Exa Card vs Wirex

Wirex costs less across the spending levels we test. The full fee, reward, availability and safety comparison is below.

Verdict

  • Wirex leaves more money in your pocket at all three spending levels we test: $75.60 a year more at $500 a month, $219.60 a year more at $2,000 a month, $507.60 a year more at $5,000 a month.
  • Exa Card is a self-custody card that spends from your own wallet. Wirex is self-custody as well.
  • On our safety check, Exa Card scores 75/100 (Good) and Wirex scores 85/100 (Strong).
  • Overall, Wirex rates 68/100 against 54/100 for Exa Card, helped by its reach: it is offered in 73 countries and territories against 46 for Exa Card.
  • Among the 25 countries we track, both cards are offered in 8: Australia, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and South Africa.

Net value per year at $2,000 a month (20% foreign spend, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month)

  • Exa Card · Standard-$99.60
  • Wirex · Base≤ +$120

≤ one fee is not published and counts as zero.

Crypto card comparison
FeatureExa CardWirex
Countries offered46 countries73 countries (better)
Card networkVisaMastercard
CustodySelf-custodySelf-custody
KYCFullFull
Top-up assetsUSDC, ETH, WBTC, wstETH, OPUSDC, USDT, EURC, BTC, ETH
Top-up or conversion fee0%0%
FX markup1.5%0% (better)
ATM feeNo ATM access (virtual card only)No card fee
Annual fee (base tier)FreeFree
Card issuanceVirtual Free · Physical Not disclosedVirtual Free · Physical Not disclosed
CashbackNone0.5% to 8% (better)
Apple Pay / Google PayApple Pay, Google PayNot listed
Safety score75/10085/100 (better)
Overall rating54/10068/100 (better)
Get the cardGet Exa CardGet Wirex

Yearly cost at three spending levels

Monthly spendExa CardWirex
$500-$45.60
Standard
≤ +$30
Base
$2,000-$99.60
Standard
≤ +$120
Base
$5,000-$207.60
Standard
≤ +$300
Base

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

LineExa Card
Standard
Wirex
Base
Top-up and conversion fees$0$0
Spending fees$0$0
Foreign exchange markup-$72$0
ATM fees-$27.60Not disclosed
Annual, monthly and subscription fees$0$0
Cashback$0+$120
Net per year-$99.60+$120

Fees

Exa Card charges 0% to convert or top up and 1.5% on spending in a foreign currency. Wirex charges 0% and 0%.

ATM withdrawals: Exa Card no atm access (virtual card only); Wirex no card fee.

A virtual card costs nothing with Exa Card and nothing with Wirex. A physical card costs an undisclosed fee and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.

Cashback and rewards

Exa Card cashback: None. Wirex cashback: 0.5% to 8%.

Exa Card tiers: Standard: 0%.

Wirex tiers: Base: 0.5%; Premium: 1%; Elite: 3%; Private: 5%; Bespoke: 8%.

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.

Wirex: Cashback is paid in USD, with no monthly cap and no subscription. Your tier depends on two things together, portfolio value and the share of it held in the $WPAY token. It is recalculated daily, and a downgrade waits 24 hours. Users moved from X-tras plans keep legacy rates (Base 1%, Premium 3%, Elite 8%) for about 3 months.

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.

Wirex is offered in 73 countries, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Australia and Malaysia. In 2026 Wirex moved its consumer app to Wirex One, a self-custodial wallet (keys held through Privy) with fiat accounts and the card as regulated add-ons. The old Wirex app becomes read-only once an account moves over. The card issuer depends on region (see issuer), but fees and rewards are the same everywhere. You can receive crypto without verification; the card needs KYC.

Exa Card needs full KYC and Wirex 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.

Wirex publishes a daily spending limit of €30,000, a monthly limit of €30,000 and ATM withdrawals of up to €750 a day.

Exa Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Wirex does not list either. 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.

Wirex scores 85/100. Licensing: issued by a bank or e-money institution regulated in a tier-one jurisdiction. The card is issued through Transact Payments Malta Limited. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. Card spending draws on assets in the user's self-custodial wallet. Fiat IBAN balances are a regulated service run through third-party providers. We found no official enforcement action or hack for 2024 to 2026. The H1 2026 Transparency Report covers financial-crime metrics, not reserves.

Full reports: Exa Card safety check and Wirex 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.

Wirex One Card is a self-custody Mastercard from UAB Wirex (Lithuania), part of the Wirex Group. It tops up with USDC, USDT, EURC, BTC and ETH and its balance is held in EUR.

Which card fits you

Exa Card fits if

  • Its fees and availability match your situation better on the table above.

Wirex fits if

  • You spend in foreign currencies often, since its FX markup is lower.
  • You want a higher cashback ceiling (up to 8%).
  • You weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.

Read more: Exa Card fees and details · Wirex fees and details

Exa Card vs Wirex: questions

Which is cheaper, Exa Card or Wirex?
At $2,000 a month with 20% foreign spending and one $200 ATM withdrawal, Wirex leaves $219.60 more per year. The result can change with your spending, so the comparison above lets you enter your own amount.
Can I use Exa Card and Wirex in the same country?
Yes, in 8 of the 25 countries we track, including Australia, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil.
Is Exa Card or Wirex safer?
Wirex scores higher on our safety check (85/100 against 75/100). The score looks at licensing, custody, fund segregation, proof of reserves and incident history.
Which card has better cashback, Exa Card or Wirex?
Exa Card pays none and Wirex pays 0.5% to 8%. Caps, tier rules and fees decide what you keep, which is why the yearly figures above include both.

Sources

  1. Exa Card (Exactly): fees · checked September 28, 2026
  2. Exa Card (Exactly): availability · checked September 28, 2026
  3. Exa Card (Exactly): cashback · checked September 28, 2026
  4. Exa Card (Exactly): safety · checked September 28, 2026
  5. Wirex One Card: fees · checked September 28, 2026
  6. Wirex One Card: availability · checked September 28, 2026
  7. Wirex One Card: cashback · checked September 28, 2026
  8. Wirex One Card: safety · checked September 28, 2026