Image: Exactly

Exa Card review: fees, cashback and limits

Name: Exa Card
Brand: Exactly

A free self-custody Visa from the Exactly protocol, with cheap ATMs and solid Visa protections.

By Taimoor, founder and editor Last checked 15 October 2026 4 sources

6.0out of 10

Quick answer

The Exa Card is a free, self-custody Visa card from the Exactly lending protocol. It spends USDC from your Exa Wallet on Optimism and other Ethereum networks, works in about 47 countries, and includes Visa protections like purchase and price protection. ATM withdrawals cost $1 plus 0.65%. The weak spot is FX: up to 1.5% plus up to 1.5% cross-border outside the US, and there's no published cashback.

Exa Card at a glance

Best for	DeFi users who want a free, self-custody card with good protections and cheap ATM withdrawals.
Skip it if	You want cashback, or you spend a lot in foreign currencies.
Network	Visa
Card issuer	Third National
Custody	Self-custody (Exa Wallet)
Card type	Spend card globally, credit card in the US
Virtual or physical	Virtual
Cashback	No published cashback
Annual fee	None in the US. Exa advertises the card as free.
Apple Pay / Google Pay	Yes / Yes
Identity check (KYC)	Required
Where it works	About 47 countries, including the UAE, Argentina, Australia and Brazil, plus a US credit version.

Exa Card fees

Card cost	Free with an Exa Wallet
Annual or membership fee	None in the US. Exa advertises the card as free.
FX and cross-border	Global: up to 1.5% FX plus up to 1.5% cross-border. US: 1% international transaction fee.
Crypto conversion	None listed for USDC
ATM withdrawals	$1 plus 0.65% per withdrawal. Max $250 per withdrawal, 4 a day.
Other fees	US credit card late payment: 2% of the outstanding balance

Visa applies its own exchange rate on top of any card markup. Check the fee page in the Exa Card app for your country before you load money. To see what Exa Card would cost you in a year compared with every other card, try the cost calculator.

What a $100 purchase costs with Exa Card

$0.00Paid from stablecoins in the card's own currency

$3.00Paid from stablecoins in a foreign currency

Not publishedPaid from other crypto, like BTC or ETH

$0Cashback on $100, Standard tier

These are Exa Card's own fees on the Standard tier, before the card network's exchange rate and any ATM or top-up costs. Its FX markup of 3% is higher than the median of 1% across the 60 cards we track with a published FX fee, and cheaper than 1 of them. For a full year based on your own spending, use the cost calculator.

Where it ranks by our score: #13 of 20 in United States #17 of 27 in Latin America #15 of 24 in Asia-Pacific #9 of 14 in Africa #11 of 16 in Middle East

Cashback and rewards

Exa doesn't publish a cashback rate
Referral bonus: 10 USDC for you and 10 USDC for a qualified friend

Deposits and withdrawals

How to top up

Hold USDC in your Exa Wallet on Optimism, Arbitrum, Ethereum or Polygon

Fees: No top-up fee listed. Network fees apply.

How to withdraw

Move funds from your Exa Wallet to any address
Bank payouts from USDC by ACH, domestic US wire or SEPA, through Bridge, where approved
ATM withdrawals

Fees: ATM $1 plus 0.65%. Bank deposits and payouts share a free allowance of $3,000 or 60 transfers; after that ACH costs 0.4% and SEPA 0.7%. US wires cost 1% from the first transfer.

Supported assets: USDC on Optimism, Arbitrum, Ethereum and Polygon.

Where Exa Card works

About 47 countries, including the UAE, Argentina, Australia and Brazil, plus a US credit version.

Exa says access may be restricted in some places. Check the app.

United StatesLatin AmericaAsia-PacificAfricaMiddle East

Limits and perks

Limits

ATM: $250 per withdrawal, 4 withdrawals a day

Perks

Visa concierge
Extended warranty, price protection and purchase protection
Visa Luxury Hotel Collection

Pros and cons

What's good

Free card
Self-custody
Cheap ATM fees
Good Visa protections included

What's not

Up to 3% FX and cross-border fees outside the US
No cashback
Virtual only
Only USDC

Our take on Exa Card

Exa comes from Exactly, a DeFi lending protocol, and the card spends USDC straight from your self-custody Exa Wallet. It's free, it works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and it includes Visa protections that many crypto cards skip, like price protection, purchase protection and an extended warranty.

ATM withdrawals are cheap at $1 plus 0.65%, so pulling out $200 costs about $2.30 before the ATM's own fee. Limits are $250 per withdrawal and four a day.

The problem is foreign spending. Outside the US, Exa lists up to 1.5% FX plus up to 1.5% cross-border, so a foreign purchase could cost up to 3% extra. US cardholders pay 1%. With no published cashback, there's nothing to offset those costs.

If you mostly spend in USD and want a free self-custody card with real protections, Exa is a tidy choice. If you travel, look elsewhere.

A free, well-protected self-custody card that's best for USD spending. Skip it for travel.

How we scored Exa Card: 6.0/10

Methodology

Fees 30%

5 Free card and cheap ATMs, but up to 3% on foreign spending.

Rewards 20%

3 No cashback, just a referral bonus.

Control 20%

9 Self-custody with published fees.

Reach 15%

7 About 47 countries plus the US.

Flexibility 15%

7 USDC on four networks, plus ACH, US wire and SEPA bank transfers where approved.

Recent Exa Card updates

All news

July 2026

Exa adds USD and EUR bank payouts

Exa now supports cashing out USDC to US bank accounts by ACH or wire and to European accounts by SEPA, through Bridge. After a shared free allowance, ACH payouts cost 0.4%, SEPA 0.7% and US wires 1%.

Exa Card FAQ

Is the Exa Card free?

Yes. Exa advertises the card as free with an Exa Wallet, and the US version lists no annual fee.

What are the Exa Card's ATM fees?

$1 plus 0.65% per withdrawal, up to $250 per withdrawal and four withdrawals a day.

Does the Exa Card have FX fees?

Outside the US, up to 1.5% FX plus up to 1.5% cross-border. US cardholders pay a 1% international fee.

Is the Exa Card self-custody?

Yes. It spends USDC from your own Exa Wallet.

Sources

Exa Help: onramping and offramping fees and limitsBank deposit and payout fees
Exa Help: card availability and usageEligible countries and US states, checked Oct 17, 2026
Exa CardFree card, self-custody
DefiLlama card details: ExaFX, ATM, chains, countries, perks, verified Aug 29, 2026

We checked these sources on 15 October 2026. Fees and rewards change often. Spotted something out of date? Report a correction and we'll check it within two working days.