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Ethena Pay Spend Card

VisaSelf-custodyKYC fullsecured credit

Ethena Pay is a self-custodial iOS money app from Ethena Pay Ltd (Malta) with a Visa Spend Card secured by collateral in your own wallet, issued by Third National on Rain's programme. The free Standard tier pays 4% cashback in AVAX on the first $2,500 of monthly spend; the Spend Card is for non-U.S. persons only and launched in September 2026.

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85Card Score, #12 of 36
$432You keep a year
D51Trust points of 100
79%Key fields with a source

Plans side by side

Standard
Price
Monthly priceFree1Account opening, maintenance and closure are free
Yearly priceFree4No annual fee
Virtual card feeFree1Virtual card issuance is free
ReplacementFree1
Staking needed01No minimum balance; the card is secured by collateral held in your own linked wallet
Other requirementsNon-U.S. persons only; 18+; identity check by Sumsub; card charges are secured by collateral in your linked wallet2,1
Rewards
Cashback4%14% on the first $2,500 of monthly spend, 1% on $2,500 to $4,000, 0% above $4,000; each band applies only to spend inside it
Paid inAVAX (Avalanche network)1
Earns onSettled card purchases of $1 or more1
No cashback oncash advances, ATM withdrawals, crypto, stablecoin, NFT and securities purchases, gambling, gift cards, P2P transfers, loan repayments, insurance premiums, government payments, fees and fines1
VestingNone stated; calculated after settlement (usually 1 to 3 business days), paid once daily1Refunds and chargebacks reverse the cashback
Perks—1No perks listed; the tier adds a Daily Boost yield on balances up to $5,000
Fees
FX fee1%1About 1.0% card-network conversion on non-USD purchases, passed through at cost with no Ethena Pay markup; the issuer calls it a guide, not a cap. No real-payment test found
Top-up fee0%4No Ethena Pay fee to fund in digital dollars; funding-partner (MoonPay, Iron), gas and issuer fees may add
ATM fee0.65%1Where ATM access is available; operator surcharge may add
ATM fixed fee$11Per withdrawal, USD
Inactivity feeFree1

What you keep

Rewards you can spend$480 paid in a volatile token, counted at 95%+$456
FX fee on foreign spend−$24
Net a year, Standard plan$432

$1,000 a month, 20% in a foreign currency, no staking. Change

Trust

Licence and regulator9 of 25

The issuer is named in the Terms as Third National, a Puerto Rico chartered bank, under licence from Visa. Ethena Pay Ltd itself says it holds no financial licence or registration.2

Custody and fund protection13 of 20

Ethena Pay says it never holds user money; collateral stays in the user's own wallet. Card charges are secured by it and a third party can liquidate it.1,2,4

Incidents in the last 24 months16 of 20

No incident found, but the product has existed only since Sep-01, 2026.4

Track record and verified volume2 of 15

Launched in beta in September 2026 with about 1,400 active users and roughly $750,000 weekly spend on Oct-28, 2026.4,5

Published fees and terms6 of 10

Fees and cashback bands are published in detail and the issuer is named in the Terms. Spend limits and Pro and VIP prices are not published.1,2,5

Support and user sentiment5 of 10

Email, phone, in-app help and a complaints process with a 15 business day target are published. No independent reviews or ratings were found.3

Company

Legal entityEthena Pay Ltd, Malta, company number C 114,576; registered office Ta' Xbiex2Ethena Pay says it is not licensed or registered with financial regulators in the Appendix 1 jurisdictions; the number is a company registration, not a licence
HeadquartersMalta2
Websitepay.ethena.fi1

Issuer and licence

Card issuerThird National (Puerto Rico chartered bank)2Named in section 1.5 of the issuer's Terms of Use; the pricing page and FAQ do not name the issuer
Program managerSignify Holdings, Inc. (Rain)2Card program management services per the Terms of Use
LicencesCard issued by Third National under licence from Visa2Ethena Pay Ltd itself holds no financial licence
NetworkVisa2

The card

Statuslive4Beta launch on iOS Sep-01, 2026; Finek reported on Oct-22, 2026 that sign-up needed an invite code
Launched2026-094
Typesecured credit1Pricing page calls it a secured product: collateral in your wallet secures card charges, 0% APR on purchases
FormsVirtual4Virtual card generated in the app; no physical card announced
Custodyself-custody4,2Ethena Pay says it never holds user money; collateral can be liquidated by a third party
How custody worksTerms say Ethena Pay holds no customer funds or digital assets; custody is with third-party institutions or users' own self-custodial wallets. Sign-in uses passkeys2,4
KYCfull2
KYC documentsGovernment ID, proof of address, source-of-funds and tax information and liveness checks, as required2
Minimum age182
Settles inUSD1Prices and purchases are quoted in USD
Card currenciesUSD1

