Avici Card Review 2026: The Self-Custodial Crypto Card I Keep as a Backup
By the MyCardCrypto team · Updated 9 October 2026 · Fees checked on 9 October 2026
My backup card is a virtual Avici Signature, used via Apple Pay in Europe. Re-checked on 9 October 2026, after the August exploit.
Best for: USDC holders outside the EU and UK who want to spend from their own wallet.
Not for: cashback seekers, EU/UK residents wanting official support, or one-step load-and-spend fans.
My rating: 7/10 — clever self-custody, dented by the August exploit and a pricier first card. This is not financial advice; fees and availability change — check the issuer before applying.
Referral code at sign-up: QF3VW9
Is Avici the Right Card for You?
| Your situation | Best card |
|---|---|
| You want to spend from a wallet you control, outside the EU and UK | Avici |
| You hold USDC on several chains or want DeFi tools in one app | Avici (11 chains) |
| You live in the US and want self-custody | Avici (31 states) |
| You want real cashback and one-step load-and-spend | KAST (1.5% in USD) |
| You live in the EU or UK | Wirex One |
| You spend in many local currencies | Wirex One (FX listed as free) |
Avici Card Fees, Limits and Quick Numbers
Fees checked on 9 October 2026 against the issuer’s docs (Fees and Limits, Regions, Wallet) and the Card Terms.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 Platinum; Signature $30 first year, then $20 |
| Virtual card | Platinum $15 first (free in May 2026), $10 extra; Signature included |
| Cashback on spending | 0% (one-off $5 welcome bonus, $8 via referral) |
| FX fee | 0% markup; Visa may add 0.4–1% |
| ATM fee | $1 + 0.65% Platinum / $0 Signature |
| ATM limits | $1,000 per withdrawal, $3,000 and 3 withdrawals a day (another docs page: $250/day) |
| Custody model | Self-custodial wallet + USDC escrow contract |
| Blockchains | 11 (Solana + 10 EVM) |
| Network and issuer | Visa Platinum / Signature, issued by Third National |
| Supported regions | 49 countries + 31 US states; no EU or UK |
My Experience: The Backup Card I Keep for Self-Custody
Let me be straight about how I use Avici: it’s my backup card, not my daily driver. KAST handles most of my stablecoin spending because of the cashback. But this is the one I keep for a specific reason: it’s the only card in my wallet where I’m not trusting a company to hold my money.
I’ve run a few thousand dollars through it (the app shows $3,659 spent all-time against a $1M limit). I use it via Apple Pay. I’m on the Signature tier, virtual card only, no physical card yet (though I’ll probably order one soon; Apple Pay just covers everything I need for now).
The honest reality of using it: there’s a two-step funding flow you need to understand. Your money sits in your “Assets” balance (self-custodied). To actually spend, you top up a separate “Spending Balance” that the card draws from. So it’s: deposit USDC → top up spending balance → tap to pay.
It’s a little more fiddly than KAST or Wirex, where you load once and spend. I’ve literally had a transaction declined (a $50 Namecheap charge) simply because my spending balance was empty and I hadn’t topped it up. I just paid with another card and moved on.
That friction isn’t a bug, though; it’s a consequence of the architecture. Because the card draws against funds in a separate card contract rather than your wallet, there has to be a staging step. It’s the price you pay for self-custody. Once you understand the flow, it’s fine. But it’s the single thing I’d want a new user to know going in.
A note on my region
The card isn’t officially offered in the EU or UK, and the docs warn that places missing from their list “may still be restricted or unsupported”. I’m in Europe, and in practice it works for me through Apple Pay without issue. Your mileage may vary, so check availability before you rely on it.
The Honest Catch: What You Need to Know Before Signing Up
1. Zero rewards on spending
The card pays 0% cashback and no points, just a one-off welcome bonus: $5, or $8 through a referral, after you order a card and pass verification. The AVICI governance token isn’t a spending reward. KAST gives 1.5% back in USD and Wirex One 0.5–8% by tier, so if cashback is your priority, this is a dealbreaker.
