A self-custody Visa card that spends from your own USDC, with no monthly fee and a 2% foreign-purchase ceiling
Available in US
Tuyo is a Visa card whose balance is powered by USDC on the Base network, issued under a Visa licence through Signify Holdings (Rain) and run on fiat rails licensed to Bridge Ventures. There is no monthly fee, no issuance fee, and no physical card yet: you get a virtual Visa the moment KYC clears, you can add it to Apple Pay or Google Pay, and the card can only pull what is in your USDC balance. That combination, a no-cost card, self-custody, and a wide set of supported networks, is rare. The 2% total fee cap on non-USD purchases abroad is competitive. The rough edges are the app freezing on some devices, support that takes days, a rewards programme (BNPM) that is being shut down on 31 October 2026, and a public list of 27 excluded countries plus 25 US states. Whether Tuyo fits depends on whether you already hold your own USDC and live somewhere the card actually issues.
The conditions described below are current as of October 28, 2026.
Verdict
| Criterion | Score | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Who can get it | 7 / 10 | 27 countries excluded by residence (including RU, BY, TR, UA, GB, IN, CN, VN) and 25 US states/territories, but most of the world is open |
| Cost | 7 / 10 | Free to issue and keep; 1% FX on non-USD plus 1% abroad fee (up to 2% combined); 0.25% crypto conversion |
| Top-up options | 9 / 10 | USDC on Base, plus any token on Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum, BSC, Polygon; fiat via SEPA, ACH, SPEI, Apple/Google Pay |
| Reliability and complaints | 6 / 10 | Tuyo is a fintech, not a bank; BNPM closes 31 Oct 2026; users report app freezes and slow support |
| Everyday use | 8 / 10 | Virtual Visa issued instantly, Apple/Google Pay, $250 ATM cap with 3 attempts per 24h; physical card “coming soon” with no date |
| Total | 7.3 / 10 | A clean, low-fee self-custody card for someone already holding USDC, held back by geography limits and a still-maturing product |
If you already keep your crypto in your own wallet and want a card that spends from USDC without the platform holding your keys, Tuyo is one of the few mainstream options that does this without a monthly fee. If you are in an excluded country, want a physical card right now, or expect robust customer support and clear dispute handling, this is not the right product for you.
Who will they give you the card
Tuyo is built around one rule: it checks your verified country of residence, not your citizenship. The platform’s prohibited list covers 27 countries by residence: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, China (mainland), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Vietnam. The card-issuing partner adds its own set of restrictions on top, currently blocking issuance in Belarus, mainland China, Cuba, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Russia is the only country where the card is also not usable for payments once issued; Belarus, despite being excluded for new cards, can still process payments on existing ones.
The two lists overlap heavily, but not perfectly. The practical effect is that if you live in Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, India, or mainland China, you will not get a card. The UK is excluded at the platform level even though some UK fintechs still serve residents from those countries with crypto cards.
Inside the United States, Tuyo is unavailable in 25 states and territories: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, plus Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The rule is by verified residence, so a US citizen living in Germany can apply; a German citizen living in Texas cannot.
One practical caution comes from user reports. At least one Trustpilot and Google Play reviewer in 2026 says they were told their country was eligible, deposited 110 USDC, and then saw the card denied. Country eligibility is checked both at sign-up and again when the card is issued, so the answer you get in the app can change between the two steps. The only safe assumption is that if your residence country appears on either of the two lists above, do not send funds before the card is in your wallet.
Age is 18, the minimum set out in the Terms of Service. The card is a single tier: there is no premium plan, no metal card, and no paid membership. That is the whole product range.
How to get it
The flow is short. You download the app, register an account, pass identity verification with a government-issued ID (passport or ID card), deposit USDC on Base, and the virtual card is issued in your wallet the moment KYC is approved. There is no shipping address, no waiting for a courier, and no activation step beyond funding.
