Where your money is
Your money sits in a self-custodial wallet that belongs to you. Artisan cannot move, freeze or recover your funds for you.
What self-custodial means here
You control the wallet. That protects you from us: we cannot spend your balance, lend it, pool it, freeze it or hand it to anyone else.
It also cuts the other way. If you authorize a transaction, it is yours. We cannot reverse it because you changed your mind or made a mistake.
Artisan is not a bank
Artisan Cash Inc. is a software company, not a bank and not a money transmitter. Your balance is not a deposit. It is not insured by the FDIC, the NCUA, the SIPC, or any government agency. If Artisan were to fail, no deposit insurance scheme would make you whole.
Where the licensed parts sit
Some legs of a payment are regulated, and Artisan does not perform those. Converting between stablecoins and US dollars, moving money over bank rails, issuing cards, and verifying identity are performed by licensed third-party partners under their own licenses and their own terms.
Self-custodial describes Artisan, not the whole world. While money is on a regulated leg it is held by the partner running that leg, under their rules. Nobody can honestly promise you that no party anywhere is ever able to hold a payment up.
The full disclosures are on Risk disclosures.