Updated Rules checked 2026-10-17
Buying USDT with a credit card on an exchange costs you two layers of fees. The first is the exchange’s card fee: Bybit charges 3.70% for Visa and Mastercard issued in “other regions” such as Taiwan, and 5% for JCB; BingX charges 3.80% for cards issued outside the EU; OKX publishes rates by currency, 2.49% for USD and 1.99% for EUR; and Binance’s official blog says “up to about 2%”. The second is the card issuer’s foreign transaction fee, which is 1.5% at most banks in Taiwan.
Put the two together and a TWD 10,000 card purchase usually costs TWD 470 to 650 in fees, about 4.7% to 6.5% of the amount charged. The same TWD 10,000 bought as a taker on Binance, Bybit or Bitget spot at 0.1% costs TWD 10 in fees. OKX also warns that some banks treat the card payment as a cash advance, which pushes the cost up further.
I’ve put together the card fee rates each exchange publishes, the banks’ fee rules and the common reasons payments fail, then worked out the real cost of a TWD 10,000 purchase. One more point: when you buy crypto with a card, you pay a payment fee, not a spot or futures trading fee, so referral code rebates don’t apply to this part.
Key points: according to Bybit’s fee table and FAQ updated on 2026-10-13, buying crypto with a Visa or Mastercard issued outside the EU costs 3.70%, a JCB issued in Asia costs 5%, and Apple Pay costs 3.20%. BingX’s card fee is 3.80% outside the EU; its supported fiat currencies include the New Taiwan dollar (TWD), but you can only buy USDT. E.SUN Bank (玉山銀行) states that Visa, Mastercard and JCB transactions made abroad, and TWD transactions whose acquiring bank is located abroad, all carry a 1.5% foreign transaction fee, and that this also applies when you choose to pay in TWD (DCC). OKX states that buying crypto with a credit card may incur extra charges from the card issuer because “some banks consider this payment a cash advance”. The card fee is not a trading fee, and no exchange includes it in its rebate scope.
The information below was checked against official pages on 2026-10-17 (fact-check date) and is provided for reference.
What fees do you pay when buying USDT with a card?
The cost of a card crypto purchase breaks down into four parts:
- The exchange’s card fee: charged as a percentage of the order amount. Bybit gives the formula as “fee = filled order amount × fee rate”, and unfilled or canceled orders are not charged.
- The quoted price: a card purchase uses a price quoted by the exchange, not the order book’s execution price. Bybit calculates the quote as “filled order amount ÷ coins actually received” and refreshes it every 30 seconds; none of the exchanges disclose how far the quote sits above the market price.
- The bank’s foreign transaction fee: exchanges are all overseas merchants, and Taiwanese card issuers generally charge 1.5%.
- Cash advance charges: these apply only if the card issuer classifies the payment as a cash advance. There’s a dedicated section on this below.
Bybit’s fee page also says that banks and other third parties may charge extra fees (currency conversion fees, for example), so the total you actually pay may be higher than what the exchange shows. The exchange can only calculate its own part; the bank’s part depends on your card.
Credit card fees to buy crypto, exchange by exchange
The table lists only what the official pages state. Which column applies to Taiwan-issued cards is based on each exchange’s own region categories; where an exchange doesn’t list Taiwan or TWD separately, I simply write “not stated officially”.
| Exchange | Rate for Taiwan-issued cards | Other official details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bybit | Visa, Mastercard 3.70% (“other regions”); JCB 5% (Asia); Apple Pay 3.20% | Visa and Mastercard issued in EU countries are 2.10%; Taiwan is on the supported-region lists for Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay; individual identity verification required | Fee table (updated 2026-10-13), FAQ, supported regions |
| BingX | Visa, Mastercard 3.80% (outside the EU) | 3.50% in the EU; supported fiat currencies include TWD, and USDT is the only coin you can buy; identity verification required before your first purchase | BingX bank card purchase FAQ |
| OKX | Not stated officially (no TWD in the fee table) | Depends on country of residence: EUR 1.99%, USD 2.49%, SGD 2.49%, AUD 0%, AED 3.00%; rates may change; credit cards may incur extra charges from the card issuer | OKX help article (updated 2026-10-02) |
| Binance | No fixed rate stated officially | The official blog says “up to about 2%”, with other fees charged by banks and card issuers; the buy page states that fees and quotes depend on payment method, currency and market conditions | Binance blog (2024-10-22), buy page |
| Bitget | No published fee table; the order page shows the actual fee | Fee discount coupons can be used on card purchases, and the official page says they take 1% to 100% off depending on the promotion; the coupon must be selected before you confirm the order | Coupon details, how to use them |
| MEXC | Not stated officially (TWD not supported) | Card purchases cost 2%; currently only EUR, GBP, USD, AED and BRL are supported; advanced identity verification required | MEXC card purchase guide |
| KuCoin | No fixed rate stated officially | A blog post on KuCoin’s Australian site states that KuCoin doesn’t process credit card payments itself; third-party providers such as Banxa, MoonPay and Simplex do, and the fee depends on the provider you choose | KuCoin blog (2026-04-28) |
Three things deserve a closer look. First, JCB is very common in Taiwan, but paying on Bybit with a JCB issued in Asia costs 5%, 1.3 percentage points more than the 3.70% for Visa and Mastercard. Second, Bybit’s official Learn article (2026-01-23) still lists the old rates, 3.05% for non-EU Visa and 2.7% for Mastercard, which differ from the fee table its Help Center updated on 2026-10-13; go by the fee table. Third, neither OKX’s nor MEXC’s fee table includes TWD, so whether a Taiwanese card works and which rate applies has to be checked on the order page.
