Genome vs Tangem Pay
Two virtual cards people weigh up side by side. We put Genome and Tangem Pay on the same rows so the difference is easy to see.
Both issue on Visa; both ask for ID + proof; only Tangem Pay takes crypto top-ups.
Tangem Pay is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee, 0% foreign transaction fees, no top-up fee. Genome is the better fit for power users who need bank-transfer funding and ad spend.
The two, compared
| Field | Genome | Tangem Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa | Visa |
| Card type | Digital Bank / Neobank | Crypto Card |
| KYC | ID + proof | ID + proof |
| Card issuance fee | Virtual card 1 EUR (first 10); 10 EUR from 11th | Free |
| Monthly fee | Free EUR (card monthly fee); non-EEA personal account 20 EUR/mo or 200 EUR/yr | Free |
| Top-up fee | Non-Genome card top-up 3% (externally initiated 1%) | — |
| FX fee | Non-card currency transactions 2%; EUR/USD/GBP conversion 1% | — |
| Crypto funding | No | Yes |
| AI tool support | ChatGPT | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney |
| Risk level | Medium | Medium |
| Our rating | 9.3 | 8.1 |
| User reviews | 159 | 146 |
| Best for | Ad spend · AI subscriptions | All-rounder · AI subscriptions |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
Two cards, one decision
- Tangem Pay costs less to keep open, so it is the one to reach for if you are watching your budget.
- Multi-task users get more from Tangem Pay — it clears more of the checkouts we run through our test suite.
- Only Tangem Pay takes crypto top-ups in our data — worth knowing before you decide.
- In our scoring, Genome finished ahead of Tangem Pay — not by a mile, but enough to tilt a tiebreak.
Where they split
Both cards clear the same checkouts in our tests, so the call comes down to cost. Tangem Pay is cheaper on issuance (free) and top-ups (no top-up fee), while Genome is worth the premium only for bank-transfer funding and ad-platform billing.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. Genome scores 9.3/10 against Tangem Pay's 8.1/10 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.
Tangem Pay works out cheaper: no virtual card issuance fee, free account maintenance, 0% foreign transaction fee, no top-up fee. Genome adds about $1.09 per virtual card, a 2% FX fee, a 3% top-up fee.
Genome asks for ID + proof at signup; Tangem Pay 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 2 of the same test scenarios, including ChatGPT Plus, Temu. 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
Genome and Tangem Pay both landed in our top picks for 2 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
🤖 AI Tools & Developer Tools 1
🛍️ Cross-border Shopping 1
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇦🇺 Australia · 🇸🇬 Singapore — 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: