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<h3 id="b-a-closer-look-at-paybis-data-on-payment-preferences-b">A closer look at Paybis data on payment preferences</h3>For all the talk about frictionless payments and mobile wallets, most people buying cryptocurrency in 2025 are still doing it the old-fashioned way. They’re using bank cards. New data from Paybis, drawn from a survey of more than 900 users across the US, Canada and Europe, shows a pattern that feels almost counterintuitive at first glance. Apple Pay and Google Pay are everywhere in everyday spending. Yet when it comes to buying crypto, they remain a minority choice. The numbers are not subtle. Across all platforms, 47.61% of users buy crypto with a bank card. That is not a slim lead. It is a clear, dominant position. By comparison, bank transfers account for 13.93%, <a href="https://financefeeds.com/paypal-applies-for-us-industrial-banking-charter-to-expand-lending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">PayPal</a> 9.15%, Revolut 8.94%, and Apple Pay just 6.44%. Google Pay sits even lower at 4.57%. Combined, Apple Pay and Google Pay make up 11.01% of crypto purchases. <img src="https://financefeeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Why-Bank-Cards-Still-Dominate-Crypto-Purchases-in-2025.png" alt="Why Bank Cards Still Dominate Crypto Purchases in 2025" width="1920" height="1080"> So the question is not “why aren’t mobile wallets winning?” It’s “why do bank cards still feel safer?”
<h3 id="b-crypto-is-still-treated-like-finance-not-shopping-b">Crypto is still treated like finance, not shopping</h3>In normal life, people love convenience. They tap their phone, scan their face, and move on. Apple Pay and Google Pay work because the transaction feels trivial. A coffee. A taxi. A subscription renewal. Buying crypto does not feel trivial. Even in 2025, for a large portion of users, purchasing cryptocurrency still feels closer to making an investment than making a purchase. That mental framing matters. When people feel they are entering a financial position—especially one they might not fully understand—they tend to slow down. They look for processes they already trust. Bank cards fit that instinct almost perfectly. Most users know how card payments work. They understand authorisations, declines, refunds, even chargebacks at a basic level. They’ve used cards for years. When something goes wrong, they know where to complain and roughly what to expect. Mobile wallets, despite being convenient, add a layer of abstraction. If a crypto purchase fails through Apple Pay, where exactly did it fail? At the wallet? The exchange? The bank? That ambiguity alone is enough to push many users back to cards.
<h3 id="b-convenience-matters-just-not-in-the-way-fintech-expects-b">Convenience matters—just not in the way fintech expects</h3>On paper, Apple Pay should be ideal. It’s fast. It’s secure. It removes friction. Yet Paybis’ data shows that convenience alone does not drive crypto onboarding. What users seem to prioritise instead is procedural certainty. Bank cards offer instant execution without introducing unfamiliar flows. The checkout process looks the same as it does elsewhere. Even if it takes a few extra seconds, those seconds buy reassurance. There’s also the practical reality that wallet-based payments are still unevenly supported across exchanges and regions. Limits can be lower. Transactions can be blocked. Compliance checks can be opaque. None of that inspires confidence when the asset being purchased already carries perceived risk. So users default to what they know works.
<h3 id="b-an-interesting-shift-crypto-cards-are-gaining-ground-b">An interesting shift: crypto cards are gaining ground</h3>While mobile wallets struggle to gain traction on the buy side, another category is quietly growing: crypto-linked payment cards. According to the same <a href="https://financefeeds.com/crypto-on-ramps-go-mainstream-how-paybis-is-leading-the-institutional-shift/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Paybis</a> research, 28% of users already use crypto-linked cards regularly. This matters, because it tells a different story. Users may prefer bank cards to enter crypto, but many are actively experimenting with ways to use crypto once they have it. Crypto cards let people spend digital assets through familiar card infrastructure. From the outside, the transaction looks normal. Under the hood, it’s not. That combination seems to work. Crypto-linked cards don’t ask users to learn new payment behaviour. They don’t require ideological commitment to “decentralised finance”. They simply allow crypto to behave like money in everyday contexts. For many users, that’s enough.
<h3 id="b-two-patterns-emerge-from-the-data-b">Two patterns emerge from the data</h3>When you step back, the Paybis numbers point to two clear behavioural patterns. First, onboarding remains conservative. Users want reliability, speed, and familiarity when converting fiat into crypto. Bank cards deliver that better than any alternative right now. Second, usage is becoming more experimental. Once users hold crypto, they are more willing to explore hybrid tools like crypto cards, especially when those tools integrate seamlessly into existing payment networks. This is not a contradiction. It’s a sequence. People enter the market cautiously. They experiment later.
<h3 id="b-what-exchanges-often-get-wrong-b">What exchanges often get wrong</h3>There’s a persistent belief in fintech that newer payment methods automatically replace older ones. The Paybis data suggests the opposite. At least in crypto, trust is built through repetition, not novelty. As <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-reza-afshar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Paul Afshar</a>, Chief Marketing Officer at <a href="https://paybis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Paybis</a>, puts it: “Crypto buyers are not financial whiz kids, but ordinary people looking for safe investments and transactions. Our findings reflect a deep desire for familiarity and simplicity in the buying process with traditional payment methods.” That observation cuts against a lot of industry messaging. It implies that improving onboarding isn’t about adding more payment logos. It’s about making existing methods work predictably, transparently, and within clear regulatory boundaries. Afshar also points to what comes next: “The next step for the industry is to improve reliability, transparency, and regulatory clarity so that crypto cards can reach their full potential.” In other words, adoption will not be driven by novelty features. It will be driven by infrastructure that feels boring—and that’s a compliment.
<h3 id="b-what-this-says-about-crypto-adoption-in-2025-b">What this says about crypto adoption in 2025</h3>The takeaway from this research is not that crypto is failing to modernise. It’s that users are modernising on their own terms. Bank cards remain dominant because they are familiar and reliable. Mobile wallets lag because they introduce uncertainty at the wrong moment. Crypto-linked cards are growing because they blend innovation with habits people already have. For exchanges, payment providers, and policymakers, the message is clear: If you want broader adoption, don’t fight familiarity. Build on it.

Why Bank Cards Still Dominate Crypto Purchases in 2025

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