Dear Diary,
Today felt like one of those Mondays that don’t come with the usual Monday blues. Perhaps it’s because the weather in Dubai was surprisingly kind this morning—the kind of gentle sunshine that makes the glass towers glitter rather than roasting you.
The day started in the office with my coffee cup still steaming, laptop booting up, and that low hum of keyboards and air conditioners in perfect corporate harmony. That’s when Samir, my senior colleague, walked over with his usual curious glint. You see, Samir is the type who enjoys poking into tech trends just enough to be dangerous in a conversation—NFTs last month, AI the month before that, and today… Crypto cards.
“So,” he began, leaning against my desk like we were in some tech talk show, “how exactly does a crypto card work? Is it magic, or am I missing something?”
I laughed. “Magic, but with a side of blockchain,” I told him.
He smirked. “Prove it. Go use yours and tell me how it goes.”
Challenge accepted.
By lunch, I decided this was my moment to put theory into practice. I had a simple plan: run downstairs to the grocery store, grab something small, and report back.
The grocery store downstairs is my usual spot for quick snacks, and today, the sweet-brown banana chips were calling my name from aisle three. If you’ve never had them, they’re like the perfect middle ground between dessert and snack—crunchy with a caramel-kissed sweetness.
I made my way to the cashier, my phone in hand. I opened my Bybit crypto card in my digital wallet, and there it was—sleek on the screen, ready for action. No need for plastic; I just tapped my phone on the payment terminal like some futuristic spy settling a bill.
Sure enough, the screen lit up:
“Convert USDT to AED for payment?”
I hit “Yes”.
And that was it. In literally a blink, the transaction was done. The terminal beeped, the cashier handed me my chips, and I walked out like I had just unlocked a cheat code in real life.
Time elapsed: About three seconds.
Complexity level: Zero.
It felt… too easy.
Back upstairs, I opened my Bybit app to see exactly what had gone down. The chips cost 4.50 AED, but the system had also added a 0.90 AED conversion fee. All in, that’s 5.40 AED. Honestly, not bad for a cross-currency, crypto-to-fiat payment done in seconds without me needing to manually trade anything beforehand.
So here’s the thing about how a crypto card works—and this is where the “magic” becomes clear.
When you tap that card (or in my case, your phone), you’re not paying directly with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USDT in the literal sense. What happens is the card provider (Bybit, in my case) instantly sells just enough of your crypto to cover the purchase in the local currency (AED here in the UAE). This is called an instant crypto-to-fiat conversion.
Think of it like a currency exchange booth… but one that lives in your pocket and works at lightning speed. No need to go into an app, swap crypto for fiat manually, wait for confirmations, then transfer to a bank account. The card does all of it in the background while you’re still reaching for your shopping bag.
Of course, there’s always an exchange rate at play. Crypto cards use the current market rate plus a small markup (that’s where part of the conversion fee comes from). In my case:
- Price of chips: 4.50 AED
- Exchange rate (USDT to AED): 1 USDT ≈ 3.67 AED
- USDT spent: Roughly 1.47 USDT
- Conversion fee: 0.90 AED (about 0.25 USDT)
Total: Around 1.72 USDT. Not terrible for instant settlement.
And here’s something I think people forget: The exchange rate matters a LOT, especially if you’re using volatile coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum. If the market swings between the time you initiate the payment and when it settles (which can be milliseconds or seconds), you could get slightly more or less value. That’s why many people prefer to fund their cards with stablecoins like USDT or USDC — they stay pegged to the U.S. dollar, making your grocery bill far more predictable.
Some other things I learnt while digging into this:
- Merchant Acceptance: Crypto cards run on traditional payment networks like Visa or Mastercard, so you can use them anywhere those cards are accepted. The merchant still gets paid in fiat—they never actually touch your crypto.
- Funding the Card: You preload your account with crypto (BTC, ETH, USDT, etc.) on the exchange or wallet that issued the card. The funds stay in crypto until you spend them.
- Fees: Expect two main ones—the network’s conversion markup and any extra flat transaction fee (which varies by provider).
- Perks: Some cards offer cashback in crypto, meaning every time you spend, you get a small amount of Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other tokens back.
By the time I finished explaining all this to Samir, he was nodding slowly, like a student realizing maths wasn’t so scary after all.
“So… proof that it works?” he asked.
I grinned, tossing him the empty banana chips packet. “Proof-of-assignment,” I said. “Mission accomplished.”
And that, Dear Diary, is how a random Monday turned into a crash course in real-world crypto payments—and a reminder that the future of money is already sitting quietly in my phone.
? Pro Tips for Using a Crypto Card
- Load stablecoins like USDT or USDC for predictable spending.
- Check fees—both conversion rates and flat charges—before making large payments.
- Watch market volatility if paying with BTC or ETH; prices can shift quickly.
- Use digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) for contactless payments without carrying a physical card.
- Look for perks like crypto cashback or reward points—they can add up over time.
Until next time,
— Me ?
