TLDR Tech / Crypto
5 things to know before launching a stablecoin card program
Crypto payment cards processed $759 million in July, up roughly 2.5x year over year from under $1 million a month in late 2023, per a16z crypto and Paymentscan. This guide lays out five architecture decisions for teams building stablecoin card programs. Cards require coordinating an issuing bank or BIN sponsor, card network, compliance/KYC providers, and wallet infrastructure rather than a single API integration. Teams must choose between prefunded balances, just-in-time funding pulled from wallets or DeFi vaults, or secured credit (which in the US can require collateral locked at least 14 days). Compliance obligations under frameworks like Regulation E shape who can get a card, what onboarding looks like, and where it can be used. Programmable wallets allow authorization rules to be enforced at both card and onchain levels, useful for role-based business spending or AI agent budgets, and cards should be built on account infrastructure that can extend into funding, payments, and yield rather than as a standalone product.
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