Funding

Crypto acceptedUSDeAVAX1Named as examples only; other supported stablecoins are not listed
ChainsEthereumPolygonOptimismArbitrumAvalanche1Pricing lists Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism and Arbitrum for transfers and Avalanche for AVAX rewards; the launch blog says built exclusively on Avalanche
Fiat top-upMoonPay1Currencies not itemised
Deposit feesNo Ethena Pay fee to fund in digital dollars; fiat deposits free; funding-partner, gas and issuer mint or redeem fees may add4,1
Minimum depositNo minimum balance requirement1
Spends fromStablecoin collateral in your linked wallet secures charges; it is not a prefunded balance1

Payments

Apple Pay4Virtual card can be added to Apple Pay
Google Pay4Virtual card can be added to Google Wallet
Blocked merchantsgamblingcrypto, stablecoin, NFT and securities purchasesgift cardsgovernment payments1These earn no cashback; whether the card blocks them is not stated

Where it works

RegionsLatin AmericaAsia-PacificMiddle EastAfrica3
Countries473Launch blog says about 50
United States1Spend Card is offered only to non-U.S. persons
EEA2EU is listed as coming soon

Account

P2P transfersYes4Free instant transfers between Ethena Pay users
Crypto to bankYes4Withdraw to a wallet or a bank
Yield on balance5%1Standard tier: up to 5% p.a. total (underlying USDe rate plus a discretionary Daily Boost) on balance up to $5,000 with one card transaction a month; Pro and VIP show 6%
OtherEarn+ vault (third-party, Upshift and Steakhouse) with up to 12% APY on USD, Standard limit $20,0005

Security

Two-factorPasskeys4
Biometrics4
InsuranceNo1The Daily Boost is stated to be not insured

App

Supportemail support@ethenapay.cophone 1-844-ETHA-PAYin-app help and contact pagecomplaints@ethenapay.co3

Adoption

Users, claimedAbout 1,400 active users from a waitlist of over 10,000, per the issuer on Oct-28, 20265

Referrals

User referrals$30 equivalent paid in AVAX for a qualifying new user, credited within about 30 days; caps may apply1

More details

Pro and VIP tiersPro: 4.5% up to $8,000 a month (then 2%, 1%, 0.5%); VIP: 5% up to $20,000 (then 2%, 1%, 0.5%). Prices and upgrade route are not published; the issuer says upgrades will come shortly1,5
Daily BoostDiscretionary yield paid in USDe on balance up to a tier cap (Standard $5,000, Pro $100,000, VIP $1,000,000); needs one qualifying card transaction a month; not guaranteed1
Penalty feesLate payment up to $40, returned payment up to $29, no over-limit fee1
Collateral and liquidationOn a Liquidation Event outstanding charges, penalty fees, gas and any shortfall can be deducted from collateral; liquidation is run by a third party1
Invite codesFinek reported on Oct-22, 2026 that registration needed an invite code; the issuer's own pages do not mention one and the launch blog mentions a waitlist6,4
PromotionsTime-limited merchant promotions may replace standard cashback1

Quick answers

What does the Ethena Pay Spend Card cost?

The Standard plan: Free a month, — for a physical card.

How much cashback does the Ethena Pay Spend Card pay?

4% on the Standard plan, paid in AVAX (Avalanche network).

What is the Ethena Pay Spend Card FX fee?

1% on the Standard plan.

Is the Ethena Pay Spend Card custodial?

Self-custody. Terms say Ethena Pay holds no customer funds or digital assets; custody is with third-party institutions or users' own self-custodial wallets. Sign-in uses passkeys

Is the Ethena Pay Spend Card available in the US, the UK and the EEA?

US: no. UK: not stated. EEA: no.

How much do you keep with the Ethena Pay Spend Card?

$432 a year on the Standard plan at $1,000 a month with 20% in a foreign currency, after every fee.

Sources

  1. Ethena Pay Pricing (effective Sep-01, 2026, updated Sep-30, 2026), issuer, Nov-05, 2026
  2. Ethena Pay Terms of Use (updated Oct-26, 2026; first 100,000 characters read), issuer, Nov-05, 2026
  3. Ethena Pay FAQ, issuer, Nov-05, 2026
  4. Introducing Ethena Pay (Sep-03, 2026), issuer, Nov-05, 2026
  5. Earn+ launch (Oct-28, 2026), issuer, Nov-05, 2026
  6. Finek channel post, Oct-22, 2026, community, Nov-05, 2026

Something wrong or out of date? Report it with a source.