Stress Test of the New Trustee Plus Card

Crypto is no longer just about holding forever — it's about buying coffee at Żabka or a burger at McDonald's with crypto. Almost three years ago, we published our first review of Trustee, back when it was still pretty much a niche thing for crypto enthusiasts. 

Today we're breaking down the updated card: we tested the onboarding, payment stability online and offline, fees, and the fine print. 

Onboarding and Card Issuance

Trustee is one of the most popular solutions in the "crypto as fiat" payment niche. Over the past few years, however, the company has faced numerous attempts to disrupt its operations and was forced to rebuild its infrastructure to ensure stable performance.

We couldn't ignore the announcement of a new card in Trustee issued by UK-based bank Wirex, so we decided to test it. Just like before, the card lets you pay with crypto — both online and offline — with auto-conversion of USDC or USDT → fiat.

To issue the card, you need to:

1. Download and install the Trustee Plus app.
2. Register using your mobile phone number.
3. Go to wallet settings and complete account verification: document scan, selfie, and proof of address upload.
4. Top up your balance with USDC. Card issuance costs $10.
5. Add the new card to your Apple Pay or Google Pay wallet.

If you already had a card previously, you'll need to go through verification again. During our test, we submitted a bank statement as proof of address — the profile was approved within 2 minutes, and we were able to issue the card right away.

We've seen criticism in social media and Telegram chats about the repeated KYC, but the new card has a different issuer. The identification requirements are set by a different financial institution — this is standard practice. 

Deposits to the card are not instant — it takes approximately 3–5 minutes. A fee of $0.25 was charged on a $50 USDC deposit. 

Terms and limits:

• Base card currency: USD.
• Card validity: 3 years.
• Top-up fee: 0.5%.
• Single payment limit: 5,000 USDC.
• Monthly limit: 30,000 USDC.
• Deposit limit: up to 3,000 USDC per transaction.
• Maximum card balance: 50,000 USDC.

Payment Tests

The Trustee card is positioned as a convenient solution for everyday spending — both online and offline. There are plenty of products on the fintech market, but Trustee is typically the go-to recommendation for daily payments in the affiliate niche. 

First, we tested running ads on TikTok Ads. We created a campaign, added the Trustee card, and topped up the account without any issues. 

The transaction was confirmed via 3DS, which ensures a high level of protection against unauthorized charges.

You can view a receipt in the app, though the conversion rate is missing — only the amounts in fiat and crypto are shown. That said, it's great that the receipt is available immediately rather than 1–2 days later, as is the case with some other apps. 

Next, we decided to stress-test the card in offline conditions. We made payments at McDonald's, Żabka, restaurants, and ordered sushi. In every case, payments went through perfectly. 

We also paid for hosting and a Claude subscription. Again, no issues whatsoever — payments went through on the first attempt, with no declines or additional confirmations required from the providers.

For the most detail-oriented readers, we also compared conversion and exchange rate losses. For 16.63 PLN, 4.55 USDC was charged. On P2P, 1 USDC fetches 3.68–3.70 PLN. The total loss came to approximately 1.3% — an expected spread for the speed, simplicity, and absence of risks associated with P2P deals. And in some cases, the rate at Trustee is actually better.

Overall, the card proved to be a versatile payment tool: it performs equally well for everyday offline spending and across any online platform. 

We'd also like to highlight Trustee's excellent referral program. It's a classic revshare tied to in-app exchange commissions. The mechanics are straightforward: a user signs up → the partner receives a share of commissions from every swap. The service's base commission is 0.5%, of which the partner can receive up to 45%. 

For example, say you brought media buyer Valeriy to Trustee. He topped up his card with 1,000 USDT — the platform earned $5 on that transaction, and you received $1.25. The real magic lies in working your contacts list the right way. If most of your contacts are already using crypto but haven't tried Trustee yet, there's real money to be made. Here's a screenshot one media buyer we know shared with us…

You can create an unlimited number of referral links and use them across different traffic sources — TikTok, Telegram, SEO. 

The most interesting mechanic is the invite-via-transfer feature. If you send crypto to a phone number belonging to someone who doesn't have the app yet, once they install it they receive the funds to their balance and are automatically registered in the system as your referral. 

A new physical card will be available to order in-app in the near future. Delivery will most likely be limited to EU countries only. 

Trustee Plus is a practical tool for everyday spending — not just another crypto card. Transparent terms, no hidden fees, and reliable performance make Trustee a genuinely convenient solution for users with any kind of needs.