Exa

The Exa Card is a free virtual Visa Signature credit card designed for flexible spending collateralized by crypto.

Unlike most crypto cards, Exa does not offer cashback. Its main differentiator is Pay Mode, which lets users choose between paying for purchases immediately, or borrowing against their collateral and repaying the purchase in installments.

Onboarding for the Exa Card was straightforward, taking us approximately 10 minutes. Signing up consists of a standard KYC procedure through Persona. Once approved, the virtual card could be added to Apple Pay for spending immediately.

We had no issues with practical in-store tests using the Exa Card. However, its USD denomination means users spending in other currencies should account for a 1.5% foreign exchange fee.

Exa only offers one card tier for the virtual Visa Signature credit card, incurring no recurring payments or signup fees.

Exa charges an FX fee on purchases made with foreign currencies. The fee is built into the conversion rate rather than shown as a separate charge. In our test, this appeared as an approximated 1.5% spread against the reference exchange rate.

Foreign exchange

For purchases in foreign currencies we observed:

• 1.5% Visa foreign exchange fee

Annual fees

• Virtual Card: Free

Funding

Onchain funding is limited to Optimism and supports OP, wstETH, WBTC, USDC and ETH.

Users can also open Bridge-powered virtual accounts for USD funding through ACH or wire transfer and EUR funding through SEPA. At the time of testing, Exa provides a fee-sponsoring program. Users can enjoy zero banking transaction fees until they reach either $3,000 in cumulative Bridge volume, or 60 total Bridge transactions.

USD via ACH or wire

• Account creation: Free
• Monthly account maintenance: Free
• ACH transfers: 0.4%
• Wire transfers: 1%

EUR via SEPA

• Account creation: Free
• Monthly account maintenance: Free
• SEPA transfers: 0.7%

Pay Later

Choosing the Pay Later feature under Pay Mode allows eligible purchases to be split into installments. Each installment must be paid manually before its due date.

• First three installments incur 0% interest
• Late installments incur a daily penalty of 0.455% while overdue.

Earn

The Exa Card includes an integrated yield product for crypto collateral on Optimism. Supported collateral assets are USDC, ETH, WBTC and OP.

At the time of testing, the app displayed:

• USDC: 0.80% APR
• ETH: 0.82% APR
• OP: 0.22% APR
• WBTC: 0.35% APR

Deposited collateral is supplied to lending pools in Exactly Protocol, where it is borrowed by other users. The displayed yield is variable APR. Exa calculates the home-screen rate as a weighted average of the APRs on the collateral assets a user has deposited.

Travel benefits

• Pax Assistance travel-insurance
• 20% Airalo eSIM discount.

Visa Signature benefits

Exa boasts an unusual amount of premium-card benefits for a virtual product:

• Concierge services, lounge access, and hotel offers
• Dining and entertainment benefits
• Global mobile-data offers, emergency assistance, and a range of travel and purchase protections

The Exa Card stands out with its crypto-native credit features: users can spend flexibly with the Pay Later feature, all while earning yield on their collateral. The option to split purchases into three interest-free installments makes it more than a basic crypto spending card.

Exa additionally boasts an unusual amount of card-holder benefits for a virtual product, with a broad range of Visa Signature perks paired with travel-insurance and an Airalo eSIM discount.

There is no cashback, and the observed FX spread reduces its appeal for international spending. Users considering installments should also note that repayment is manual and late payments carry a daily penalty.