SecondFi and Wirex Launch First Self-Custodial Visa Card from the Cardano Ecosystem
EMURGO's SecondFi platform and Wirex have announced a self-custodial Visa card letting users spend ADA, BTC, ETH, USDC, and hundreds of other digital assets directly from their own wallets, marking the first consumer finance card of this scale built on Cardano infrastructure.
SecondFi, the self-custodial neofinance platform developed by EMURGO, a co-founding entity of the Cardano blockchain, announced on May 7, 2026 a deepened partnership with global digital payments firm Wirex to launch SecondFi's first-ever self-custodial Visa card, enabling users across more than 130 countries to spend crypto and stablecoins at any Visa-accepted merchant without ever relinquishing custody of their funds [1].
From Cardano Card to Full Self-Custody
The announcement marks a significant evolution in EMURGO's consumer payments strategy. The company first entered the payments space at Cardano Summit 2025, where it launched the Cardano Card in partnership with Wirex as a fully custodial solution. The product achieved strong early adoption and represented Cardano's largest entry into digital payments. But community feedback was unambiguous: users wanted the same seamless spending experience paired with true self-custody. That demand became the catalyst for the SecondFi rebrand and the new card product [1].
With the latest launch, SecondFi expands from a single card product into a full-service financial platform. Users never deposit funds with a third party; assets remain in their own wallets until the precise moment a transaction occurs. The card is natively integrated into the SecondFi app, where users can spend, trade, earn, and save from a single account [1].
How the Card Works
Wirex acts as the card issuer and holds principal membership with both Visa and Mastercard, providing the regulated infrastructure that connects SecondFi's self-custodial wallet layer to global merchant networks. When a cardholder initiates a payment, supported digital assets are converted at the point of transaction, and the merchant receives settlement through Visa's rails. No pre-loading or third-party deposit is required at any stage [1].
Beyond spending, SecondFi cardholders gain access to crypto cashback on purchases, low foreign exchange fees, global ATM withdrawals, and a suite of DeFi utilities including yield, staking, and borrowing services, all available within the SecondFi app. The platform is designed for mass adoption and abstracts away the technical complexity of Web3 onboarding, requiring no prior cryptocurrency experience [1].
"We're proud to power the infrastructure behind SecondFi's first self-custodial card experience that makes digital assets seamlessly spendable in everyday life. As finance increasingly moves onchain, together, we're bringing millions of users closer to a future where true ownership and real-world utility go hand in hand, built on over a decade of trust and innovation across Wirex's product-suite." - Georgy Sokolov, Co-founder at Wirex [1]
Wirex's BaaS Engine and Scale
The SecondFi partnership arrives as Wirex accelerates its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) business at a record pace. In April 2026, Wirex reported crossing $1 billion in annualized onchain stablecoin volume in just 131 days since launching its BaaS service in November 2025, surpassing the previous industry record of 276 days held by RedotPay [2]. The platform processed $105 million in onchain card volume in March alone, equivalent to approximately $1.3 billion annualized, and recorded 34 percent growth in onchain card volume from February to March of that year [2].
With over 300 partners, an average integration time of 44 days, and more than 2.4 million onchain transactions processed since launch, Wirex's BaaS infrastructure has become a leading choice for fintechs, neobanks, and digital asset platforms seeking regulated card issuance on stablecoin rails [2]. SecondFi is among the highest-profile additions to that partner roster, given EMURGO's position as one of Cardano's three co-founding entities alongside Input Output Global (IOG) and the Cardano Foundation.
"SecondFi gives people a simple way to spend, move, and grow their assets while staying in full control. SecondFi puts you back in control of your money." - Phillip Pon, CEO of EMURGO [1]
Competitive Landscape: Self-Custodial Cards in 2026
SecondFi enters a nascent but rapidly crowding segment. MetaMask Card, launched in general availability in February 2026 via a Mastercard partnership with Monavate as infrastructure provider, offers self-custodial spending across Ethereum-native assets in the United States [3]. EtherFi Cash deploys a Safe smart-contract vault on the Scroll network, enabling users to borrow against restaked ETH collateral and spend stablecoins without triggering a taxable liquidation event [4]. Kast supports over 20 cryptocurrencies and five stablecoins deposited from networks including Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Tron, converting non-stable deposits to USD on entry [5].