2. The two-step funding flow
As covered above, the card spends only what you’ve topped up to the Spending Balance, and per the docs a top-up can take up to 2 minutes to show. It’s the most common reason for a decline. Plan ahead and it’s a non-issue.
3. No EU or UK, but the US is in
The list covers 49 countries plus the US, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Africa, plus the UAE, and no EU or UK country. US residents can apply in 31 states, including California, New York, Texas and Florida, but not in the other 19 or DC.
4. Younger and smaller than Wirex
The card terms date from 5 December 2024: under two years of card history, longer than the one year we claimed in May. It’s less proven than Wirex (since 2014) and smaller than KAST (1.4 million users claimed). Ratings on 9 October 2026 are thin: Trustpilot 3.3 from 10 reviews (unclaimed profile), US App Store 4.46 from 50, Google Play 3.59 from 455.
5. “Secured credit” is not a normal credit card
Technically it’s a secured credit card: you post USDC collateral and the card spends against it, with no real borrowing unless you open the separate credit line. Interest is 0% today, but the Card Terms reserve the right to add it. Don’t expect it to build credit history.
Real Fees and Limits
| Fee | Platinum / Signature |
|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 / $30 first year, then $20 |
| Virtual card | $15 first, $10 each extra / included |
| Physical card | $50 / $75 (then $20 a year) |
| Card delivery | Free untracked, 3–4 weeks; priority $50, or $15 in the US |
| ATM withdrawal | $1 + 0.65% / $0 |
| ATM decline fee | $0.60 / $0 |
| ATM balance inquiry | $0.60 / $0 |
| ATM limits | $1,000 per withdrawal, $3,000 and 3 a day (one docs page: $250/day) |
| Dispute fee | $35, charges over $30 only, non-refundable |
| Interest (APR) | 0% for now |
On ATM limits, the Fees and Limits page lists $1,000 per withdrawal and $3,000 a day, while the Profile Verification page still says “up to 3 transactions or $250 per day” (both read on 9 October 2026). Plan around the lower figure.
Visa may add 0.4–1% on non-USD spending, although the card’s own markup is 0%. The Card Terms (updated 23 June 2025) put FX at up to 3%, “currently 1% (Charged by Visa, There is no markup from Avici)”; we show both. Fees can change on 30 days’ notice.
How Avici Works as a Self-Custodial Crypto Card
With a custodial card (the old Wirex app, KAST by default, Crypto.com), the company holds your crypto, and a hack, insolvency or freeze puts your money at its mercy, as FTX and Celsius showed. Avici flips this:
- You deposit USDC into a loan escrow smart contract tied to your ZeroDev smart wallet.
- You get a USD credit balance equal to your collateral, and the Visa card spends against it.
- Spent USDC is settled from the card contract within a few days to a week (the docs say every 1–2 days, sometimes weekly).
- Per the docs, “neither Third National or Avici or Visa controls the loan contract”. The company can only pull funds linked to your charges, Visa can claim funds for a proven transaction, and only your wallet can withdraw the rest.
The proof is in the app: a “Solana Private Key” option in settings. I’ll admit I’ve never actually exported it (I just know it’s there), but that’s the point: the control is yours, not the platform’s. One caveat from the docs: the EVM side is a smart wallet signed by your passkey and email, with no private key to export.
If the company disappeared tomorrow, your unspent USDC would still sit in a contract your wallet controls: insolvency protection a custodial card structurally cannot offer. It is not protection against a bug in the contract itself, as August 2026 showed. Self-custody also costs convenience (the two-step flow, zero rewards), but if your mental model is “I don’t want any company holding my spending money”, this is the most self-custodial card I’ve used.
