Ready Card Review 2026: Apple Pay Setup, Fees & 3% Cashback Tested
Ready Card — formerly Argent — is one of the very few self-custodial crypto Mastercards available today. Your USDC stays in your own Starknet wallet at all times; the funds only leave when you tap or swipe to pay. The platform never holds your assets. If you’re in the UK or EEA and tired of handing your keys to a custodian just to spend crypto, Ready is the most direct answer on the market right now.
Key Takeaways
- Two plans: Metal (120 USDC/year, paid upfront) and Lite (free card, £6.99/$6.99 shipping only)
- Metal cashback: 3% in STRK on up to $5,000 spend per month (max $150/month, $1,800/year) — funded quarterly by Starknet Foundation, not guaranteed permanently
- Lite cashback: 0.5% in STRK on all eligible purchases (max $150/month shared cap)
- FX fees: Metal = 0%; Lite = 1% — both use the official Mastercard rate with no hidden spread
- ATM: Metal gets $800/month fee-free; Lite pays 2% per withdrawal; daily limit $500, rolling 30-day $2,500
- Google Pay: supported now; Apple Pay: coming soon (not yet available)
- Self-custody: USDC on Starknet — your keys, your funds, until the moment you spend
- Eligibility: Application open to UK and EEA residents only; once issued, card works at 140+ countries worldwide
What Is Ready Card?
Ready started life as Argent — a widely used smart-contract wallet brand in the Ethereum ecosystem. The team pivoted to Starknet, rebuilt the wallet infrastructure on that Layer-2 network, and eventually launched a physical Mastercard tied to the same self-custodial architecture. The rebrand to “Ready” came alongside the card launch. The name change matters less than what the product actually does: unlike virtually every other crypto card, Ready never holds your funds.
Here’s how it works in practice. Your USDC sits in your Starknet self-custodial wallet. When you pay at a terminal — say, a café in Manchester or a hotel in Lisbon — the app pulls the exact USDC equivalent from your wallet at the official Mastercard exchange rate and settles with the card issuer, Kulipa, in real time. To the merchant, it looks like any other contactless Mastercard payment. To you, it means no custodial counterparty risk: your assets don’t sit in a platform account that could be frozen, hacked, or insolvent.
Ready’s design principle is simple: the platform is a bridge, not a custodian. Your crypto remains yours until the moment you choose to spend it.
One important limitation to flag upfront: Ready currently supports USDC only. No ETH, BTC, or other tokens can be spent directly. This keeps the fee structure clean and the settlement mechanics predictable, but if your crypto is on other chains you’ll need to bridge USDC across to Starknet first. The deposit section below explains how to do this cheaply and quickly.
For a comparison with another self-custodial option in a different ecosystem, see our review of the Ether.fi Cash Card.
Plans & Fees
Ready offers two physical card tiers plus a virtual card that activates immediately after KYC approval. The difference between Metal and Lite is significant enough that it’s worth spending a minute on the maths before you choose.
| Feature | Metal | Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | 120 USDC (paid upfront, first year) | Free (£6.99 / $6.99 shipping only) |
| FX fee | 0% | 1% |
| Cashback rate | 3% on up to $5,000/month spend | 0.5% on all eligible purchases |
| Cashback currency | STRK | STRK |
| Max monthly cashback | $150 in STRK | $150 in STRK |
| Max annual cashback | $1,800 in STRK | Varies |
| ATM withdrawals | Free up to $800/month | 2% fee on every withdrawal |
| Exchange rate | Official Mastercard rate, no markup | Official Mastercard rate + 1% |
| Card material | 16g premium metal (gold or metal finish) | Plastic |
Spending and ATM limits (same for both plans): Single transaction maximum $5,000. Daily spending limit $10,000. Rolling 30-day limit $30,000. ATM: $500/day, $2,500 per rolling 30 days, $30,000/year. Ready itself does not charge an ATM operator fee, but local ATM providers may add their own surcharge — check before you withdraw.
Is Metal worth it? At 3% cashback on $5,000/month, you earn $150/month in STRK. The annual fee is $120. That means if you spend roughly $333/month on the Metal card you’ve already covered the fee through cashback alone — anything above that is net positive. Heavy spenders who can reach the $5,000/month cap could theoretically earn up to $1,800 in STRK annually, though the actual GBP/EUR value depends entirely on STRK’s market price at the time you receive or convert the tokens.
