Frequently asked questions

Banqa is a Visa card backed by the USDC you hold as collateral. You keep your USDC in your own non-custodial wallet, and your card is accepted wherever Visa is accepted. Self-custody: your keys, your USDC, auditable on-chain. Banqa is not a bank and not a banking substitute.

No. When you sign up we generate a 24-word self-custody wallet for you. You see the recovery phrase once and you alone control it. You can also connect any existing wallet (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Rabby, Phantom, hardware wallets — 40+ supported).

Account creation: under 1 minute. Identity verification: about 3 minutes (ID document + selfie liveness). Card issuance: instant for virtual cards once verified.

There are 0 % deposit fees — you pay only your network gas (cents on Base and Arbitrum). Cards may have a small issuance / monthly fee disclosed at order time. FX and ATM withdrawals carry the rates published in our fee schedule.

Because the Banqa card is a regulated product, we are required to perform KYC (Know Your Customer) checks under EU AML directives, UK MLR, and equivalent regulations. This protects you and the network from fraud.

A valid passport, national ID or driver licence + a recent proof of address (utility bill or bank statement within 3 months). For higher tiers we may also request source-of-funds documentation.

Most automated approvals complete within minutes. If we need manual review, expect 24–48 hours. You'll receive an email when the decision is ready.

We send an email explaining what went wrong (e.g. glare on the ID photo, mismatched name, expired document). You can retry from the dashboard with a fresh attempt.

Selfie liveness is processed by our compliance partner; raw biometric templates are not stored after the match decision. The selfie image is kept as part of the KYC file under our retention policy (see our Privacy Policy).

You — and only you — control the private keys to your funds. Banqa never stores your recovery phrase. If you lose the 24 words there is no way for us to recover access; that is the trade-off of true non-custodial finance.

In a non-custodial smart-contract wallet on the chain you choose: Base or Arbitrum. Every USDC balance is visible on-chain at the wallet's public address.

Yes. Click "Connect external wallet" on the deposit page and pick your wallet from the auto-detected list. MetaMask multi-account is fully supported — select the account you want to use for each transaction.

Your USDC stays on-chain in a wallet you control. You can withdraw at any time using your recovery phrase from any compatible wallet (MetaMask, Rabby, hardware) — Banqa does not need to be online for you to access your funds.

Today we only accept USDC. Other stablecoins (USDT, EURC) may be added later based on demand.

Live today: Base and Arbitrum One.

On Base and Arbitrum, USDC arrives in 5–15 seconds.

Zero from Banqa. You pay only your wallet's network gas (≈ $0.001 on Base / Arbitrum).

Go to Withdraw, pick the amount, and confirm. Banqa signs an on-chain authorisation that sends your USDC from the card collateral to your self-custody wallet. You then control those funds completely.

Yes, anywhere Visa is accepted. ATM withdrawal fees and limits are in the in-app fee schedule and depend on the issuing partner and your card tier.

The card accepts any merchant currency. USD-equivalent FX conversion is performed automatically at competitive Visa rates plus a small FX markup (disclosed in the fee schedule).

Yes. Tap "Freeze card" on the card page — all spending is blocked instantly. Unfreeze when you're ready, no fees.

Yes. Click "Show card details" — the data appears for 60 seconds with a live countdown, then auto-hides. We also hide it the moment you switch tab or lose focus to discourage screenshots.

Yes. Per-transaction, daily, weekly and monthly limits are all editable from the card page. They take effect immediately at the issuer.

Freeze it from the app immediately. If you have a virtual card you can replace the number with one click. For physical cards, contact support and we issue a replacement.

Yes, permanently from the danger zone in the card page. Cancelling does not affect your collateral — your USDC stays in your self-custody wallet.

It is shown to you once on screen at sign-up. You must save it offline before continuing. We never re-export it and we have no way to access it server-side.

They cannot drain the card without your recovery phrase or password. Sign in to Banqa from any device and freeze the card immediately. Your funds in self-custody are protected by the 24-word phrase only.

Yes. Login is gated by an email OTP for accounts that signed up with password. Google sign-in users rely on Google's own 2FA. Passkey support is rolling out.

Our smart-contract integrations follow audited, industry-standard proxy patterns on EVM chains. Codego undergoes regular penetration tests and operates under SOC 2 controls.

No fee on USDC top-ups. Card issuance, monthly card residency, ATM withdrawals, a 1.99% FX fee on non-USD transactions, chargeback handling and account closure are all disclosed up front in the in-app fee schedule before you order the card. Transparent fees, disclosed up front — see the fee schedule for full details.

Daily, weekly and monthly limits depend on your verification tier and are configurable from the card page. ATM cash withdrawals follow Visa partner standard limits.

We use the Visa daily FX rate for the merchant's currency on the date of settlement, plus a transparent markup disclosed in the fee schedule.

Eligibility depends on your residence and applicable regulations, and is confirmed during your application and identity-verification (KYC) process — not published as a public country list. Start an application and we'll tell you straight away whether a card can be issued to you.

During onboarding we verify your identity (and, for companies, your business) and confirm that a card can be issued under applicable law and our risk policy. Some applications may need enhanced due diligence, such as additional documents. These checks are handled inside the application flow.

Once issued, your card is accepted wherever Visa is accepted — over 150 million merchant locations worldwide, online and in-store, plus ATM withdrawals, subject to Visa risk controls.