The stack: Avici runs the wallet and app, Third National issues the Visa card, and Rain provides the card infrastructure (in June 2026 the docs’ intro still named Rain as issuer). A partner the docs call Iron runs the USD and EUR accounts, Sumsub checks identity, and deposits work on 11 blockchains (list in the FAQ), one of the broadest ranges we’ve seen.
The August 2026 Exploit: What Happened to Card Balances
On 28 August 2026 an attacker exploited an outdated Rain card contract on Solana. CoinDesk (29 August) said it drained roughly $1.1 million across several Solana-based programs, “including $500,800 from 1,685 Avici users”; AMBCrypto (30 August) put the figure at $500,859.20. These secondary reports are all we have: there’s no company blog, the docs are silent, and we haven’t reviewed its posts on X.
- Hit: card balances, not wallets. The company “confirmed the breach was limited to card-funding contracts, not self-custodial wallets” (CoinDesk). Customers of Tria, another neobank on Rain, lost over $430,000 (Web3 is Going Great).
- Promised: “Every affected user will have their card balance refunded in full” (AMBCrypto). Rain fixed the bug, and the company reported the theft to the FBI’s IC3.
- Token: AVICI fell 49%, from a 24-hour high of $0.43 to a record low of $0.217, before recovering.
- Refunds as of 9 October 2026: unknown. We found no first-party confirmation that all of them were paid.
What it means for self-custody
The docs’ promise is about custody: no company controls your escrow contract, and only your wallet can withdraw the unspent balance. August exposed a different risk, a bug in contract code run by the infrastructure provider. Even the architecture is told two ways: the docs’ FAQ puts the card contract on EVM, CoinDesk calls the drained one a Solana contract.
The practical lesson matches the two-step flow I grumbled about: keep most money in the wallet and top up the spending balance shortly before you pay.
Card Format: Virtual-First, Apple Pay, Two Tiers
I run Avici as a virtual card on the Signature tier, added to Apple Wallet. Tap-to-pay works exactly like a normal bank card; per the docs, adding a card means typing in its details and a one-time code.
- Platinum: no annual fee. Virtual card $15 (then $10 per extra card; the first was free in May 2026), physical $50. ATM $1 + 0.65%.
- Signature: $30 the first year, then $20. Virtual included, physical $75. Free ATM withdrawals and Visa Signature benefits such as travel insurance; lounge entry via the Visa Airport Companion app is paid (“There are no free lounge visits from our Card issuer for signature”).
- Infinite: “Coming soon”; the docs say complimentary lounge visits will arrive with it.
I went Signature for the perks and free ATM, though honestly at my usage the no-annual-fee Platinum tier would’ve been fine for most users. If you don’t withdraw cash, start with Platinum.
There’s no physical card in my wallet yet (Apple Pay covers everything), but I’ll likely order one for the times a physical card is genuinely needed: some terminals, some rentals. The card fee is charged at order, before verification; fail verification and you have to ask support for it back.
Beyond the Card: Avici Is Really a DeFi Super-App
Here’s what surprised me: it’s much more than a card. I don’t use most of the extras (I keep it simple: deposit USDC and spend), but they show how deep the product is. The docs publish none of the rates below; they float.
Credit line against your SOL. Deposit SOL and borrow USDC or EURC up to 60% of its value. The docs’ pitch is that “unlike traditional loans, Avici pays you to borrow”: your SOL keeps earning, and “The rate goes up the more people borrow on the platform”. In May 2026 my home screen showed up to 8.34% APY. I don’t use it, but it’s a genuinely unusual feature.
Grow yields. Stablecoin yields, asset yields and insurance-backed returns that the docs trace to the reinsurance market via OnRe. My May screenshot showed vaults up to 11.90% APY (KAST’s Earn vaults showed 7% and 3.3% on 8 October 2026). I haven’t parked funds here.
Tokenized stocks and pre-IPO. The Markets tab lets you swap into tokenized US equities (S&P 500, NVIDIA, Alphabet) and even tokenized private companies through SPVs (I saw SpaceX listed). The private names are not available to US persons. I don’t invest through it, but it’s a striking thing to find in a card app. None of this is why I keep the card; if you’d actually use these tools, though, the value proposition changes significantly.