What can go wrong. The official help centre flags three common rejection reasons: document issues, unclear photos, and unsupported occupation codes. A rejected application is final; if the app shows a generic setup error instead of a clear decline, the advice is to contact support and ask them to check for missing or incorrect profile data. Tuyo does not publish a processing time, so the wait depends on document quality and review load. A single verification level is used throughout, with no basic-versus-enhanced tier system to upgrade into.
The only card on offer today is a virtual Visa. A physical card is described as “coming soon” with no announced release date, no cost, no shipping timeline, and no replacement policy. If a physical card is important to you, this is currently a non-starter.
Fees and what it really costs
The headline numbers are friendly: issuance is free, the monthly fee is zero, and there are no paid tiers. The less friendly detail is the per-transaction stack of fees, which adds up depending on where and how you spend.
| Fee or limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Issuance fee | Free |
| Monthly / annual fee | Free |
| Crypto-to-USDC conversion | 0.25% (network fee may apply during congestion) |
| USD purchase inside the US | 0% |
| Non-USD currency (FX) | 1% |
| Purchase made outside the US (cross-border) | 1% |
| Combined non-USD purchase outside the US | Up to 2% |
| ATM withdrawal | Tuyo charges nothing; ATM operator fee counts toward the $250 per-withdrawal cap |
| Maximum ATM withdrawal | $250 |
| ATM attempts per 24 hours | 3 (approved and declined attempts both count) |
| Daily spending limit (new card) | $50,000 |
| Daily spending limit (after $50,000 total spend) | $100,000 |
| Daily spending limit (after $100,000 total spend) | $200,000 |
| Monthly limit | Not stated |
| Cardholder Agreement legal maximums (Nov 2025, International) | FX “up to 3%”, cross-border “up to 3%” |
A few everyday scenarios make this concrete.
A $50 coffee in a New York café, paid with USDC you converted the day before: 0.25% conversion on the day you funded the card, then 0% on the swipe. Total cost: about 12.5 cents.
A €40 dinner in Berlin, paid from a USD card balance: your USDC is converted to USDC on Base at 0.25%, the card adds 1% for non-USD currency, and because the merchant is outside the US, the cross-border fee adds another 1%. On €40, the combined card fees are about 80 cents, plus the conversion cost on the dollars you loaded.
A $200 ATM withdrawal abroad: you can do it, but only if the ATM does not surcharge above the $250 per-withdrawal cap (Tuyo adds nothing, the operator’s fee counts toward the cap). Three withdrawals, whether approved or declined, exhaust the rolling 24-hour allowance, and declines for any reason still count. There is no monthly limit published, only a daily one.
One thing worth noting: the Cardholder Agreement (International, November 2025) names 3% as the legal maximum for both the FX fee and the cross-border fee. Tuyo’s marketing pages currently show 1% for each, and that is what you pay today. The agreement gives the issuer room to raise rates in the future, so the 2% combined ceiling is the figure to budget for, not the 1% currently advertised.
Top up: how to fund the card
The card spends from a USDC balance on Base, the Ethereum L2 network where Circle has been pushing USDC adoption. Tuyo accepts two kinds of deposit.
Crypto. Free to receive USDC on Base: you pay the network fee on the sending side, Tuyo takes nothing. You can also send any token on Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Smart Chain, or Polygon; the app converts it to Base USDC for the 0.25% volume fee (waived for bridging and stablecoin-to-stablecoin swaps, replaced by the network fee when congestion is high). This is the most flexible top-up route in the category. If you already hold USDC on Polygon or Arbitrum, for example, you do not have to bridge manually first; the app does it.
Fiat. Five options, all named on the site: Apple Pay or Google Pay, debit or credit card, a linked US bank account, USD bank transfer (ACH or domestic wire, no SWIFT), EUR bank transfer (SEPA or SEPA Instant, no SWIFT, from an account in your own name), and MXN bank transfer (SPEI). You get USD, EUR (IBAN), and MXN (CLABE) account numbers. EUR deposits can auto-convert to USD, and the FAQ describes the fiat-to-crypto conversion spread as “small, usually under 1%” without giving a hard figure. The minimum top-up amount is not stated.
