First Boulevard review

The monthly fee is $0, so the account costs nothing to keep open. A monthly charge is the cost that builds up quietly every month whatever you spend, so it is worth checking first. Card purchases on the account earn cashback of 15%.

It is a debit card, so spending comes straight out of your bank balance rather than a credit line. The card runs on visa, the network most shops and cash machines already accept. In practice it behaves like an everyday debit card with a cashback reward attached to it.

The reward is cashback of 15% on spending, paid back to the account rather than as points or miles. Cash suits people who use the card most days and do not want to track points. A visa card that returns cash keeps the reward easy to check once a statement lands.

Crypto is the extra feature on the account: crypto. That puts it apart from a plain debit card that only handles everyday money. It also narrows the appeal, because a reader whose spending never touches crypto will find little reason to open the account in the first place.

The company was founded in 2020 and is based in the United States, so the account is run by a US firm with a short trading record. That matters most if you plan to hold a large balance rather than a small spending float, since a young company has less history of looking after customer money.

On the monthly charge the accounts are level: First Boulevard charges $0 and Wise charges £0. The decision then comes down to what you want from an account. First Boulevard pays cashback of 15% and lists crypto as its extra feature.

It suits readers who want a debit card, a monthly fee of $0 and money back rather than points. It fits spending in a single market, because the account comes from a US company and crypto is the only extra feature it lists. A reader who travels often will find a narrower offer here.