✅ Pros
- Self-custodial by design; the Solana key is exportable.
- 11 blockchains, one of the broadest lists we’ve seen.
- No annual fee on Platinum; 0% FX markup.
- Credit line, yields and tokenized stocks in one app; free ATM withdrawals on Signature.
- Visa at 100M+ merchants; Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Open to US residents in 31 states.
- Works in Europe via Apple Pay in my experience (not officially).
❌ Cons
- 0% cashback; only a one-off $5 bonus ($8 via referral).
- Two-step funding: wallet first, then the spending balance.
- No EU or UK: 49 countries plus 31 US states.
- Card live only since late 2024; small user base (50K+ Android installs).
- August 2026 exploit hit 1,685 users’ card balances; refund outcome not published.
- First virtual Platinum card now $15 (free in May 2026).
- ATM limits conflict across docs; 3 withdrawals a day.
- $35 non-refundable dispute fee; card refunds can only be spent.
Where Avici Stands Among Crypto Cards
KAST, my daily card, is custodial by default (its Terms say deposits are “sold to KAST”), with an optional Self-Custody Mode since 14 September 2026. Wirex relaunched as Wirex One, a self-custodial wallet with a debit card.
| Checked 8–9 Oct 2026 | Avici | KAST | Wirex One |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custody | Self-custodial wallet + escrow | Custodial by default | Self-custodial wallet |
| Cashback | 0% | 1.5% in USD (Standard) | 0.5–8% in USD by tier |
| FX | 0% + Visa 0.4–1% | 0% USD, 0.5–1.75% other | Listed as free |
| ATM fee | $0 Signature, $1 + 0.65% Platinum | $3 + 2% | Not published |
| Countries | 49 + 31 US states, no EU/UK | 170+ | 73, no US |
| Trustpilot | 3.3 (10 reviews) | 2.5 (220) | 2.3 (17,658, old Wirex profile) |
| Our rating | 7/10 | 7.5/10 | 6/10 |
Avici vs KAST
The cleanest contrast in my wallet. Where Avici wins: custody, 11 chains vs KAST’s Solana-first focus, deeper DeFi tools, and free ATM withdrawals on Signature (KAST charges $3 + 2%). Where KAST wins: real 1.5% cashback in USD, one-step funding, 170+ countries and a cheaper start on its free Standard tier. Use Avici if self-custody comes first; use KAST for cashback and simplicity.
Avici vs Wirex One
Where Avici wins: US availability and a published ATM fee (both apps offer yields and loans). Where Wirex One wins: EU and UK coverage (73 countries in all), 0.5–8% cashback in USD by tier (tiers above Base need a $500+ portfolio partly in WPAY) and FX listed as free. Use Avici outside Europe; use Wirex One in the EU or UK.
Avici vs other self-custody cards
The peer group changes fast: Gnosis Pay is closing its card on 20 December 2026, and MetaMask Card has paused UK and US sign-ups. Avici takes deposits on 11 networks (Gnosis Pay: Gnosis Chain alone) and covers regions the Europe-focused Gnosis Pay and Bleap don’t. ether.fi Cash is the other credit-style option, but it pays 3% in ETHFI up to a monthly cap, while this one pays 0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Avici really self-custodial?
For custody, yes. Your USDC sits in a loan escrow contract linked to your smart wallet; the docs say neither Third National (the issuer), nor the company, nor Visa controls it, and only your wallet can withdraw unspent funds. Custody isn’t safety, though: in August 2026 a bug in Rain’s card contract drained card balances.
What happened in the August 2026 hack, and were users refunded?
On 28 August 2026 an outdated Rain card contract on Solana was exploited; CoinDesk counted $500,800 taken from 1,685 users of this card. The company said wallets were untouched, promised full refunds and reported the theft to the FBI. As of 9 October 2026 we’ve seen no confirmation that all refunds were paid.