One reason people choose Tuyo over custodial competitors is withdrawal control. Tuyo is self-custodial: the company never holds your private keys, and you can always withdraw your crypto to your own wallet, even if KYC fails or the account is restricted. Fiat withdrawals are routed through the USD, EUR, and MXN account numbers above. The site says there are “no lock-ups, no exceptions” on the crypto side; what an account closure costs in time or fees is not stated.
The card spends from the “eligible dollar balance” in Cash, including funds parked in active interest strategies. That detail matters if you plan to earn yield on the balance between pay-ins: the same dollars that earn interest can be spent on the card without an extra transfer step.
Paying with it every day
The virtual Visa is the only card on offer today, so everyday use means tokenised mobile wallets. Apple Pay and Google Pay are both supported. Adding the card to a wallet can fail for reasons Tuyo does not control: Apple and Google each run their own risk checks on device, location, and account history, and either can reject a card addition. If that happens, the failure comes from the wallet, not from Tuyo, and support can only advise.
Some merchant categories are blocked by policy. When that happens, the app shows “Merchant not supported” on the declined transaction. Tuyo does not publish the blocked list; the only way to know is to try a payment and read the result. Common blocks in this category cover gambling (MCC 7995), but other categories can also be restricted by the issuer.
On the rewards side, the picture is in transition. There is no traditional cashback today. The headline offer has been BNPM (Buy Now Pay Maybe), a programme that randomly paid for purchases at Tuyo’s discretion, but it closes on 31 October 2026, replaced from 1 November 2026 by 1.5% cashback on all purchases worldwide, with no minimums, caps, categories, or membership conditions. The 1.5% rate applies at least through the end of 2026, after which Tuyo can change it. Alongside the cashback, Tuyo runs a points programme called TUYOs: you earn them from card spend, from trading, and from Earn strategies. TUYOs are off-chain points, not a tradable token. A token generation event (TGE) is expected in 2026, with at least 20% of the supply allocated to users and community. None of the launch mechanics, vesting, or listing is confirmed as of writing.
The iOS app holds a 4.4 out of 5 average from 130 App Store ratings, the Android app a 3.9 out of 5 from roughly 305 reviews and more than 10,000 downloads (last updated 27 July 2026). Both are decent for a young product, and both come in for some sharp criticism on the points covered in the next section.
What can go wrong
A few issues are worth weighing before you sign up.
The app freezes. The most common complaint in 2026 reviews, on both the App Store and Google Play, is the app freezing after verification, sometimes requiring a reinstall that locks the user out of the account. When that happens, support takes days to respond, and several users describe being stuck in a loop with no working card and no usable balance screen.
Slow and unclear support. Tuyo support is reached in-app or at [email protected]. There is a status page at status.tuyo.com, but no published hours and no service-level target. A separate product page, tuyo.space, says the team usually replies within one business day; that is not confirmed for the card product.
BNPM is ending. BNPM was Tuyo’s flagship reward, a probabilistic programme that occasionally paid for a purchase at the company’s discretion. It was launched in May 2026, when Tuyo’s co-founder declared “cashback is dead.” By October 2026, the same co-founder said users had exploited the programme, that the costs had grown, and that the team was being distracted. BNPM stops on 31 October 2026. The 1.5% cashback that replaces it is guaranteed only through the end of 2026, and only on purchases, not on the previous “free coffee now and then” mechanic. Users who signed up for the gamified side of BNPM are getting a smaller, more conventional reward from November.
Eligibility surprises. The single most damaging failure mode is depositing funds before the card is actually issued, then discovering the country is not eligible. Tuyo checks residence at sign-up and again at card issuance, and the two checks do not always agree. The only safe practice is to keep the balance at zero until the card is in your wallet and a small test purchase has cleared.
Forced EUR-to-USD conversion. At least one 2026 Trustpilot reviewer reports an EUR-to-USD forced conversion at around 0.50% on a euro deposit, in addition to the published card fees. That figure is not on the official fee page, and the FAQ gives only the “usually under 1%” description for the fiat spread. Worth checking with support before relying on the published 0% for EUR balances.
