COCA vs Starling Bank
Two virtual cards people weigh up side by side. We put COCA and Starling Bank on the same rows so the difference is easy to see.
COCA issues on Visa and Starling Bank on Mastercard; both ask for ID + proof; only COCA takes crypto top-ups.
COCA is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee. Starling Bank is the better fit for power users who need bank-transfer funding and ad spend.
What sets them apart
| Field | COCA | Starling Bank |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa | Mastercard |
| Card type | Crypto Card | Digital Bank / Neobank |
| KYC | ID + proof | ID + proof |
| Card issuance fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly fee | Free | Free |
| Top-up fee | — | — |
| FX fee | 0% | 0% (no foreign transaction fee) |
| Crypto funding | Yes | No |
| AI tool support | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney |
| Risk level | Medium | Low-Medium |
| Our rating | 8.9 | 9.1 |
| User reviews | 341 | 437 |
| Best for | All-rounder · AI subscriptions | All-rounder · Ad spend |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
Two cards, one decision
- Starling Bank covers a wider spread of use cases; COCA is more of a single-purpose tool.
- Only COCA takes crypto top-ups in our data — worth knowing before you decide.
- Starling Bank carries the lower risk flag in our file, which some users prefer for a primary card.
The short version of the matchup
Both cards clear the same checkouts in our tests, so the call comes down to cost. COCA is cheaper on issuance (free) and top-ups (no top-up fee), while Starling Bank is worth the premium only for bank-transfer funding and ad-platform billing.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. COCA scores 8.9/10 against Starling Bank's 9.1/10 in our tests, but the two split on fees, KYC and crypto funding. Read the table above, then match it to the checkouts you actually run.
COCA is the cheaper card to run. Both COCA and Starling Bank issue virtual cards for free.
COCA asks for ID + proof at signup; Starling Bank asks for ID + proof. If a light sign-up is the priority, the one with the lower KYC label is the faster route.
Both show up in 29 of the same test scenarios, including Anthropic API, Udio AI, Perplexity AI. They overlap on a good share of checkouts, so the choice between them matters most on those pages. Where one is accepted and the other is not usually comes down to the billing country and 3-D Secure handling.
Where both show up
COCA and Starling Bank both landed in our top picks for 29 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
📺 Streaming & Entertainment 8
🤖 AI Tools & Developer Tools 6
🧳 Travel & Productivity 5
🛍️ Cross-border Shopping 4
🎮 Gaming 4
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇳🇱 Netherlands · 🇬🇧 UK — the country guides group every range we track from there.
What our charge log shows
Every count here is a real charge attempt we placed on that range, renewals included, with the gateway response recorded. Weeks tracked is how long the range has been in the programme: