Ethena Pay

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Ethena Pay scores 10 of 16 on the CBL Card Score. Ethena Pay, Visa. Self-custodial; user holds the keys. Third National via Rain; no licence shown.

CBL Card Score: 10 of 16

Criterion	Points	What we found	Source
Custody	2 of 2	Self-custodial. "Ethena Pay is non-custodial" and "never holds your money" (official, pay.ethena.fi). The terms say the user is "solely responsible" for private keys and seed phrases, Ethena Pay cannot recover lost keys, and balances are records tied to self-custodial wallets; embedded wallet features may be provided by Privy (official, terms of use, updated 22 Sep 2026). The disclaimer repeats that the company does not "hold, manage, custody, or otherwise have access to your funds" (official, 1 Sep 2026).	official checked 20 October 2026
Issuer and licence	1 of 2	Card terms: issued by Third National under licence from Visa, with Signify Holdings, Inc. d/b/a Rain as programme manager (official, effective 1 Jun 2026). The public pages name no issuer and say only "issued by a card issuer under license from the card network" (official, legal hub and FAQ, checked 20 Oct 2026). No licence type, regulator or register entry is published for Third National (official, checked 20 Oct 2026; Rain's own privacy notice gives only a phone number and website, official Rain legal site, Jun 2026).	official checked 20 October 2026
Availability	0 of 2	Live on iOS in the 47 countries listed in Appendix 1 of the terms: 17 in Latin America, 11 in the Caribbean, eight in Asia and the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates, nine in Africa, plus Australia and New Zealand (official, terms Appendix 1, updated 22 Sep 2026; FAQ says 48). No EU state, the UK or Saudi Arabia is on the list, and the Spend Card is "offered only to non-U.S. persons" (official, card terms and download page). EU and US support is planned, with EUR marked "coming soon", and users elsewhere can join a waitlist (official, blog, 3 Sep 2026; download page, checked 20 Oct 2026). Open to new users in listed countries with no invite step found (official).	official checked 20 October 2026
FX fee on a foreign-currency purchase	1 of 2	"Typically around 1.0%, passed through directly from the applicable card network with no markup"; the page adds that Ethena Pay "charges no foreign exchange fee, no cross-border fee, and no markup of any kind on currency conversion", and that the 1% figure is typical, not a cap (official, pricing page, effective 1 Sep 2026, updated 30 Sep 2026). The network fee reaches the cardholder, so this is scored at 1%.	official checked 20 October 2026
Funding cost	1 of 2	Account opening, monthly maintenance, inactivity, closure, virtual card issuance, replacement card and activation all free (official, pricing page). USD, EUR and GBP bank transfers in are free; other bank transfers 0.05% to 0.1% (third-party: The Block, 1 Sep 2026). Crypto deposits carry gas and any MoonPay / Iron fee shown at transaction time; no Ethena Pay fee is listed (official, pricing page). Physical card price and delivery not found on the pricing page, card terms or FAQ (official, checked 20 Oct 2026). Pro "is available via subscription or referrals"; the Standard tier is free (official, pay.ethena.fi).	official checked 20 October 2026
Apple Pay and Google Pay	1 of 2	"Add to Apple Pay in seconds" and "Google Pay available soon" (official, pay.ethena.fi, checked 20 Oct 2026). The launch post of 3 Sep 2026 said virtual cards can be added to Apple Pay or Google Wallet (official, blog). The current homepage wording governs.	official checked 20 October 2026
Freeze and dispute policy	2 of 2	Card terms: a disputed charge or error must be reported within 60 days after it posts to the periodic statement; try the merchant first, then start a chargeback through the Ethena Pay account under card network rules; lost, stolen or unauthorised use goes to support@ethenapay.co or 1-844-ETHA-PAY; no investigation time in days (official, effective 1 Jun 2026). Complaints procedure: acknowledgement within five business days, final response targeted within 15 business days and no later than 35, internal escalation answered in ten business days, external route to the Malta Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services where it has jurisdiction and the EU ODR platform for EU consumers (official, 1 Sep 2026). No card freeze article found (official, FAQ).	official checked 20 October 2026
Yield on idle balance	2 of 2	The balance earns "the prevailing USDe base rate, which we do not set", plus a Daily Boost paid in USDe: Standard 5% a year on balances up to $5,000, Pro 6% up to $100,000, VIP 6% up to $1,000,000, with the underlying USDe rate above the cap (official, pricing page, updated 30 Sep 2026). "Nothing to stake, nothing to lock and nothing to opt into" (official, blog, 3 Sep 2026). The Boost needs at least one qualifying card transaction per calendar month and is discretionary, not interest and not insured (official, pricing page). Free tier, no lock.	official checked 20 October 2026

Total 10 of 16. Official means the company's own site, terms or help centre. Third-party means a named review site with its own check date; a third-party fact is reported, not verified, and the score stands until an official source confirms or contradicts it.

Score history

20 October 2026

10 of 16

First score

Standing

Company	Ethena Pay Ltd., a private limited company in Malta, company number C 114576, which states it is "not licensed or authorised by any financial services regulator in your country" and does not itself perform regulated banking, payment, digital asset or custodial activity (official, terms of use Appendix 1, updated 22 Sep 2026; disclaimers, 1 Sep 2026). The product belongs to Ethena, the issuer of USDe: ethena.fi links to pay.ethena.fi from its Products menu (official, ethena.fi, checked 20 Oct 2026). Card programme management, technology and servicing by Signify Holdings, Inc. d/b/a Rain; issuer Third National under licence from Visa (official, card terms, effective 1 Jun 2026). On-ramp, off-ramp and bank transfers through MoonPay / Iron (official, pricing page, updated 30 Sep 2026).
Network	Visa (official, card terms). The card is the Ethena Pay Spend Card. official
Rails	Third National issues the card under licence from Visa with Rain (Signify Holdings, Inc.) as programme manager (official, card terms). Ethena Pay Ltd. supplies the app and never holds funds; USDe sits in the user's own wallet, and fiat rails run through MoonPay / Iron (official).
Website	pay.ethena.fi
Health tag	Watch Self-custody and complaint timelines are documented, but Ethena Pay Ltd. states it holds no financial services authorisation, the issuer Third National publishes no licence or regulator, and the spending balance is USDe, a synthetic dollar outside any deposit scheme (official).
Last checked	20 October 2026

When it goes wrong

Card terms: a disputed charge or error must be reported within 60 days after it posts to the periodic statement; try the merchant first, then start a chargeback through the Ethena Pay account under card network rules; lost, stolen or unauthorised use goes to support@ethenapay.co or 1-844-ETHA-PAY; no investigation time in days (official, effective 1 Jun 2026). Complaints procedure: acknowledgement within five business days, final response targeted within 15 business days and no later than 35, internal escalation answered in ten business days, external route to the Malta Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services where it has jurisdiction and the EU ODR platform for EU consumers (official, 1 Sep 2026). No card freeze article found (official, FAQ).

The dispute route, in order: the company's own support desk, then the card network's chargeback rules, then the regulator of the issuer where one is named. A frozen card is a question, not a verdict: the Frozen Account Survival Kit applies to cards too.

Costs

FX	"Typically around 1.0%, passed through directly from the applicable card network with no markup"; the page adds that Ethena Pay "charges no foreign exchange fee, no cross-border fee, and no markup of any kind on currency conversion", and that the 1% figure is typical, not a cap (official, pricing page, effective 1 Sep 2026, updated 30 Sep 2026). The network fee reaches the cardholder, so this is scored at 1%. official
Funding	Account opening, monthly maintenance, inactivity, closure, virtual card issuance, replacement card and activation all free (official, pricing page). USD, EUR and GBP bank transfers in are free; other bank transfers 0.05% to 0.1% (third-party: The Block, 1 Sep 2026). Crypto deposits carry gas and any MoonPay / Iron fee shown at transaction time; no Ethena Pay fee is listed (official, pricing page). Physical card price and delivery not found on the pricing page, card terms or FAQ (official, checked 20 Oct 2026). Pro "is available via subscription or referrals"; the Standard tier is free (official, pay.ethena.fi). official
ATM	$1.00 plus 0.65% of the amount, where ATM access is available, plus any operator surcharge (official, pricing page).
Tiers	Standard free. Pro by subscription or referrals; VIP by referrals or locked ENA; premium tier prices are "presented at enrollment" rather than on the pricing page (official, pay.ethena.fi and pricing page). A launch report gives Pro as a $2,000 ENA lock or ten referrals and VIP as a $10,000 ENA lock or 50 referrals (third-party: The Block, 1 Sep 2026).

Cashback, as of 20 Oct 2026

Paid in AVAX once daily after settlement, by monthly spend band. Standard 4% on the first $2,500, 1% to $4,000, nothing above. Pro 4.5% on the first $8,000, 2% to $10,000, 1% to $12,000, 0.5% above. VIP 5% on the first $20,000, 2% to $30,000, 1% to $40,000, 0.5% above. Minimum qualifying transaction $1; reversed on refunds or chargebacks (official, pricing page, updated 30 Sep 2026; FAQ).

Cashback is a dated fact, not part of the Card Score. Promo rates change too often to score.

Availability

Live on iOS in the 47 countries listed in Appendix 1 of the terms: 17 in Latin America, 11 in the Caribbean, eight in Asia and the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates, nine in Africa, plus Australia and New Zealand (official, terms Appendix 1, updated 22 Sep 2026; FAQ says 48). No EU state, the UK or Saudi Arabia is on the list, and the Spend Card is "offered only to non-U.S. persons" (official, card terms and download page). EU and US support is planned, with EUR marked "coming soon", and users elsewhere can join a waitlist (official, blog, 3 Sep 2026; download page, checked 20 Oct 2026). Open to new users in listed countries with no invite step found (official). official

Identity checks: Identity verification; users must be 18 or older (official, FAQ and terms).

What we still need confirmed

Facts marked official come from Ethena Pay's own pages or terms. Facts marked third-party are reported by a named review site and count as reported, not verified. These items are open for the next Monday sweep:

• EU and UK launch. Rescore availability to 1 if either goes live alongside the UAE; to 2 if both do. open
• Google Pay. Rescore wallets to 2 when the homepage drops "available soon". open
• Physical card price and delivery fee, and whether stablecoin deposits carry any Ethena Pay or Iron fee. Rescore funding to 2 if all are free; to 0 if a deposit fee of 1% or more applies. open
• Third National's licence type and regulator. Rescore issuer to 2 if a bank or EMI licence is confirmed. open
• Pro and VIP prices as shown at enrolment, and whether the Daily Boost survives a month with no card transaction. open
• Whether the card network fee on non-USD spend ever exceeds 1.5%. Rescore FX to 0 if it does. open

See a mistake? Email hi@cryptobanklist.com. Every factual correction is logged on our corrections page.

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