Binance vs Gnosis Pay

Binance serves Brazil only via a Mastercard prepaid partnership. Since discontinuing its EEA Visa card in December 2023, Binance has no European card product.

Gnosis Pay serves the EEA, UK, and Switzerland via Visa. No access in Brazil, LATAM, or any non-European market.

The comparison is relevant for: (1) Former Binance EEA cardholders evaluating replacements, (2) Users with presence in both regions, and (3) Understanding the quality gap between legacy exchange cards and modern self-custodial alternatives.

Both have no annual fee. Gnosis Pay supports Apple Pay. Gnosis Pay launched in late 2023 with MiCA-compliant issuance via Monavate (FCA-authorized EMI).

Binance's 2% headline is eroded by 0.9% conversion and 2% FX fees. Gnosis Pay charges zero fees and scales cashback by GNO holdings.

Even at the base tier with zero GNO commitment, Gnosis Pay earns $360/year versus Binance's $264/year (capped). The gap widens dramatically at higher tiers: Gnosis Pay at 10+ GNO ($1,080/year) earns 4x Binance's capped maximum. At 100+ GNO with OG NFT ($1,800/year), the gap is 7x.

On cross-currency spending, Binance loses money. The 2% cashback cannot offset the combined 2.9% fees (0.9% conversion + 2% FX), creating a -0.9% net loss on every international transaction. Gnosis Pay charges 0% on everything - non-EUR transactions incur only the Visa network rate of 0.2-0.4%.

Binance's 250 BRL/month cap (approximately $45) creates a hard ceiling on domestic spending returns. Above roughly $2,250/month equivalent, additional spending earns nothing while conversion fees continue accumulating. Gnosis Pay has no published cashback caps.

Binance is fully custodial. Your crypto sits on the Binance exchange. Binance controls your funds, can freeze your account, and your balance is at risk in a security or regulatory incident. Binance supports 10 spendable assets (BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, USDT, USDC, DOGE, XRP, SHIB, PEPE) with exchange-level liquidity and instant swaps.

SpendNode tested both cards for custody architecture. Gnosis Pay is fully self-custodial - your spending account is a Safe smart contract wallet on Gnosis Chain (Safe has $100B+ TVL). Every card transaction settles on-chain with cryptographic proof. Even if Gnosis Pay's card infrastructure goes offline, your assets remain in your Safe wallet, accessible through any Safe-compatible interface. The single-asset limitation (EURe only) is offset by the IBAN funding route.

Both cards spend at point of sale, creating taxable disposals. Binance converts crypto to fiat; Gnosis Pay spends EURe. Since EURe is a stablecoin, Gnosis Pay users face minimal capital gains on the disposal itself.

Gnosis Pay offers features no exchange card can replicate:

Personal IBAN: European users receive a personal IBAN connected directly to their on-chain Safe wallet. Salary payments, freelance invoices, and SEPA bank transfers deposit directly into the self-custodial spending account. This makes Gnosis Pay function as a self-custodial bank account.

Programmable spending: The Safe smart account enables custom spending rules, multi-sig approvals, automated savings, and recovery mechanisms enforced by smart contract logic. A DAO could issue Gnosis Pay cards with spending limits controlled on-chain. A freelancer could automate tax withholding. No custodial card supports this level of programmability.

On-chain transparency: Every transaction creates a verifiable on-chain receipt on Gnosis Chain. Auditable, exportable, and integrable into accounting systems.

ENS name personalization: Your ENS name printed on the physical card.

Zero gas fees: Gnosis Chain gas is subsidized. No additional cost for on-chain settlement.

Binance's advantage is multi-asset support (10 tokens versus EURe only) and the Flexible Earn yield product (6.05% APR on idle USDT). For users with diverse crypto portfolios who want to spend various tokens directly, Binance eliminates conversion steps that Gnosis Pay requires.

Former Binance EEA cardholders waiting for Binance to relaunch a European card instead of switching to Gnosis Pay. Binance discontinued its EEA Visa card in December 2023. Over 14 months later, there is no announced relaunch date. A user who waited since January 2024 instead of switching to Gnosis Pay at 1% base tier has foregone $420+ in cashback (14 months x $30/month on $3,000/month). At the 10+ GNO tier, the foregone cashback exceeds $1,260. How to avoid it: Do not wait for an unannounced product. Gnosis Pay is available now with superior economics, self-custody, and IBAN banking. If Binance relaunches a European card, you can always switch back.

Brazilian users spending cross-currency on Binance without recognizing the -0.9% net loss. Every international transaction on Binance costs more in fees (2.9% total) than it earns in cashback (2%). A Brazilian traveler spending $1,500/month internationally loses $162/year. Switching to domestic BRL spending only earns $264/year (capped). How to avoid it: Restrict Binance card usage to domestic BRL purchases only. For international spending from Brazil, consider RedotPay (0% FX, global) or MetaMask (1% cashback, 0% fees, 50+ countries) as alternatives.

For European users: Gnosis Pay at any tier. Even the base 1% with zero fees exceeds Binance's capped domestic return. The IBAN, self-custody, and on-chain settlement are features Binance never offered in Europe.

For Brazilian domestic spenders: Binance at 2% BNB cashback (capped at 250 BRL/month) provides straightforward rewards on BRL purchases. Avoid cross-currency spending.

For Brazilian users wanting self-custody: Neither card serves this need in Brazil. Consider MetaMask (1%, 0% fees, self-custodial, 50+ countries) or ether.fi (3%, self-custodial, global).

Outlook: Gnosis Pay's zero-fee, self-custodial model with IBAN banking represents the future of crypto spending in Europe. Binance's Brazil-only card with capped cashback and 2.9% cross-currency fees is a legacy product. If Binance relaunches a global card (as rumored), it would need to match the zero-fee, self-custodial standard that Gnosis Pay, MetaMask, and ether.fi have established. Watch for Gnosis Pay's potential expansion beyond EEA/UK/Switzerland and Binance's global card relaunch timeline.