Most shops do not accept USDT or USDC directly, but almost all accept contactless phone payments. A crypto card connects the two: you hold a stablecoin balance on the card, add the card to Apple Pay or Google Pay, and pay at the terminal like with any other card. The merchant receives a normal card payment in local currency.
Which Agora cards work with phone wallets
All three cards support Apple Pay and Google Pay: Virtual Card Basic, Virtual Card Plus and Physical Card Plus. For a virtual card, the phone wallet is what makes in-store payments possible, because there is no plastic card to tap or insert.
Support is subject to each wallet provider’s country, device and issuer requirements. Apple and Google publish their own conditions: see Apple Pay availability and Google Wallet supported payment methods.
Setting it up
- Get a card and top it up with USDT or USDC from a compatible wallet, using the deposit address and network shown in the card application.
- Open Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and choose to add a card.
- Enter the card details from the Agora application.
- Complete any verification step the wallet requests, then set the card as default if you want to use it for every tap.
Because a virtual card activates instantly, you can be paying in a shop shortly after your first top-up.
Where it works and where it does not
Phone payments work at contactless terminals wherever the card network is accepted, subject to the card’s unsupported regions. A few situations still need a physical card:
- Terminals without contactless support.
- ATMs: neither virtual card can withdraw cash. Only Physical Card Plus works at ATMs.
- Some merchants that require the physical card to be presented, such as certain hotels or rental desks.
Prohibited categories also apply regardless of how you pay, including gambling, cryptocurrency purchases, sports betting, petrol, military supplies, gaming credits, non-profit organizations and government agencies.
Limits and fees are the card’s, not the wallet’s
Paying with a phone does not change the card’s limits or fees. Virtual Card Basic allows $20,000 per transaction and $240,000 per day; the Plus cards allow $60,000 per transaction and $900,000 per day with no monthly limit. Note that the shop’s terminal may cap contactless payments at a lower amount. Fees are explained in our fee guide.
Privacy considerations
Phone wallets typically use a device-specific token instead of the card number, so the merchant does not receive the actual card details. That is a security benefit. It is not anonymity: the wallet provider, card network and merchant still process the payment, and the wallet provider has its own privacy policy.
Practical habits help: lock your phone with a strong passcode, remove the card from the wallet if the device is lost, and keep the card balance in line with near-term spending. Our guide to staying private when you spend goes further.
The short version
Load stablecoins, add the card to your phone and tap to pay. Keep long-term holdings in your own wallet, because funds loaded onto a card are held by Agora’s licensed and regulated custodian partners.