Yearly cost at three spending levels
| Monthly spend | Exa Card | Fold Card |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | -$45.60 Standard | ≤ -$126 Free plan |
| $2,000 | -$99.60 Standard | ≤ -$306 Free plan |
| $5,000 | -$207.60 Standard | ≤ -$666 Free plan |
Net value per year: cashback minus conversion, FX, ATM and fixed fees. US dollars, 20% foreign spending, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month. The card cost calculator runs the same comparison with your own habits.
Where the money goes at $2,000 a month
| Line | Exa Card Standard | Fold Card Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Top-up and conversion fees | $0 | -$264 |
| Spending fees | $0 | $0 |
| Foreign exchange markup | -$72 | Not disclosed |
| ATM fees | -$27.60 | -$42 |
| Annual, monthly and subscription fees | $0 | $0 |
| Cashback | $0 | $0 |
| Net per year | -$99.60 | -$306 |
Fees
Exa Card charges 0% to convert or top up and 1.5% on spending in a foreign currency. Fold Card charges 1% and Not disclosed.
The conversion fee applies to every dollar you load, so Exa Card's lower rate matters most for everyday spending in your home currency. On $1,000 of spending, the gap is $10.
ATM withdrawals: Exa Card no atm access (virtual card only); Fold Card $3.50.
A virtual card costs nothing with Exa Card and nothing with Fold Card. A physical card costs an undisclosed fee and nothing. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.
Cashback and rewards
Exa Card cashback: None. Fold Card cashback: None.
Exa Card tiers: Standard: 0%.
Fold Card tiers: Free plan: 0%; Fold+: rate not published.
Exa Card: The Exa Card has no cashback program. Visa Signature benefits apply instead (purchase protection, car rental cover, Visa Airport Companion with pay-per-use lounges, concierge). Idle balances earn a variable yield in Exactly Protocol. Pay Later splits purchases into up to 8 fixed-rate installments paid in USDC, and the interest rate is set at purchase.
Fold Card: Card purchases earn bitcoin only with a Fold+ membership ($10 a month or $100 a year, 90-day free trial). Rates are merchant and category "Boosts" shown in the app; no base rate is published. Both plans earn bitcoin on gift cards (Amazon 2% free, 2.5% Fold+) and on ACH bill pay (up to 0.5% free, up to 1.5% Fold+). The rewards account is capped at $10,000. The Fold Bitcoin Credit Card (Celtic Bank, Visa, powered by Stripe) earns 1.5% back in bitcoin with no cap, up to 4% with bonuses on the first $2,000 a month. It is still in early access - about 2,000 cardholders and a waitlist of more than 80,000 in August 2026 - with a variable APR of prime plus 13.49% to 22.49% (20.49% to 29.49% at a 7% prime), no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
Availability and KYC
Exa Card is offered in 46 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and United States. US residents only in 31 listed states (not, for example, Georgia, Ohio, Washington or Oregon). No EU, EEA or UK countries are eligible. Nigeria is left out because the eligibility page says it "requires conditional approval" while the prohibited-countries list (15 January 2026) bans it. Exa's own help center also claims the card is "available in 180+ countries", which the published list does not support. In the US the card is also offered through Uphold.
Fold Card is offered in one country, including United States. Open to US citizens and lawful permanent residents 18 or older who live in the 50 states or DC and have a Social Security number. ITINs are not accepted.
Exa Card needs full KYC and Fold Card needs full KYC.
The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.
Limits, wallets and card types
Exa Card publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $1,000 a day.
Fold Card publishes a daily spending limit of $15,000, a monthly limit of $50,000 and ATM withdrawals of up to $1,000 a day.
Exa Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Fold Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Exa Card issues a virtual card you can use straight away.
Custody and safety
Exa Card scores 75/100. Licensing: holds a licence or registration outside the tier-one list (Card issued by Nimbus LLC dba Third National, licensed as a Money Transmitter by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (licence TM-0207, NMLS 2612780). Exa Labs S.A.S. is the program manager and says it "does not issue or manage payment instruments"; its help center gives Rain's legal address as the card's billing address.). The card is issued through Nimbus LLC dba Third National. 2023-08-18: Exactly Protocol, which runs the card's credit and yield, was exploited through its DebtManager contract on Optimism. 117 accounts lost a combined $7,612,038 and the protocol was paused. Exa Labs S.A.S. is a Uruguayan company. The card is legally a credit card with no set credit line, and the issuer's terms say it has no relationship with Exactly Protocol. Your wallet is a passkey-secured smart contract account on OP Mainnet with no seed phrase. In Pay Later mode each purchase is a loan against your deposited crypto, which can be liquidated if its value falls. The 2023 exploit hit the protocol's leverage feature, not the card, which launched later. No regulator warning or enforcement action against Exa Labs or Exactly Protocol was found.
Fold Card scores 79/100. Licensing: issued by a bank or e-money institution regulated in a tier-one jurisdiction. The card is issued through Sutton Bank. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. Fold says in its 10-K that the services it offers directly are not subject to regulatory supervision. It relies on Sutton Bank for the card and on BitGo for bitcoin custody. No state money transmitter licence or FinCEN MSB registration for Fold itself was found. Fold Holdings is listed on Nasdaq (FLD). No regulator enforcement action against Fold was found. In August 2026 Fold named Lead Bank as a new core banking partner for accounts, deposits and bitcoin trading; the prepaid card is still issued by Sutton Bank.
Full reports: Exa Card safety check and Fold Card safety check.
About each card
Exa Card (Exactly) is a self-custody Visa card from Exa Labs S.A.S. (Exa Card program). It tops up with USDC, ETH, WBTC, wstETH and OP.
Fold Card (Prepaid Visa) is a custodial Visa card from Fold, Inc.. It tops up with BTC.
Which card fits you
Exa Card fits if
- You want to keep crypto in your own wallet until each payment.
- You spend in foreign currencies often, since its FX markup is lower.
- Most of your spending is in your home currency, where its lower conversion fee counts most.
Fold Card fits if
- You live in United States, the only market it serves.
- You weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.
Read more: Exa Card fees and details · Fold Card fees and details