2/10/2023 Update: Statement on StormX on switching banking partner:
“Our partner bank has decided to exit all crypto related programs which means we are in the process of transitioning the StormX Prepaid Card off of Metropolitan Commercial Bank. This will require closing the accounts (Date TBD) while we source and onboard a new partner bank StormX and our partners have been on a proactive search for a new sponsor bank prior to this announcement and have had several productive meetings but at this time do not have a timeline for when we will be back in the market.”
1/4/2023 Update: I stopped adding content to this because it seemed like the card was never coming out but turns out I was off the waitlist and was able to get in. I was off the waitlist on an account that I possibly created 1-2 months ago so if you are interested, give it a try.
3/3/2022 Update: Added a “standard vs premium” section that helps understand cashback rates on amazon as well as everyday spending. I still think that a Gold membership might be a possible sweet spot (granted there is a sweet spot). I don’t think anything under Gold is worthwhile and anything above Gold is too expensive!
Six months ago I briefly talked about StormX (STMX) debit card in crypto cards post where I talked about various crypto cards. But now that they are close to launching it is worth revisiting the details of the STMX card.
Please consider supporting the blog by using the referral link below. Referrer earns 10% of shopping and staking rewards of referred user.
https://link.stormx.io/r/4SNZ04N1/HsjSvFoZjwb
Cashback Portal
StormX, at its core, is a cashback portal. They have a chrome extension as well as a Edge add-on. They also have an StormX iOS app and StormX android app.
As of 11/13/2021, the top 20 stores under their “most popular” category and their respective crypto-cashback rate is as follows:
- Ebay (up to 16%)
- AliExpress (up to 6.3%)
- Sam’s Club (up to 2%)
- Macy’s (up to 3%)
- Adidas (up to 2%)
- Hotels.com (up to 4%)
- Gamestop (up to 5%)
- Nike (up to 3%)
- Kroger (up to 2%)
- Advance Auto Parts (up to 4%)
- Microsoft (up to 7%)
- Groupon (up to 10%)
- NordVPN (up to 25%)
- Wine.com (up to 5%)
- Lego (up to 3%)
- LEGO (up to 3%)
- Staples (up to 1%)
- ShoeMall (up to 10%)
- Hanes (up to 4%)
- Onnit (up to 15%)
STMX also displays the leaderboard which is fairly telling of how much people use their cashback portal:
If you hold their highest tiered “membership levels” (see next section) then you can earn a 3.5x boost. For example, a cardholder with the highest membership level will earn 35% (as opposed to 10%) crypto back on Groupon.
Membership Levels
StormX card, like CDC, CoinZoom, and Blockcard, is a tiered card where the amount of cashback you earn depends on the amount of the native token, here STMX, you hold. StormX card has had following 6 tiers:
| Membership Level | STMX Required | Bonus Reward | Reward Reduction Time |
| Purple | 1x | ||
| Bronze | 3,000 | 1.25x | |
| Silver | 31,000 | 1.5x | |
| Gold | 310,000 | 2x | 25% |
| Platinum | 31,00,000 | 2.5x | 50% |
| Diamond | 6,200,000 | 3.5x | 75% |
As of writing this article, we do not have a complete picture of what base earnings on STMX card looks like. However, we know how much of a boost each “membership level” (see table below) provides to the cashback you earn. For example, the gold membership level (which requires holding 310k STMX) will provide a boost of 2x and reduce reward posting time by 25%.
Standard vs Premium Membership
StormX now classifies purple, bronze, and silver as “standard” and will issue plastic card whereas the higher membership levels, namely Gold, Platinum, and Diamond is classified as “premium” and will be issued the metal card. The key takeaways are as follows:
- partner cashback bonus – up to 15% for both standard and premium
- in-person cashback bonus
- standard: up to 2%
- premium: up to 5%
- amazon cashback bonus ($250 limit)
- standard: up to 5%
- premium: up to 8%
I suspect gold, platinum, and diamond memberships will land you 6%, 7%, and 8% on amazon, respectively. Further, I suspect gold, platinum, and diamond memberships will respectively land you 3%, 4%, and 5% on everyday spending.
Up to 8% Crypto Cashback on Amazon
On December 1, 2021, StormX Roadmap for Q4 2021- Q1 2022 was released which mentioned: “Up to 8% Crypto Cashback on Amazon”. The following day another blogpost was made but it failed to say anything new.
