How to Buy Ethereum with a Credit Card

Ethereum (ETH) has maintained its position as a dominant alternative to Bitcoin. It is the second most popular cryptocurrency and is very popular among both retail and institutional investors. It is widely used both as an investment instrument as well as a payment currency. 

A credit card is one of the most popular payment processing methods and you can buy Ethereum directly with a credit card through various platforms.  

While a credit card offers world-class security features and processes transactions quickly. However, a credit card also charges extra fees and the crypto transaction costs may range from 1.5%—2.3%. In addition, there might be additional charges levied by the cryptocurrency platform. You should carefully evaluate all fees and charges before you select an option.  

In this guide, we will discuss how to buy Ethereum with a credit card through various platforms. 

How to Buy Ethereum with a Credit Card on a Centralised Exchange?

There are many centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEX) where you can use the credit card option for purchasing ETH. Binance is one of the most popular exchanges and we explain the method to buy ETH with a credit card on the platform below but it is similar to all other CEXs. 

Sign up on Binance if you don’t have an account. It’s easy and takes under a minute to open an account. 

Once you have created an account, head over to the “Buy Crypto with Debit/Credit Card” option as shown below. It is available on the home page. Both Visa and Mastercards are accepted on Binance. 

Then, select Ethereum and select a suitable payment currency such as US dollar. There are other currency options also available including AED, AUD, AZN, BGN, BRL, CAD, CHF, CLP, COP, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, GHS, HKD, HRK, HUF, IDR, ILS, ISK, JPY, KES, KZT, MXN, NGN, NZD, PHP, PEN, RON, RUB, SAR, SEK, THB, TRY, TWD, UAH, UGX, UYU, VND, and ZAR. 

Enter the amount you wish to spend on buying Bitcoin, Ether, or whatever currency you wish to buy as shown below. 

Then, review your purchase and click on the “Continue” button. In the next step, add a card or use an existing card if you have added one below and proceed. The Ether purchase is now complete and you can view the purchased quantity in the Crypto Balance section of your wallet as shown below. 

The advantage of using a centralized exchange for purchasing Ether is the variety of options available. Most centralized exchanges accept almost all credit cards and have enough liquidity to ensure your trade is processed quickly. However, you will need to withdraw the purchased Ether into your personal wallet in case you do not wish to leave them on the exchange wallet. This might incur some extra fees. You will also need to first register and verify an account on a centralized exchange before you can purchase Ether on such platforms. 

How to Buy Ethereum with a Credit Card through a wallet?

It is also possible to use a credit card on a supported wallet such as MEW (My Ether Wallet) directly. You will need to create a wallet on MEW and then proceed to enter your wallet address as shown below. 

Click on I’m not a robot to complete the captcha process and then press on continue. In the next step, you will need to enter the card details as shown below and the purchased Ether will reflect directly into your account in MEW once the process is completed. The advantage of using an external wallet is that the funds will remain in your personal wallet and you need not create an account and verify it on a centralized exchange. 

How to Buy Ethereum with Credit Card through a Peer-to-Peer Platform?

Paxful is another peer-to-peer (P2P) platform that you can use to buy/sell ETH through Credit Card. It offers Credit Card as one of the options. You will need to register an account if you don’t have one already. The process is similar on all other P2P platforms. 

Once done, select USD as the payment currency,  input the amount, select USD as the preferred currency option, and credit card as the payment method as shown below. Select Any Credit/Debit Card as the payment option. 

Click on find offers that will open a new window and will take you to a list of prospective sellers, select a seller and pay through a credit card.  

Purchasing Ethereum through a peer-to-peer platform has the advantage of receiving ETH directly into your personal wallet without the need for storing them on a centralized exchange’s wallet. However, the risk of scams on such P2P sites is very high and you should exercise due diligence and use escrow service if available to minimize your risk while trading on such platforms. For users who wish to protect their identity, the peer-to-peer option works best. 

Credit cards may also charge a currency conversion fee that may be as high as 4% above the prevailing exchange rate so that might eat into your transaction costs.

The advantage of using credit cards is that you get the topmost security layers provided by the application and the chargeback feature in case of fraud. 

The credit card method is widely used throughout the world in many countries and most users prefer to use it because of the chargeback feature. The credit card is powered by banks and offers an easy resolution center where the buyer can ask for a chargeback and the funds are released back in case of detection of fraud.