The table below compares these platforms across key dimensions:
Feature — SecondFi (Wirex) — MetaMask Card — EtherFi Cash — Kast
Card Network — Visa — Mastercard — Visa — Visa
Custody Model — Self-custodial (own wallet) — Self-custodial (MetaMask wallet) — Non-custodial (Safe vault, Scroll) — Custodial (funds convert on deposit)
Cardano (ADA) Support — Yes — No — No — No
BTC Support — Yes — No (ETH-based assets) — No — Yes
ETH Support — Yes — Yes — Yes (weETH, USDC) — Yes
Stablecoin Support — USDC + hundreds of assets — USDC, USDT, mUSD, EURe, GBPe — USDC (Borrow Mode) — USDT, USDC, USDe, PYUSD, RLUSD
DeFi Layer (yield/staking/borrow) — Yes (in-app) — No — Yes (restaking, borrow mode) — No
Cashback — Yes (crypto) — 1-3% — Up to 3% (wETH, Core tier) — Not specified
US Availability — Not confirmed — Yes (50 states) — No (US excluded) — Yes
Infrastructure Partner — Wirex BaaS — Monavate (Baanx) — Ether.fi protocol — Kast platform
SecondFi's most distinctive competitive advantage is the combination of Cardano-native asset support with a full DeFi utility layer, a pairing that no other card on this list currently offers. ADA holders have until now lacked a direct path to real-world spending without bridging or converting to Ethereum-based infrastructure. That gap is closed with this launch.
Market Context
The partnership taps into several converging macro trends. Global stablecoin circulation has surpassed $300 billion, with 80 percent of stablecoin volume driven by payments, payroll, and settlement activity [2]. An estimated 1.4 billion people globally remain outside the formal financial system, and over 820 million active crypto wallets exist worldwide, with 31 million already being used for day-to-day payments [1]. SecondFi's target markets include Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, regions where EMURGO has existing commercial infrastructure and Cardano has established development communities.
For Wirex, the SecondFi deal demonstrates that its BaaS platform can serve not just stablecoin-native fintechs but also blockchain-native consumer platforms with complex DeFi requirements. The company's track record of $20 billion in lifetime transactions across 7 million users since 2014 lends regulatory credibility to partners navigating Visa's compliance requirements [1].
SecondFi is available for early access via secondfi.io, with full card issuance rolling out to supported regions following the announcement.
References
[1] PRNewswire, "SecondFi and Wirex Partner to Launch Self-Custodial Card, Putting Global Users in Full Control of Their Money," May 7, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/secondfi-and-wirex-partner-to-launch-self-custodial-card-putting-global-users-in-full-control-of-their-money-302764273.html
[2] Wirex Team, "Wirex Sets New Record As Fastest-Growing Stablecoin Infrastructure," April 15, 2026. https://www.wirexapp.com/post/wirex-sets-new-record-as-fastest-growing-stablecoin-infrastructure
[3] MetaMask / Consensys, "MetaMask and Mastercard Partner to Launch the US MetaMask Card," February 26, 2026. https://metamask.io/news/metamask-and-mastercard-partner-to-launch-the-us-metamask-card
[4] KK Investing, "Ether.fi Cash Card Review: Non-Custodial Crypto Visa (2026)," March 7, 2026. https://kkinvesting.io/en/posts/etherfi-cash-card-review/
[5] Chainwire / EMURGO, "EMURGO Unveils SecondFi, Opens Waitlist at Money20/20 Bangkok," April 22, 2026. https://chainwire.org/2026/04/22/emurgo-unveils-secondfi-opens-waitlist-at-money20-20-bangkok/