What the company is, and is not. Tuyo Inc. is a financial technology company, not a bank. The fiat side (fiat-to-stablecoin conversion, virtual bank account numbers) is handled by Bridge Ventures, Inc., a US-licensed money transmitter. The card itself is issued by licensed partner institutions through Signify Holdings, which trades as Rain, under a Visa licence. Tuyo’s own registration jurisdiction is not on the site (a third-party directory puts it in Delaware). Funds held in Cash are not FDIC-insured, and the standard counterparty risks that come with any fintech-backed product apply.
What the help centre does not cover. Tuyo’s public help pages do not describe how disputes, chargebacks, refunds, or merchant problems are handled, and the published Cardholder Agreement (International, November 2025) is hosted on Notion in a form that does not read as a normal HTML document. The November 2022 precedent, when Visa terminated its global agreements with FTX and the FTX US debit card was wound down, is a reminder that programmes can be suspended quickly and on the network’s terms. Tuyo is not FTX, and no service incidents are reported on status.tuyo.com for August to October 2026, but the absence of a clear dispute process is a real gap, and one to factor in if you plan to put meaningful spend through the card.
What to take instead
Three reasonable alternatives, with different trade-offs.
| Card | Score | Best for | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| MetaMask Card | 7.1 / 10 | Users who want to spend directly from a self-custody wallet, with token and network choice (Linea, Base, Monad, Solana) | 1% cashback on the free Virtual tier, 3% on the $199/year Metal tier but only up to $10,000 of spend; some regions on a waitlist |
| KAST | 6.1 / 10 | Users who want a physical card, multiple cards per account, and a stablecoin balance in USD | Annual membership ($1,000 Premium, $10,000 Private) and an inactivity fee after 12 months |
| TokenPocket / TP Card | 5.8 / 10 | Users already in the TokenPocket wallet, willing to be on Arbitrum with EUR24 and USD24 balances | A 1% deposit fee (refundable through later rewards), limited geographic availability, no physical card |
If your priority is self-custody and you already live inside MetaMask Card’s 45-country sign-up list, the MetaMask card is the more polished product: Virtual is free, Metal adds 3% cashback on the first $10,000, and the spend flows directly from your wallet on Linea, Base, Monad, or Solana. The main catch is that the 3% rate steps down to 1% past the cap, and some users have been pushed to a waitlist.
If a physical card today matters, KAST ships plastic (and metal) and lets you run up to ten cards per account, with 0% on stablecoin top-ups and USD card spend. The cost is the annual membership: $1,000 for Premium, $10,000 for Private, plus a $1 per month inactivity fee after 12 months of no use.
If you are already a TokenPocket user, the TP Card runs on Arbitrum, holds balances in EUR24 and USD24, and refunds its 1% deposit fee through later rewards. Geographic coverage is narrower than Tuyo’s, and there is no physical card.
Who I would recommend it to
I would recommend Tuyo to a self-custody user who already keeps a meaningful USDC balance, lives outside the 27 excluded countries and the 25 excluded US states, and is comfortable with a virtual-only card for now. The 0.25% conversion fee, the free USDC on Base deposit, the multi-network top-up, and the 0% fee on USD purchases inside the US stack up to one of the cheaper everyday-use setups in the category, as long as you stay in USD or convert only when you have to. The 2% combined ceiling on non-USD purchases abroad is competitive with most crypto cards.
I would not recommend Tuyo if any of the following applies: you live in a listed country and the card is a real possibility; you need a physical card today; you expect a fast, structured dispute process for a defective purchase; you need a rewards programme that feels like more than a basic 1.5% cashback; or you cannot tolerate an app that some users have had to reinstall to recover. For those situations, the alternatives above are a better fit.
Two final checks before you commit. First, confirm your country is in the open list at sign-up, but treat that answer as provisional until the card is in your wallet and one test purchase has cleared. Second, read the in-app fee disclosure for your specific card (Cardholder Agreement, International, Nov 2025) to see the legal-maximum numbers alongside the rates currently advertised. The 2% combined ceiling is what you should plan for, even if the 1%-and-1% structure is what you pay today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tuyo card?