Does the card pay cashback or rewards?
No cashback and no points on spending. There’s a one-off welcome bonus of $5, or $8 through a referral, once you’ve ordered a card and passed verification. The AVICI token is for governance, not a spending reward. For cashback, KAST pays 1.5% in USD on its free Standard tier.
Is there an Avici referral code or promo code?
Both exist: referral codes from users and a promo field at card checkout. Under the referral terms effective 23 September 2026, a referred user gets an $8 welcome bonus instead of $5, with no percentage discount. Enter the code before your verification is approved; a promo code on the card order cancels that bonus. Ours is in the Reader perk box.
Why was my card declined?
Usually an empty Spending Balance: the card only spends what you’ve topped up from your Assets balance, and a top-up can take up to 2 minutes to show. Other causes: a blocked merchant category, a blocklisted merchant such as Wise, MoonPay or eToro, or one of the 7 countries where spending is barred.
Which countries does Avici support?
The docs list 49 countries plus the US, where personal cards cover 31 states, including California, New York, Texas and Florida. No EU or UK country is included; residents of 17 countries, among them India, Turkey and Vietnam, are barred (the referral terms of 23 September 2026 add Sri Lanka). In my experience it works in Europe via Apple Pay, but check first.
Which blockchains can I fund it from?
Eleven: Solana plus ten EVM networks (Ethereum, Polygon, OP Mainnet, Base, Arbitrum One, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Monad, Mantle and Scroll). The card spends USDC; other tokens are swapped automatically through Relay. Top-ups are gasless on EVM layer-2 networks, while Ethereum mainnet needs your own ETH.
Is the Signature tier worth $30?
Only if you’ll use it. Signature costs $30 for the first year and $20 after, and adds free ATM withdrawals plus Visa Signature benefits; lounge visits go through the paid Visa Airport Companion app. If you rarely withdraw cash, Platinum has no annual fee, though its first virtual card costs $15.
Final Verdict
After keeping Avici in rotation alongside Wirex and KAST:
It’s still the most self-custodial card I’ve used, and the most surprising.
I expected “a card with no rewards” and found a self-custodial money app with a Visa card attached: credit lines, yield vaults, tokenized stocks, 11-chain support and an escrow your wallet controls. For the post-FTX crowd, that’s rare.
But I have to be honest about why it’s my backup card and not my daily driver. The 0% cashback means I default to KAST for everyday spending. The two-step funding flow adds friction (I’ve been declined for an empty spending balance more than once). The geography is narrow and unofficial where I live. And August showed that money parked in the card contract carries code risk.
- “Self-custody is non-negotiable”: one of the best options, especially outside Europe. Get it, and keep the spending balance small.
- “I want cashback and simplicity”: KAST. This card will frustrate you.
- “I travel and want a multi-currency card in the EU or UK”: Wirex One.
- “I’d actually use the yield and credit-line tools”: the value jumps.
My Rating
7/10
Down from 7.5/10 in May. Below KAST’s 7.5/10 for zero rewards, the funding friction and the August exploit, whose refund outcome isn’t public. Above Wirex One’s 6/10 for a published ATM fee and US availability. We’ll revisit once refunds are confirmed.
Reader perk
Use code QF3VW9 as your referral code. Under Avici’s referral terms of 23 September 2026 a referred user gets an $8 welcome bonus, instead of the standard $5, after ordering a card and completing verification; there is no percentage discount.
This review reflects my personal experience as a Signature cardholder. Fees, limits and regions were re-checked on 9 October 2026 and can change; verify them with the issuer. You are responsible for your own keys and funds. Spending crypto can be taxable; why use a crypto card covers the basics.
If you sign up with our referral code, we may earn a reward under the same terms ($5–10 per qualified friend plus 2% of their card spending for 90 days, then 0.1–0.3%). It doesn’t change my assessment.