For other exchanges such as Gate, HTX and Pionex, I couldn’t find officially published card fee rates, so they’re not in the table.
How is the bank’s foreign transaction fee calculated?
In Taiwan this charge is usually called a “foreign transaction service fee” or “overseas card fee”. Take E.SUN Bank’s explanation as an example:
- Visa, Mastercard and JCB are all 1.5%, and it applies both to foreign-currency transactions (including online ones) and to “TWD transactions made abroad (including merchants whose acquiring bank is located abroad, or online transactions)”.
- The 1.5% includes the fee the bank pays to the card network and a foreign transaction service fee of 0.5% of the transaction amount charged by E.SUN Bank. Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) splits it the same way: 1% goes to the card network, and the bank’s own surcharge is capped at 0.5%.
- If the merchant converts the charge to TWD at the exchange rate at the time of payment (DCC, dynamic currency conversion), you still pay 1.5%.
- On a refund or cancellation, Visa doesn’t return the foreign transaction fee on the original charge; Mastercard and JCB refund the fee corresponding to the refunded amount.
So even if the exchange’s page quotes prices in TWD, the 1.5% still applies as long as the acquirer is abroad. A failed order doesn’t necessarily cost you nothing, either: Bybit states that when you link a card for verification, a small amount may be pre-authorized; Bybit releases it right away, but some banks take a while to return the remaining amount. Fee rates and refund rules vary from bank to bank, so check your card issuer’s terms.
Can a card crypto purchase count as a cash advance?
It can, depending on the card issuer. OKX’s help article says it outright: when you buy with a credit card, the card issuer may charge extra on top of the order fee, “because some banks consider this payment a cash advance”. Binance’s buy page also states that some banks or payment providers may block or review crypto-related transactions.
If it’s treated as a cash advance, the cost is very different. E.SUN Bank’s published cash advance fee is “cash advance amount × 3.5% + TWD 150”, which comes to TWD 500 on a TWD 10,000 charge, with interest on top; the same notice lists revolving interest rates of 5.88% to 15%, depending on the bank’s rating. Which transactions count as cash advances, and whether they earn card rewards, varies by bank. I couldn’t find any public statement from a Taiwanese bank specifically about buying crypto with a card, so ask your card issuer.
Buying crypto with a card means borrowing money first to buy a highly volatile asset. If you don’t pay the bill in full, revolving interest starts to accrue, and if the coin’s price falls, your bill doesn’t shrink with it. If you later use the USDT for futures, leverage can get your position forcibly liquidated and wipe out your margin.
How much does a TWD 10,000 card purchase of USDT really cost?
Assumptions: a card charge of TWD 10,000, with the exchange’s fee deducted from that TWD 10,000; the bank charges a separate 1.5% foreign transaction fee, or TWD 150. The gap between the quote and the market price isn’t disclosed officially, so it isn’t included; the real cost can only be higher than the table shows.
| Payment method | Exchange fee | Bank 1.5% | Total fees | Total paid | USDT value received (at the quoted price) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bybit, Taiwanese Visa/Mastercard (3.70%) | TWD 370 | TWD 150 | TWD 520 | TWD 10,150 | TWD 9,630 |
| Bybit, Taiwanese JCB (5%) | TWD 500 | TWD 150 | TWD 650 | TWD 10,150 | TWD 9,500 |
| Bybit, Apple Pay (3.20%) | TWD 320 | TWD 150 | TWD 470 | TWD 10,150 | TWD 9,680 |
| BingX, non-EU Visa/Mastercard (3.80%) | TWD 380 | TWD 150 | TWD 530 | TWD 10,150 | TWD 9,620 |
| Classified as a cash advance (using E.SUN’s published rate) | Another TWD 500 (3.5% + TWD 150), plus interest; whether the 1.5% still applies depends on the issuer | About TWD 820 to 1,150, plus interest | — | — | |
Apple Pay also charges the card you’ve linked, so the table assumes the bank charges the same 1.5%; the actual fee depends on the issuer. Total fees land between TWD 470 and 650, or 4.6% to 6.4% of what you actually pay. If the charge is also treated as a cash advance, the cost rises to about 8% to 11%.
