How a stablecoin debit card works with USDC

What is a stablecoin debit card?

It is a card that spends a stablecoin such as USDC at the stores and websites that take cards, and the store does not need to accept crypto. You may also see it called a stablecoin card or a crypto debit card.

Companies use the name loosely. One may issue a debit card and another a prepaid or virtual card, and the terms that apply depend on which one it is, so ask the company how it describes its card and read its terms before you add money. Artisan calls its card a virtual card.

How does the Artisan card work with one USDC balance?

Artisan pays your bills and runs the virtual card from the same USDC balance. The card draws on the balance your rent and credit card bills come out of, so there is no separate card account to top up.

You add to the balance by sending USDC to your Artisan address from a wallet you already use, or by moving dollars in from a US bank account in your name. Adding money covers each way. Then you spend with the virtual card at other merchants, and you pay bills from the same balance.

What does card spend cost?

As of October 6, 2026, spending on the Artisan virtual card costs the member nothing. Holding a balance costs nothing too. Moving money in from a US bank account costs 0.40%, and cashing out to a US bank account costs 0.50%. Bill pay is priced differently, because a payment processor pays your biller.

How does a bill change what the card can spend?

Say you hold $1,000 in USDC and pay a $500 bill. On a $500 bill the processing fee is $12.50 and the Artisan fee is $2.50, so $515.00 leaves your balance before any network fee. That leaves $485.00, less any network fee, for the card to draw on. Fees can change, so treat the review screen in the app as the final word. The full bill fee table is on How much it costs to pay a bill with USDC.

Who issues the card, and where does your money sit?

Artisan is non-custodial, which means you hold your own funds in a self-custodial wallet and Artisan never takes custody of them.

A licensed partner issues the card under its own license and terms. While money is on that regulated step, the partner running it holds the money under its rules, and a partner that pauses service or declines a payment can delay or block it. Where your money is explains which parts Artisan does and which parts a licensed partner does.

What should you ask about money and fees?

Put these questions to any stablecoin card company before you add money.

• Who holds the money: does it stay in a wallet you control until you pay, or does the company hold it first?
• Every fee: what does it cost to load the card, spend, use an ATM, spend abroad and close the card?
• Limits: what are the daily and monthly spending limits, and what happens when you go above them?
• Leaving: how do you take your money out, and what happens if the company pauses the card?

What should you ask about the card itself?

• Virtual or plastic: do you get a card number only, a card to carry, or both?
• Which stablecoins: which coins can fund the card?
• Identity checks: what does the company need from you before it issues the card?
• Fine print: do the terms call it a debit card, a prepaid card or a virtual card?

How do you take your money out?

You can send what is in your balance to any address you control, or cash out to a US bank account in your name, as Getting your money out explains.

Who can get the Artisan card?

Artisan Cash is for people in the US, and it is open by invite or access code while it grows, so you can join the waitlist. For card limits and anything else this page does not cover, ask through help.

Artisan Cash is a software company, not a bank, and a USDC balance is not a deposit and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Read how your money is held and the risk disclosures before you add money.