CEX.IO prepaid card: discontinued, so what now?

The CEX.IO prepaid card no longer exists in usable form. CEX.IO says payments on the CEX.IO Card stopped from 3 February 2026. The reason was its card programme partner, Quicko, losing its authorisation after a decision by Poland’s financial regulator, the KNF. The card can’t be ordered “until a new card programme is available”, and no date has been given. The CEX.IO exchange itself was not affected and still runs. This page explains what happened, what former cardholders should do, and how to get a working crypto card today, including using CEX.IO only for what it still does: selling you the crypto.

Status: discontinued since 3 February 2026

We list the CEX.IO card as closed. CEX.IO’s own help centre carries an “Important CEX.IO Card update” article with the key facts. The cex.io/card URL now returns a not-found page, and the exchange’s product pages describe buying crypto, not a spending card. There is no review score here because there is no card to score.

1. 21 Jan 2026
   Card partner loses authorisation

   CEX.IO announces that Quicko, its card programme partner, has lost its authorisation after a KNF decision in Poland.

2. 3 Feb 2026
   Card payments stop

   The CEX.IO Card stops working for purchases. New cards cannot be ordered.

3. Since then
   No new programme announced

   CEX.IO says the card is unavailable until a new card programme exists. No partner or date has been named.

4. 8 Oct 2026
   Exchange still operating

   CEX.IO continues to sell crypto by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer where it is available.

What happened to the CEX.IO card

Like nearly every crypto card, the CEX.IO card wasn’t issued by the exchange alone. CEX.IO ran the crypto account and the app. A partner company, Quicko, provided the card programme under its own authorisation in Poland. That authorisation came from the KNF, Poland’s financial supervisor. When the KNF decision took away Quicko’s authorisation, the card lost its regulated base. CEX.IO announced this on 21 January 2026 and set 3 February 2026 as the date card payments would stop.

That left cardholders about two weeks between the announcement and the cut-off. It is a short window, though not unusual. BitPay cardholders in 2023 had two weeks between the last load and the last purchase. The structure below shows why the exchange could keep running while the card could not.

We don’t have a full public record of the CEX.IO card’s fees, limits or network. We couldn’t verify those details from an official page after the closure, so we won’t reconstruct them from memory. If you held the card, your statements and the CEX.IO app history are the best record of what you paid.

Who regulates what

The closure is a good reminder that the card and the exchange answer to different regulators. The card depended on a Polish authorisation. The exchange operates through several entities, each with its own registration. Knowing which is which helps you judge any crypto card, not just this one.

CEX.IO doesn’t list a MiCA licence on its legal page. Visitors from the EEA currently see a MiCA service notice saying certain account functions, including deposits and trading, are not available while regulatory updates are under way. The notice also says funds remain available for immediate withdrawal. Since the old card was a European product, many former cardholders will see that notice. Our Europe guide explains why MiCA authorisation now matters for every provider serving EU residents.

What former cardholders should do

If you used the CEX.IO card, the card itself is finished. The goal now is to make sure nothing is left behind and to set up a replacement. We didn’t find a published refund procedure for card balances in our research. The CEX.IO help article and CEX.IO support are the official places to ask.

1. 01
   Check your CEX.IO account

   Log in through the official site or app and confirm where any former card funds now sit.

2. 02
   Ask support about remaining balances

   Use the in-app chat or the help centre article, not links from emails or search ads.

3. 03
   Move subscriptions off the old card

   Any merchant still billing the CEX.IO card will fail. Update payment details before you miss a bill.

4. 04
   Save statements for tax

   Download your card and account history. Card spending funded by crypto is usually a disposal.

5. 05
   Pick a live card

   Choose a provider that names its issuer and holds the right licence where you live.

CEX.IO as an exchange today

The card closure says nothing about whether CEX.IO is still a good place to buy crypto. That depends on where you live. CEX.IO has run since 2013. Its US entity is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds licences in about 39 US jurisdictions, though not New York or California. In the UK it is registered with the FCA for anti-money-laundering purposes, which is not full FCA authorisation. It also has an entity registered with the Bank of Spain, and it claims PCI DSS Level 1 compliance for card data.

New customers in their first three months after ID verification are limited to $1,000 a day and $3,000 a month on cards. Instant Buy starts at 20 USD, EUR or GBP. When we checked on 7 October 2026, the homepage showed card-purchase fees of 0.49%–4.99% plus a service charge for Mastercard purchases between $20 and $2,500. Confirm the fee at checkout. If you were hoping to fund a CEX.IO account with a prepaid card, CEX.IO’s own help centre warns that most prepaid card payments fail. See our guide to buying crypto with a prepaid card for routes that work better.

Once you own the crypto, moving it onto a card usually takes minutes. Exchange cards spend from your balance on that exchange. Stablecoin cards take an on-chain deposit. True prepaid cards convert your top-up into a fiat balance. Our guide to loading a crypto prepaid card compares each route, including network fees.

Choosing a replacement card

Former cardholders often ask us for “the same card, but working”. There isn’t an exact copy, so match the replacement to how you actually used the CEX.IO card. If you mostly spent at home in euros, the conversion spread matters most. A card that sells your crypto at a 1% spread costs €10 on every €1,000 you spend. If you travelled, the FX fee decides everything. A 2% FX fee on €2,000 of holiday spending is €40, while a card with no FX fee charges nothing on top of the network rate.

Next, check the licence. In the EU, every provider serving residents now needs MiCA authorisation for the crypto side, and the card side needs a licensed e-money issuer or bank. The cards below name their issuer or licensed entity on their own pages, which is the quickest check you can do. Finally, decide on custody. A custodial card keeps your coins with the provider, as the CEX.IO card did. A self-custody card such as Bleap leaves them in your wallet until you pay. Our self-custody guide explains the trade-off, and our fee guide lists every cost line to compare.

Lessons from the CEX.IO card closure

Three lessons stand out. First, the brand on the card is not always the company holding the licence. Ask who issues the card and under which authorisation. Second, the regulator that can end a card may be in a different country from both you and the exchange. For CEX.IO cardholders it was Poland. Third, notice periods are short. Two weeks is typical, so don’t make one crypto card your only way to pay.

We track every closure, pause and launch in our news tracker. Our safety guide explains how to check an issuer before you sign up.

Alternatives to the CEX.IO card

Most former CEX.IO cardholders were in Europe, so these alternatives focus there. The Crypto.com Card is a true prepaid Visa with a free tier, issued by Foris MT in the EEA. The Nexo Card charges 0.2% FX on weekdays and is issued by DiPocket. The OKX Card spends USDC and USDG with a 0.1% spread through a MiCA-licensed entity. Bleap is a self-custody Mastercard from a MiCA-licensed Latvian firm, with no FX or conversion fee.

Outside Europe, start with our country guides. You can also browse every card we track, including other closed ones like the BitPay Card, on our reviews page.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and official pages

1. CEX.IO Help — Important CEX.IO Card update
2. CEX.IO — legal entities and licences
3. CEX.IO — US licences
4. CEX.IO Help — payment methods
5. CEX.IO Help — can I use a prepaid card?
6. CEX.IO Help — unsupported countries
7. Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF)

Ready when you are

Load your card with crypto you own

Buy Bitcoin, Ether or stablecoins with a bank card, Apple Pay or bank transfer, then move them to the card or wallet you choose.

Open account

Check availability in your country before signing up.Visitors from the EEA currently see a MiCA service notice on the exchange linked here, and some account functions may be restricted. A MiCA-authorised provider may be the better route.

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