Compare another route: deposit the TWD 10,000 by bank transfer to MAX in Taiwan and buy as a taker on the USDT/TWD market. According to MAX’s fee schedule, the VIP 0 taker fee is 0.16%, or TWD 16, and the platform charges no fee for TWD deposits (interbank transfer fees on the bank side depend on your bank). To move the USDT to an offshore exchange, you pay a USDT withdrawal fee as well, which is 0.02 USDT on MAX via BSC-BEP20. BitoPro’s taker fee is 0.2%, or TWD 20 on TWD 10,000. The fees on this route are less than one-twentieth of the card cost; the trade-off is waiting for the bank transfer and the on-chain withdrawal. USDT withdrawal fees by network are compared in USDT withdrawal fees compared.
Card fees vs spot trading fees
Once you have USDT, swapping it for BTC or another coin on the spot market costs a spot trading fee. The table shows spot rates for regular users (VIP 0) and the fee for one taker trade worth TWD 10,000:
| Exchange | Spot maker/taker | Taker fee on TWD 10,000 | Card fee as a multiple of the spot taker fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 0.1%/0.1% | TWD 10 | No fixed card rate stated officially |
| OKX | 0.08%/0.1% | TWD 10 | USD rate of 2.49% is about 25 times (TWD rate not stated officially) |
| Bybit | 0.1%/0.1% | TWD 10 | 3.70% is 37 times; JCB 5% is 50 times |
| Bitget | 0.1%/0.1% | TWD 10 | No published card rate |
| BingX | 0.1%/0.1% | TWD 10 | 3.80% is 38 times |
| MEXC | 0%/0.05% | TWD 5 | 2% is 40 times (TWD not supported) |
Spot fee sources: Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, BingX, MEXC. For the difference between maker and taker, see maker vs taker fees; for how standard fees rank across exchanges, see the lowest-fee crypto exchanges.
In other words, what you pay at the moment of the card purchase roughly equals the fees on 25 to 50 spot taker trades. If you were planning to use the USDT to buy another coin anyway, buying that coin directly by card won’t save you anything either: Bybit, BingX and OKX, the exchanges that publish rates, all charge a percentage of the card amount regardless of which coin you buy.
Do referral code rebates cover card purchases?
No. A referral code rebate means the exchange returns a share of the spot and futures trading fees you pay, so it’s calculated on trading fees (see the rebate glossary for definitions). A card purchase charges a payment service fee, and none of the rebate rules at the exchanges above include it, so card fees like the TWD 370 or TWD 500 above are not refunded.
What rebates do cover is the trading you do after buying USDT. Taking Binance as an example, accounts registered with a referral code currently get a rebate of 20% (updated 2026-10-23) on spot and futures fees; the TWD 10 spot taker fee on a TWD 10,000 trade is refunded at that rate. Effective fees before and after rebates are compiled in exchange fees after referral rebates.
Common reasons card crypto purchases fail
Bybit’s and BingX’s help pages both list reasons for failed payments, and most of them have to be resolved with your card issuer:
| Error message or cause | Official advice |
|---|---|
| Transaction not permitted, Do not honor (declined by the card issuer) | Contact the card issuer, or try again later |
| The card isn’t enabled for international or online transactions, or doesn’t support 3D verification | Bybit and BingX both require cards that can make international and online transactions and support 3D Secure |
| Billing address mismatch | Enter the billing address registered with your card issuer |
| Cardholder name differs from the name on your identity verification | BingX and MEXC both state that only cards in your own name can be used |
| Card type not supported | Bybit and BingX only support Visa and Mastercard (Bybit also takes JCB), and Bybit doesn’t accept corporate cards; MEXC doesn’t accept cards in someone else’s name (including a family member’s) |
| Daily limit exceeded | Ask your card issuer to raise the limit, or try again another day |
| Declined by the card issuer’s risk system (suspected fraud) | Contact the card issuer, or use a different card |
Sources: Bybit failed payment troubleshooting, BingX bank card purchase FAQ, MEXC card purchase guide.
