marketing campaign for this? As it seems to be a really good project but not widely known.
Thanks for commenting, Jason!
It does seem to be sitting a little under the radar compared to alternatives. But that might be changing – it seems their leadership team has expanded and they’ve just announced a “Quetzal Call Option to acquire 100% of TAP Global Limited“.
Seems an honest and straight to the point review. Well done, hopefully people reading this review shall consider switching over to TAP and take full advantage of the benefits associated with it.
Glad to hear you liked the TAP review, Alan.
Let me know if you have any questions about it!