Is Bitsa a bank? What it is and how it really works.
Some people find Bitsa by searching for “Bitsa bank”. And it makes sense: the card appears on your phone, it has an associated IBAN, and it works anywhere Visa is accepted. It may look like a bank. But it is not, and that difference explains a lot about how it works and what it is really for.
What is Bitsa?
Bitsa is a prepaid Visa card designed for everyday payments. You can use it to pay in physical stores, shop online and withdraw cash from ATMs, just like any other Visa card.
It is available in more than 18 countries across the European Economic Area and is managed from a mobile app.
You have several ways to top it up. You can use cryptocurrencies, a bank transfer or another card. You can also buy a physical voucher in stores such as Carrefour, Fnac or tobacconists, and redeem it from the app by scanning the code. You do not need to have a current account with any bank to use it.
Is Bitsa a bank?
No. Bitsa is not a bank.
It does not offer current accounts, provide loans or pay interest on your balance. The card is issued by Pecunia Cards E.D.E. S.L., an Electronic Money Institution recognised and supervised by the Bank of Spain. An electronic money institution is not a bank: its role is to safeguard funds and enable payments, not to offer financial products such as loans or deposits.
Your Bitsa card balance works completely independently from your usual bank. The transactions you make with it do not appear on your bank account statement.
Bitsa does have an IBAN associated with each account, but there is one important detail: the holder of that IBAN is Pecunia Cards, not you. That IBAN is used exclusively to make bank transfer top-ups easier. The funds sent to it are deposited directly onto your card.
Is Bitsa a cryptocurrency exchange?
No. Bitsa is not a cryptocurrency exchange.
When you top up the card with crypto, the conversion into euros is carried out through Bitnovo. What reaches your card is a euro balance, ready to spend. Bitsa manages that spending in euros. It does not store crypto or let you buy and sell it directly in the app like an exchange would.
So, what exactly is Bitsa?
A prepaid Visa card connected to a spending management app.
You can top it up with crypto, convert it into euros and pay with it anywhere Visa is accepted, both in physical stores and online. But the app does more than show your balance: you can create additional virtual cards to separate expenses by category or isolate subscriptions, with each card having its own balance and transaction history. You also have an analytics section where you can see what you are spending on, how much and when, without having to check every transaction one by one.
One of its features is Saving: you can schedule recurring crypto purchases by choosing the cryptocurrency, the amount from €6 and the frequency, whether daily, weekly, monthly or yearly.
To open it, you do not need a credit history or to link it to any bank account. The only requirement is identity verification, as required by European regulations for any payment instrument.
How Bitsa works
Once you understand what Bitsa is, how it actually works is pretty straightforward. There are four steps, and only the first one takes a bit of time.
- Download the app and create your account. The process includes identity verification (KYC).
- Top up your card using your preferred method: cryptocurrencies, physical voucher, bank transfer or card.
- Use your Bitsa card anywhere Visa is accepted, in physical stores or online, or pay from your phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Control your spending from the app: transactions, cards, balance and settings, all in one place.
Who is Bitsa for?
For people who have crypto and want to spend it in euros without that movement going through their main bank account. Also for anyone who prefers to keep part of their finances separate, with its own balance and limits. It is especially useful for freelancers and digital nomads operating in Europe who need a card that works independently from any specific bank. And for anyone who wants to control what they spend without relying on their main account to do it.
Download Bitsa and start using it today.