Gnosis Pay vs Ready

Both implement genuine self-custody through smart contract wallets.

Gnosis Pay - Safe Smart Account on Gnosis Chain. Visa debit, Monavate issuer (FCA). EURe only (Monerium euro stablecoin). Zero fees across all dimensions: 0% transaction, 0% FX (Visa network rate), 0% gas (subsidized on Gnosis Chain), 0% off-ramping. Five cashback tiers by GNO held (not staked): 0 GNO = 1%, 1+ = 2%, 10+ = 3%, 100+ = 4%, plus OG NFT +1% boost (max 5%). Weekly payouts in GNO. IBAN for SEPA funding. Apple Pay. ENS name on physical card. No ATM access.

Ready - Starknet smart contract wallet with co-signer model. Mastercard debit, formerly Argent. USDC only. Two tiers: Lite (free, 0.5% STRK, 1% FX, $200/month ATM) and Metal (120 USDC/year, 3% STRK, 0% FX, $800/month ATM, 16g metal card). Cashback capped at $150/month STRK ($1,800/year). Google Pay (Apple Pay coming). IBAN for funding.

Gnosis Pay has five tiers to Ready's two. The granularity means Gnosis Pay can match Ready at 3% (10 GNO) and exceed it at 4-5% (100 GNO). Ready's ceiling is firmly at 3% with no higher tier available.

Based on SpendNode's full comparison, the free tier favors Gnosis Pay. At zero commitment, Gnosis Pay earns 1% versus Ready Lite's 0.5% (and Ready Lite adds 1% FX fees, making it -0.5% net on cross-currency spending). Gnosis Pay's free tier is genuinely free with zero fees. Ready Lite's free tier loses money on international transactions.

At the tiers where most users will land (Gnosis 3% / Ready Metal 3%), both cards charge 0% FX. The cost structure differs:

• Gnosis Pay 3% tier: Requires holding 10 GNO. No annual fee, no transaction fee, no gas fee, no FX fee. Cost is the capital tied up in 10 GNO tokens (market-price dependent).
• Ready Metal 3% tier: Requires $120/year USDC. No FX fee. 2% ATM above $800/month free allowance. Cost is the predictable $120 annual fee.

For a user holding 10 GNO with no intention of selling, Gnosis Pay is effectively free. For a user who does not hold GNO and must buy 10 tokens, the opportunity cost depends on GNO's price and performance.

Both offer IBAN for SEPA funding, but with different stablecoins.

Gnosis Pay: Fund with EURe (Monerium euro stablecoin on Gnosis Chain). Euro-denominated. If you receive salary or income in EUR, EURe is a natural fit. No conversion needed for EUR spending. No ATM access.

Ready: Fund with USDC (on Starknet). Dollar-denominated. If you hold USDC from DeFi yields, trading, or USD income, Ready spends it directly. 1 USDC = 1 USD with no conversion fee. ATM access included ($200/month Lite, $800/month Metal).

The stablecoin preference often determines the card choice. Euro-income Europeans who want to spend EUR may prefer Gnosis Pay. Dollar-denominated DeFi users may prefer Ready.

Choosing Ready Lite over Gnosis Pay free tier for European spending. Ready Lite earns 0.5% cashback but charges 1% FX on cross-currency transactions, netting -0.5% on international spending. Gnosis Pay at 0 GNO earns 1% with truly zero fees on all transactions. A European user spending $2,000/month across currencies earns $240/year on Gnosis Pay and loses $120/year on Ready Lite - a $360/year swing between two free cards. How to avoid it: If you are in the EEA/UK and your primary card is the free tier, Gnosis Pay's 1% with zero fees beats Ready Lite's 0.5% with 1% FX on every transaction type. Ready Lite only makes sense if you specifically need USDC funding and ATM access (which Gnosis Pay lacks).

Assuming Gnosis Pay's 3% requires an expensive GNO commitment. The 3% tier requires holding 10 GNO - not staking, not locking. You hold 10 GNO in your wallet and can sell at any time. Depending on GNO's market price, 10 GNO may represent a comparable or lower capital commitment than Ready Metal's $120/year. If GNO's price is $100, the commitment is $1,000 in liquid GNO that you can sell. Ready's $120/year is non-refundable. Over 8 years, Ready costs $960 in non-recoverable fees while the GNO remains in your wallet. How to avoid it: Compare the actual dollar value of 10 GNO versus the cumulative Ready Metal fees over your expected usage period. If 10 GNO costs less than 3-4 years of Ready Metal fees ($360-480), Gnosis Pay is cheaper long-term.

For existing GNO holders in the EEA/UK: Gnosis Pay. Zero fees, 3-5% cashback, Safe Smart Account security, and IBAN. The best value self-custodial card for users who already hold GNO.

For USDC-funded spending with no token commitment: Ready Metal. $120/year for 3%, 0% FX, metal card, ATM access. No ecosystem token required.

For ATM access: Ready. Gnosis Pay does not support ATM withdrawals at all.

For maximum cashback in Europe: Gnosis Pay with 100+ GNO (4%) or 100+ GNO plus OG NFT (5%). No other self-custodial card matches this rate at zero fees.

Outlook: Both cards target the same narrow market (self-custodial European spending) from different ecosystems. If Gnosis Pay adds USDC support or ATM access, it would eliminate Ready's remaining advantages. If Ready increases cashback tiers beyond 3% or adds multi-chain support, it would compete at Gnosis Pay's higher levels. Watch for Gnosis Chain and Starknet ecosystem growth as the macro factor - the winning card long-term may depend on which L2 ecosystem attracts more users and liquidity.