There are limits, too. Bybit allows 10 to 10,000 USD per transaction and up to 20,000 USD per day with standard verification or 50,000 USD with advanced verification; one account can link up to 5 cards (including cards unlinked within the past 180 days), and once a card has been linked to a Bybit account, it can’t be linked to another. BingX allows 10 to 4,000 USD per transaction and up to 15,000 USD per day. MEXC allows up to 5,000 USD per transaction and 10,000 USD per day. For the identity verification process, see Bybit identity verification and BingX identity verification.
How to avoid scams when buying crypto with a card
Exchanges handle card purchases entirely on the “Buy Crypto” page of their official app or website, the card must be in your own name, and the name must match your identity verification. Those two rules point to a few warning signs:
- Someone asks for your card number and verification code to “make the purchase for you”, or asks you to buy USDT by card and send it to them. The legitimate process involves no third party, and the 3D verification code should only ever be entered by you on your bank’s page.
- A “buy crypto with your card” link sent through LINE or social media. If the URL isn’t the exchange’s official domain, don’t enter your card details.
- A platform that asks you to pay a “fee” or “unfreezing deposit” by card before you can withdraw. Common tactics are covered in fake exchange withdrawal scams and types of crypto exchange scams.
If something looks suspicious, you can call Taiwan’s 165 anti-fraud hotline (165 反詐騙專線) to check; if your card has already been used fraudulently, call your card issuer first to block it.
FAQ
What does it cost to buy USDT with a credit card?
Exchanges charge 2% to 5%, plus the bank’s 1.5% foreign transaction fee. Bybit charges 3.70% for Taiwan-issued Visa and Mastercard and 5% for JCB, and BingX charges 3.80%; on a TWD 10,000 charge, including the bank’s TWD 150, you pay roughly TWD 470 to 650.
What is OKX’s credit card fee?
OKX charges by country of residence. The official list is EUR 1.99%, USD 2.49%, SGD 2.49%, AUD 0% and AED 3.00%, with no TWD rate. The rate for users in Taiwan is whatever the order page shows; OKX also states that a card issuer may treat a credit card purchase as a cash advance and charge extra.
What is Bybit’s credit card fee for buying crypto?
Taiwan-issued Visa and Mastercard are 3.70%, JCB issued in Asia is 5%, and Apple Pay is 3.20% (fee table updated 2026-10-13). Taiwan is on Bybit’s supported-region list for Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay, and you need to complete individual identity verification first.
What is Bitget’s credit card fee for buying crypto?
Bitget doesn’t publish a fee table for card purchases; the amount is shown on the order confirmation page. It offers card fee discount coupons that take 1% to 100% off depending on the promotion; you have to select one before confirming the order and can’t apply it afterward.
Does paying in TWD avoid the foreign transaction fee?
No. E.SUN Bank states that TWD transactions whose acquiring bank is abroad, and transactions converted to TWD through DCC, are still charged the 1.5% foreign transaction fee. Exchanges are all overseas merchants, and quoting in TWD doesn’t change that.
Does buying crypto with a card count as a cash advance?
That’s up to the card issuer. OKX states that some banks treat the payment as a cash advance; using E.SUN Bank’s cash advance fee (amount × 3.5% + TWD 150), a TWD 10,000 charge costs another TWD 500, with interest on top. It’s safer to ask your card issuer before you pay.
Will I be charged if the card payment fails?
BingX states that you won’t be charged when a purchase fails. Bybit may pre-authorize a small amount when you link a card for verification; Bybit releases it right away, but some banks take a while to return the money to you. Bybit doesn’t charge a fee on unfilled or canceled orders.
Do card crypto purchases earn rebates?
No. Rebates are calculated on spot and futures trading fees, and card fees fall outside that scope. Only the fees you pay on spot or futures trades after buying USDT earn rebates.
If you plan to trade the USDT you buy, start with each exchange’s fee guide: Binance fees, OKX fees, Bybit fees, Bitget fees and BingX fees. For rebates, the Binance referral code KEVINWU currently gives a rebate of 20% (updated 2026-10-23), the OKX referral code is KEVINWU with a rebate of 20% (updated 2026-10-23), the Bitget referral code is KEVINWU, and the BingX referral code is KEVINWU; for Bybit’s rebate option, see Bybit fee rebates. If you deposit in TWD, the MAX and BitoPro referral code guides are on the Traditional Chinese version of this site. For the cost of recurring crypto purchases, see crypto DCA fees, and for deposit and withdrawal terms, see exchange deposit and withdrawal terms.