Based on some information I have gathered (through alpha testing video, Reddit, etc), it seems Silver membership gives you 5 or 6% on Amazon. It is safe to say that the cashback on Amazon will increase with each membership level with Diamond (or maybe even Platinum) members earning 8% crypto cashback on Amazon.
Up to 5% Crypto Cashback on Everyday Purchases
This information also comes from the above-linked roadmap blog post but no information about what membership level gets which level of cashback is disclosed yet. Obviously, it is safe to assume that the highest tier gets up to 5%.
It is possible that the highest membership level gets you 5% but time will tell.
Where to buy STMX?
You can buy STMX on Voyager which is a publicly traded (on Canadian Stock Exchange) crypto exchange. You can read more about Voyager in this and this blog post of mine.
Alternatively, you can also buy STMX on BitMart.
BitMart: add referral code ce4mnT when you register
https://www.bitmart.com/register/en
There are several other exchanges where you can find STMX, including Kucoin, and can find the list of exchanges with STMX here.
10% APY on STMX
You can get 10% interest on STMX for holding it. The STMX app is fairly transparent about how much STMX is locked in.
Up to $1000 Referral
StormX advertises up to $1000 in referral bonus but good luck getting that. The referrer (in this case me) does not get a referral bonus unless they are at least Gold in membership level (I am not) and the referred does not get a signup bonus unless they commit to at least God membership level.
| $40 | ||
| $450 | ||
You can read more about referrals in their official page.
Fees
The current fees are as follows:
ZERO ATM fees (credited)ZERO PIN Transaction fees ($1)ZERO Monthly fees (credited)
2% foreign transaction fees (FTF)
Based on an alpha testing video, it seems the STMX team is looking to reduce if not do away the FTF.
StormX Checking Account
The StormX Roadmap for Q4 2021- Q1 2022 promises the following about the StormX checking account:
- ability to deposit cash onto the StormX debit card via an ACH transfer from another checking account
- StormX checking accounts will include all of the features you’ve come to expect from traditional banking accounts, including an ABA routing number, account number, and easy integration with other banking providers.
- Users will be able to take portions of their paycheck and directly deposit them into their StormX debit card accounts for immediate spending and rewards!
Balance is Held as STMX
The StormX debit card, like Blockcard, holds the balance in terms of its native token. This shouldn’t be a surprise as folks behind Blockcard, i.e. Unbaked/Ternio, are the white-label partner working to get this card going.
So, the problem STMX card will face will be similar to that of Blockcard as the balance on your account fluctuates based on the price of the token. For example, if you put $1,000 into your card, it may be $900 by the time you swipe the card because STMX fell in price by 10%. On the other hand, $1,000 could turn into $1,100 because STMX rose in price by 10%
Brief Comparison with Traditional Cashback Portal
There are quite a few strong existing cashback portals with the most notable one being Rakuten (formerly Ebates). Rakuten offers an excellent credit card that offers 3% cashback when making a purchase through their own portal. Regular readers of this blog will likely know that you may be able to transfer points earned on Rakuten 1:1 to the Membership Rewards program of American Express. The membership rewards program has roughly 20 transfer partners (airlines and hotels) so for frequent flyers, it is almost difficult to consider a different cashback portal. However, it is worth mentioning that airlines and hotels also have their own portal that offers various cashback rates. In fact, there is a whole website, called cashback monitor, that compares cashback portals (eg Top cashback, Rebates Me, BeFrugal, etc) for whatever store you are about to shop at.
Closing Thoughts
Is StormX the greatest portal ever made? Nope. Is it facing very tough competition from traditional cashback portals? Yes, especially among the crowd that knows to use cashback monitor (read: this blog’s audience) before picking a portal to shop through. But can the StormX token appreciate in value and thus yield you much higher cashback? Yes, the StormX token could go up but then it could also go down thus netting you even worse cashback. Nobody knows for sure.
Now, how the actual card plays out and what rates it gives will be interesting to see. Personally, I don’t think 5% cashback on Amazon is anything interesting when there are multiple credit cards that provide 5% and we all know credit cards come with additional security and benefits. Having said that, I think silver/gold membership could be a good entry point for speculation purposes.
