Crypto card ‘0% FX fee’ is a marketing claim, says Cryptotesters founder

The article explains that many crypto cards and neobanks advertising “0% FX fee” are not truly fee-free. According to Cryptotesters founder Lito Coen, issuers may waive their own extra charge, but Visa or Mastercard still apply their built-in FX rate markup, typically around 0.5% to 1%. The piece argues that real zero-fee conversion would require proprietary interbank-rate infrastructure like Revolut or Wise, and even then benefits are often capped. It also suggests a long-term blockchain-based FX system could eventually enable wholesale liquidity and lower costs, but that remains speculative. Market impact is limited for BTCUSD directly, but the article is relevant to crypto payments adoption and consumer expectations around crypto card costs.