HyperPayComparison
HyperPay vs. Bitrefill
Bitrefill started as gift cards and phone top-ups. HyperPay is a wallet first — hold, grow, and spend, all in one app.
The wallet is downloaded from our official download page — installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Published · Updated · Reviewed by the HyperPay editorial team
A Full Wallet vs. a Gift-Card Shop With a Card
HyperPay and Bitrefill both let holders spend cryptocurrency in everyday transactions, but they are built for different purposes. Bitrefill is primarily a gift-card and mobile top-up service that added a card later, while HyperPay is a full cryptocurrency wallet combining custodial and self-custody storage on mainstream public blockchains with staking, collateralized loans and the HyperCard prepaid spending card. HyperPay has operated since 2017.
| HyperPay | Bitrefill | |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet (custodial + self-custody) | Yes, both modes | No — not a wallet-first product |
| Prepaid spending card | Yes — HyperCard | Yes, added later to core gift-card business |
| Staking / collateralized loans | Yes, built in | No |
| Gift cards / phone top-ups | No | Yes — core product |
| Lightning Network support | No | Yes, deep integration |
| Track record | Operating since 2017; no publicly reported major incident | Since 2015; breached March 1, 2026 — 18,500 records exposed [needs legal review before referencing directly in marketing copy] |
A storefront versus a wallet
Bitrefill's original product is a shop. You arrive with cryptocurrency, you buy a gift card or a mobile top-up, and you spend that voucher wherever it is accepted. It is a genuinely useful model, it has worked since 2015, and for Lightning Network users it is one of the smoothest ways to convert bitcoin into everyday value.
HyperPay is a wallet first. Crypto lives in the account — custodially or in self-custody — and HyperCard turns part of that balance into spendable money at the point you want to pay, at any merchant that accepts standard card payments rather than only at brands that issue gift cards.
That difference determines the shape of the experience. With a voucher model you decide in advance which merchant you are paying and buy a fixed denomination. With a card balance you decide at the till, and unspent value stays in your account instead of being locked to a brand.
Where Bitrefill wins
Bitrefill's Lightning Network integration is deep and mature. If you hold bitcoin and want to spend it with minimal on-chain fees and near-instant settlement, Bitrefill's flow is hard to beat, and HyperPay does not support Lightning at all.
It also covers a category HyperPay simply does not: gift cards and prepaid mobile top-ups across a very large catalogue of brands and countries, including places where card issuance is difficult. For someone whose main need is paying a phone bill or buying a specific retailer's credit with crypto, Bitrefill is the more direct tool.
- Deep Lightning Network support for low-fee bitcoin spending
- Large gift-card and mobile top-up catalogue
- No wallet migration needed — spend from an external wallet
Where HyperPay wins
HyperCard is accepted at more than 50 million merchants across 176+ countries, which is a fundamentally wider surface than any gift-card catalogue. You are not restricted to brands that participate in a voucher programme, and you are not buying fixed denominations you then have to spend down.
HyperPay also stores value rather than just converting it. Assets can sit in custodial or self-custody storage, earn through staking with flexible or fixed terms, or back a collateralized loan — none of which Bitrefill offers, because it is not a wallet-first product.
For users who care about key control, HyperPay's self-custody mode and HyperMate hardware support mean the same application that spends your crypto can also be the one that secures it, instead of holding funds in an external wallet and visiting a storefront whenever you need to pay.
Custody, audits and track record
HyperPay has operated since 2017 with no publicly reported major security incident, and it has been audited by two independent firms, SlowMist and CertiK. Custodial balances are managed through HyperBC's institutional custody infrastructure, while self-custody balances stay under your own keys.
Bitrefill has been operating since 2015 and holds far less customer value at rest, because the voucher model is transactional by design — you generally do not park savings there. That is a real structural advantage in its favour, and it is worth weighing against the narrower spending surface.
Which one should you choose
Choose Bitrefill if you are a bitcoin holder who wants Lightning-fast spending on gift cards and top-ups, already keeps funds in a wallet you trust, and does not want a new account holding balances.
Choose HyperPay if you want one account that stores crypto, earns on it, and pays anywhere cards are accepted rather than only where vouchers exist. The two are not mutually exclusive — Bitrefill for brand-specific credit, HyperPay for general spending and storage.
Where this fits
For the full picture beyond this comparison, the HyperPay crypto wallet overview covers custody, spending, swaps and staking together. Common questions about fees, chains and audits are answered in the HyperPay wallet FAQ.