Good
- Free to issue, ship and keep, with no monthly fee
- 2% to 21% cashback on purchases paid entirely in crypto
- Virtual card ready instantly, physical card free
- Spends pesos or crypto in an order you choose
Watch out
- Only for people with an Argentine DNI or passport
- Cashback is capped at ARS 20,000 a month
- ATM withdrawals cost 3% and only work in Argentina
- Foreign purchases carry Argentine taxes and a 0.30 USDT minimum fee
Belo Mastercard is a free prepaid card from the Argentine wallet belo that lets you pay with pesos, USDT or other crypto from your belo balance. It costs nothing to issue or keep, and purchases paid fully in crypto earn a random 2% to 21% back, up to ARS 20,000 a month. Only Argentine residents can get it.
The card is a local peso card issued by Paxsys and run inside the belo app, where you set the order in which your balances are spent. Belo also offers a separate dollar card called belo LUX for international spending, with its own fees, and this review covers only the peso Mastercard.
Belo Mastercard cashback
Belo Mastercard pays cashback of between 2% and 21% on every purchase paid entirely with crypto, with the rate for each purchase chosen at random.
The guaranteed floor is 2%, so that is the rate you should plan around. The cap is ARS 20,000 of cashback a month, which at 2% is reached after ARS 1,000,000 of spending. Higher random draws use up the cap faster, so heavy spenders will hit it before the end of the month either way.
The rules are strict about what counts. A purchase paid even partly in pesos earns nothing, so a payment covered by 99 USDT and one peso is excluded. Payments through payment aggregators, digital products, loan and bill payments and restricted merchants are also excluded, and only the first 21 purchases a day qualify. Rewards arrive in crypto within 72 business hours, in a random coin unless you pick one.
Belo Mastercard fees
Belo Mastercard has no issuance, shipping or maintenance fee, and the virtual card can be created from the app at no cost.
The charges that remain are small and specific. International transactions carry a minimum cost of 0.30 USDT, or 0.40 USDT at selected merchants such as digital goods and gaming platforms, and a replacement physical card costs 2.50 USDT. Belo doesn't list a conversion fee for card payments funded with crypto, so the cost of selling USDT at checkout sits in the exchange rate belo quotes.
Paying abroad works like any Argentine card. Purchases are settled in pesos at the official dollar rate, and the taxes Argentina applies to foreign-currency purchases are added on top.
Belo Mastercard ATM withdrawal fees
Belo Mastercard charges 3% on every ATM withdrawal, with a minimum of 0.50 USDT, and works only at ATMs in Argentina.
The card uses the Link and Banelco networks, where most machines cap a single day's withdrawal at ARS 60,000. On ARS 60,000 the belo fee is ARS 1,800, and whichever balance comes first in your payment order is converted to pesos at the moment of withdrawal. Withdrawals outside Argentina aren't supported, so travellers need another way to get cash.
Is Belo Mastercard safe?
Belo Mastercard is custodial: the pesos and crypto you spend sit in your belo account, and belo controls them until you pay or withdraw.
The card is issued by Paxsys, and the wallet is run by Gralcey S.A. Belo Argentina S.A. is registered with the Argentine securities regulator, the CNV, as a virtual asset service provider under number 52, a registration that covers anti-money-laundering supervision rather than a full licence. Security features are standard for a prepaid card: a separate PIN for ATMs, reporting a lost card from the app, and spending limits that need documents to raise.
Who should get Belo Mastercard
Belo Mastercard suits Argentines who already keep savings in USDT on belo and want to spend them directly at shops, both in Argentina and abroad.
The 2% minimum cashback on crypto-funded purchases is a good return for a card with no fees to issue or hold, as long as you keep the pesos out of each payment. Default spending limits are 5,000 USDT a month and 50,000 USDT a year across all your belo cards, which covers most household budgets.
If you live outside Argentina, the card isn't an option, and the comparison below shows the cards available where you live.
Where Belo Mastercard is available
Belo Mastercard is available only in Argentina, to belo users who registered with an Argentine DNI or passport and have a delivery address in the country.