How to spend USDT or USDC with a card

Before you start

A card is only useful if it is open to you. Availability depends on the country you live in, and so do the assets and networks a card accepts. Do not assume that a card which takes USDT also takes USDC, or that it takes either one on the blockchain you already use.

Start with the Card Finder. Pick your country and the asset you hold, and it shows only the cards that fit, with an estimated cost. A card with no assets on file is not assumed to support a coin. It simply does not show up until we have checked.

From wallet to checkout

1. Choose a card that is open in your country. Read the access section of its page and the identity check it asks for. Both vary by country, and the card may ask you to verify before it gives you a deposit address.
2. Check the assets and the top-up network. The same stablecoin exists on several blockchains, and a card accepts it on only some of them. The card page lists which. Write down the one you will use.
3. Get your deposit address from the card’s app. Copy it exactly, and check that the app shows the same network you chose.
4. Send a small test amount first. Wait until it appears in your balance, then send the rest. A test costs a little in network fees and can save you the whole amount.
5. Pay. Use the card online, in a shop, or through a phone wallet if the card supports it. Afterwards, check your balance and the first transaction in the app.

What happens at conversion

The shop does not receive stablecoins. Somewhere between your balance and the till, your stablecoin becomes money in the card’s currency. When that happens depends on the card.

• At top-up. Your coin is converted as soon as you add funds, and your balance sits in the card’s currency. You pay the conversion cost once, up front.
• At payment. Your coin stays a coin until you spend, and the card sells exactly what the payment needs, at that moment.

In both cases the card uses its own rate, and the gap between that rate and the market rate is the conversion spread. A card that lists no fee can still earn it here. A dollar stablecoin keeps its value steady, so there is little price risk between top-up and payment. The spread is still there, and so is an FX fee when the card’s currency differs from the shop’s.

Our guide on FX fees and markups abroad walks through the whole chain. The Finder adds up what we have verified for your country and leaves out any fee we have not checked, instead of counting it as zero.

Mistakes to avoid

• The wrong network. An address can look valid on a network the card does not support. Funds sent that way may be lost for good. Always match the network exactly.
• Skipping the test amount. Send a small amount first, every time you use a new card or a new network.
• Ignoring the minimums. Some issuers list a minimum top-up, and a deposit below it may not be credited. Read the limit on the card’s own page before you send.
• Judging a card by one fee. Compare the full cost: top-up fee, conversion spread and FX fee together. A card with no FX fee can still be expensive.
• Trusting an old guide. Supported assets and networks change. Check the card page, which shows the source and the date we last checked.

Custodial or self-custody cards

On a custodial card, you send your stablecoin to the company, and it holds the funds until you spend. Top-ups are simple, but you trust the company with your balance.

With a self-custody card, the funds stay in your own wallet and the card draws on them when you pay. You keep control, but you may need to approve spending from your wallet, and the network you hold the coin on matters even more.

Neither is better for everyone. Our guide to custodial and self-custody cards explains the trade-offs.

Find a card that takes your coin

Each list ranks cards by estimated net cost for the country you pick.

• USDT cards
• USDC cards
• Stablecoin cards, for either coin

For your own country and spending, open the Card Finder. Rules and supported networks change, so confirm them with the issuer before you send money.