How to build your crypto card 101:

1. Pick the exact card type first: prepaid, debit, credit, etc. Each one has different requirements, rules, fees, and compliance obligations.
2. Start with one use case: stablecoin payroll, freelancer payouts, travel spending, remittances, business cards, etc.
3. Choose one launch region. A crypto card for the EU, US, LATAM, APAC, or MENA is not one product.
4. Find the issuer/BIN sponsor before you build too much. Without a bank or licensed sponsor behind the program, you don’t have a card business.
5. Decide if you’re using a full program manager or going processor-only. A full program manager is slower to customize but handles more compliance. Processor-only gives more control but pushes more risk, AML, fraud, and bank management onto you.
6. Build the ledger before the card. You need clean records for user balances, top-ups, authorizations, reversals, refunds, chargebacks, FX, fees, settlement, etc.
7. Decide when conversion happens. Are you converting crypto to fiat at top-up, at authorization, or at settlement? This decision affects liquidity, slippage, treasury risk, user experience, and compliance.
8. Add KYC/KYB from day one. Name, DOB, address, sanctions screening, PEP checks, source-of-funds, business verification, and ongoing monitoring.
9. Build fraud rules and a very clear ToS.
10. Launch virtual cards first. They are faster, cheaper, and easier to test.
11. Add spend controls like daily limits, merchant category limits, country blocks, ATM rules, business expense rules, frozen cards, instant card replacement, and user-side controls to make the product feel safe.
12. Apple Pay & Google Pay support.
Congrats. You built your own card now.