Good
- Self-custody, Avici and the issuer never hold your collateral
- No transaction fee and no Avici FX markup on payments
- Signature card has no ATM fee from Avici
- Apple Pay and Google Pay on every card
Watch out
- No cashback or rewards on either plan
- Physical card costs $50 (Platinum) or $75 (Signature) up front
- Platinum ATM withdrawals cost $1 plus 0.65% each
- Not available in the EU, the UK or India
Avici Card is a self-custody Visa secured credit card that spends USDC from your own crypto wallet. The basic Platinum card has no annual fee but costs $15 virtual or $50 physical, once, and neither plan pays any cashback. The Signature card costs $75 and $20 a year from the second year, and adds free ATM withdrawals.
You top up the card by sending crypto to a card contract. The card itself only spends USDC, so other tokens such as ETH or SOL are swapped to USDC when you top up, with no top-up fee and a $1 minimum. There's no monthly bill to pay off: purchases are settled from the USDC you've already deposited.
Avici Card cashback
Avici Card pays no cashback on either of its two plans, Platinum or Signature.
That's unusual among crypto cards, where 1% or more on a free plan is common, so Avici competes on custody and fees instead. The Signature card does come with Visa Signature benefits, and Avici's documentation lists lounge access through the Visa Airport Companion app, airport transfers, movie tickets and travel insurance. It also says the issuer doesn't provide free lounge visits, so check what Visa includes in your country before paying for Signature for the perks.
| Plan | To unlock | Base cashback | FX fee | Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Platinum | Free | 0% | 1% | $50, virtual $15 |
 Signature | $20/yr | 0% | 1% | $75 |
Avici Card fees
Avici Card charges no transaction fee and no FX markup of its own, but Visa can add a cross-border fee of up to 1% on payments that aren't in US dollars.
According to Avici's fees page, Visa may charge a cross-border fee of 0.4% to 1% on non-dollar payments, so a $100 purchase abroad costs at most $101, while paying in US dollars costs nothing beyond the purchase.
The real cost of the Avici Card is the card itself. Platinum is a one-time fee: $15 for the first virtual card ($10 for each extra one) or $50 for a physical card. Signature costs $75 for the physical card and $20 a year from the second year. A virtual Signature card is $30 in the first year and $20 a year after that.
Standard delivery of a physical card is free, while priority delivery costs $15 within the country or $50 internationally. A replacement card costs the same as the original, and filing a dispute costs $35.
Avici Card ATM withdrawal fees
Avici Card charges $1 plus 0.65% per ATM withdrawal on the Platinum card and nothing on the Signature card.
On Platinum, a $200 withdrawal costs $2.30 in Avici fees and a $1,000 withdrawal costs $7.50. The ATM owner may add their own charge on top, and Visa's cross-border fee applies abroad. Platinum also charges $0.60 for a declined withdrawal or a balance inquiry, which Signature doesn't.
Both cards share the same limits: $1,000 per withdrawal, three withdrawals a day and $3,000 a day in total.
Is Avici Card safe?
Avici Card is self-custody: your USDC sits in a smart contract linked to a wallet that only you control, and Avici's terms state that neither Avici nor the card issuer holds custody of your collateral.
The card is issued by Third National under a Visa licence, and your agreement is with both Third National and Avici Inc. Avici settles with Visa weekly, and at that point the spent USDC leaves the contract and goes to Visa. Avici's FAQ says Visa can only take funds when it can prove a payment was made.
Self-custody moves the risk rather than removing it. You're relying on the smart contract working as described, and refunds come back to the card balance within five business days, where they can be spent but not withdrawn.
Who should get Avici Card
Avici Card suits people who want a card that spends from their own wallet and who don't care about cashback.
The plan choice comes down to cash. A Platinum user making one $200 withdrawal a month pays $27.60 a year in Avici ATM fees. Signature removes that fee for $20 a year from the second year, so it pays for itself at about nine $200 withdrawals a year. If you rarely use ATMs, Platinum at $50 one time is the cheaper card.
If you mainly want rewards, the cards below pay cashback in the same countries.
Where Avici Card is available
Avici Card is available in more than 45 countries and territories, including Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, the UAE and most of the Caribbean, according to Avici's regions page, but not in the EU or the UK.
The US is supported in some states only. Avici doesn't offer the card in Belarus, mainland China, India, Iran, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam and several other countries, and says the list of supported regions can change.