The Tuyo card is a virtual Visa whose balance is backed by USDC on the Base network. It is run by Tuyo Inc., a financial technology company, with fiat services provided by Bridge Ventures (a US-licensed money transmitter) and card issuance handled through Signify Holdings (Rain) under a Visa licence. The card spends from a USDC balance that the user controls through a self-custodial wallet.
Is Tuyo a bank?
No. Tuyo Inc. is a financial technology company, not a bank. Funds are not FDIC-insured, and the relevant licences sit with the partner firms: Bridge Ventures holds the US money transmitter licence for fiat services, and the card is issued by licensed institutions through Signify Holdings (Rain) under a Visa licence.
Where is the Tuyo card available?
Tuyo issues cards in most countries except 27 excluded by residence (including Russia, Belarus, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, India, mainland China, and Vietnam) and 25 excluded US states and territories (including New York, California, Texas, and Florida, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and several island territories). The check is based on verified country of residence, not citizenship.
Does the Tuyo card require KYC?
Yes. Identity verification is required, using a government-issued ID (passport or ID card). The minimum age is 18. There is a single verification level, with no basic-versus-enhanced tier system. Common rejection reasons are document issues, unclear photos, and unsupported occupation codes, and a rejected application is final.
How do I top up the Tuyo card?
You can fund the card with USDC on Base (free to receive, you pay the network fee on the sending side) or with any token on Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Smart Chain, or Polygon, which the app converts to USDC on Base for a 0.25% fee. Fiat top-ups are available via Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit or credit card, a linked US bank account, USD transfer (ACH or domestic wire), EUR transfer (SEPA or SEPA Instant), and MXN transfer (SPEI). The minimum top-up amount is not stated.
Can I withdraw my funds from Tuyo?
Yes. The crypto side is self-custodial, so you can withdraw your crypto to your own wallet at any time, with no lock-ups, even if KYC fails or the account is restricted. Fiat withdrawals are routed through the USD, EUR, and MXN account numbers Tuyo provides. Standard trading and network fees apply; an account-closure fee is not stated.
What does it cost to use the Tuyo card?
Issuance and the monthly fee are both free. USD purchases inside the US cost 0%. Non-USD purchases add 1% (FX), and purchases made outside the US add another 1% (cross-border), for a combined ceiling of 2% per purchase. Crypto-to-USDC conversion is 0.25%. ATM withdrawals are capped at $250 per transaction and three attempts per 24 hours; Tuyo adds no fee of its own, but the ATM operator’s surcharge counts toward the $250 limit.
Does the Tuyo card have cashback or rewards?
There is no traditional cashback today. The previous BNPM (Buy Now Pay Maybe) programme ends on 31 October 2026 and is replaced from 1 November 2026 by 1.5% cashback on every purchase, with no caps or categories, applying at least through the end of 2026 per Tuyo’s terms. Separately, you can earn TUYOs points from card spend, trading, and Earn strategies; TUYOs are off-chain points, and a token launch (TGE) is planned in 2026 with at least 20% of the supply set aside for users and community.
Is the Tuyo card safe?
The card sits on a self-custody model: the user holds the private keys, Tuyo never custodies the funds, and the card can only pull up to its activated daily limit from the USDC balance. Safeguards in the app include a card freeze toggle, an in-app PIN, biometrics via Face ID, and an adjustable daily limit. Funds are not FDIC-insured, and the official help centre does not describe how disputes, chargebacks, or refunds are handled, so a clear process is not part of the public product today.
How do I add the Tuyo card to Apple Pay or Google Pay?
After the virtual card is issued in the app, you add it through the standard flow in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, the same way as any other card. Apple and Google run their own risk checks on device, location, and account history, and either can reject a card addition for reasons outside Tuyo’s control; if that happens, support can advise, but the decision sits with the wallet provider.
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