Yearly cost at three spending levels
| Monthly spend | KAST | Exa Card |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | -$15 Standard | -$45.60 Standard |
| $2,000 | +$192 Standard | -$99.60 Standard |
| $5,000 | +$66 Standard | -$207.60 Standard |
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 | KAST Standard | Exa Card Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Top-up and conversion fees | $0 | $0 |
| Spending fees | $0 | $0 |
| Foreign exchange markup | -$84.00 | -$72 |
| ATM fees | -$84 | -$27.60 |
| Annual, monthly and subscription fees | $0 | $0 |
| Cashback | +$360 | $0 |
| Net per year | +$192 | -$99.60 |
Fees
KAST charges 0% to convert or top up and 1.75% on spending in a foreign currency. Exa Card charges 0% and 1.5%.
ATM withdrawals: KAST 2% + $3; Exa Card no atm access (virtual card only).
A virtual card costs nothing with KAST and nothing with Exa Card. A physical card costs $40 and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.
Cashback and rewards
KAST cashback: 1.5% to 3%. Exa Card cashback: None.
KAST tiers: Standard: 1.5% on the first $2,000 a month; Premium ($1,000 a year): 2% on the first $10,000 a month; Private ($10,000 a year): 3% on the first $40,000 a month.
Exa Card tiers: Standard: 0%.
KAST: Premium and Private also earn KAST Points (1% and 2%), which this model does not value.
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.
Availability and KYC
KAST does not publish a country list. KAST shows supported countries only in the app during sign-up.
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.
KAST needs full KYC and Exa Card needs full KYC.
The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.
Limits, wallets and card types
KAST publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $750 a day.
Exa Card publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $1,000 a day.
KAST works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Exa Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. KAST and Exa Card issue a virtual card you can use straight away.
Custody and safety
KAST scores 44/100. Licensing: we could not confirm a licence for the card issuer on its own website. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. KAST's terms say accounts, cards and custody are provided by licensed partners and the card is issued "by the Issuer under license from Visa", without naming the issuer.
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.
Full reports: KAST safety check and Exa Card safety check.
About each card
KAST Card is a custodial Visa card from KAST. It tops up with USDT and USDC.
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.
Which card fits you
KAST fits if
- You want a higher cashback ceiling (up to 3%).
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.
- You weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.
Read more: KAST fees and details · Exa Card fees and details