The virtual card is the fastest path to spending. Once KYC is approved you can add it to Google Pay and use it straight away while you wait for the physical card to arrive. If you are in a hurry or just want to test the product before committing to a physical card, the virtual route makes sense.
For a broader comparison of crypto card options, see our guide to the OKX Card.
Who Can Apply — Eligibility
Ready Card is currently available for application to residents of the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA covers all 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Ready has stated it plans to expand to more countries from 2025 onwards, but as of April 2026 no specific timeline for additional markets has been confirmed.
For UK applicants: the card sits within the UK financial framework as an e-money product. Kulipa — the regulated card issuer behind Ready — handles KYC and card issuance. Note that Ready Card is not directly FCA-authorised; it is Kulipa, as the e-money issuer, that operates under the applicable regulated framework. The UK’s new cryptoasset regulatory regime is expected to enter enforcement in October 2027, which may affect how crypto card products are classified. The regulatory landscape is evolving; verify compliance requirements for your own jurisdiction before applying.
There is also a diaspora opportunity worth flagging: if you hold UK or EEA residency — even temporarily, through a student visa, work permit, or dual residency — you can apply for the card. Once the card is issued it functions as a standard Mastercard and is accepted in 140+ countries worldwide. Eligibility is about where you can apply, not where you can use the card.
Can apply ≠ can use everywhere — once issued, Ready Card works in 140+ countries worldwide. The application restriction only applies to the sign-up step, not to where you spend.
Step-by-Step Application Guide
The entire application process takes place inside the Ready app. There are no web forms to fill out. Most people complete everything in under 15 minutes, with KYC review adding 1–3 business days.
Step 1: Download the Ready App and Create Your Wallet
Search “Ready” on the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). On first launch, select “Create new wallet.” The app generates a Starknet self-custodial wallet and prompts you to back up your seed phrase. Do this before anything else. Your seed phrase is the only way to recover your funds if you lose your phone — there is no “forgot password” option with a self-custodial wallet. Write it down and store it offline.
Step 2: Choose Your Plan
Navigate to the “Card” tab inside the app. Select Metal or Lite. Metal requires an upfront payment of 120 USDC for the first year. Lite is free to issue — you only pay £6.99/$6.99 for shipping. Use the break-even calculation above: if your monthly card spend is likely to exceed $333, Metal pays for itself through cashback.
Step 3: Complete KYC Identity Verification
KYC is processed by Kulipa, the regulated card issuer. You will need a government-issued ID — a UK or EEA passport, driving licence, or national ID card — and a video selfie for liveness verification. Unlike some crypto services, Ready does not require SMS or phone verification at sign-up, which some users find convenient. Approval typically takes 1–3 business days. You will receive a notification in the app when KYC is complete.
Step 4: Enter Your Shipping Address
Once KYC is approved, enter your UK or EEA delivery address. The physical card usually arrives within 5–10 business days. The virtual card activates immediately after KYC and can be added to Google Pay straight away — you do not need to wait for the physical card to start spending.
Step 5: Fund Your Starknet Wallet with USDC
The card draws directly from your Starknet wallet balance — there is no separate “card balance” to top up. You need USDC in your Ready wallet before you can spend. Ready supports four deposit methods; choose the one that fits your existing setup.
Deposit Option A: IBAN Bank Transfer
- Open the app → “Fund” → “Deposit” → copy the IBAN shown in the app
- Send from your bank account to that IBAN. Supports 6 fiat currencies (including GBP, EUR, USD) across 150+ countries. UK Faster Payments and SEPA are both supported.
- The sending account name must match your Ready account name — mismatched transfers are returned
- Funds arrive and are automatically converted to USDC; typically within minutes for Faster Payments, 1–2 business days for SEPA
Deposit Option B: Bridge from Exchange or Another Chain (Lowest Friction)
- App → “Fund” → “From an exchange or other chain” — uses LayerSwap technology built directly into the app
- Supports Binance, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, MEXC, Gate.io and others — withdraw USDC from your exchange directly to your Starknet wallet address
- Also bridges USDC from Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base automatically
- Slippage is near zero; transfers typically arrive in 30 seconds to a few minutes
Deposit Option C: Transfer from Another Starknet Wallet
If you already use ArgentX, Braavos, or any other Starknet-compatible wallet, copy your Ready wallet address from the app and send USDC directly. Starknet transaction fees are under $0.01, and transfers are near-instant. This is the cheapest deposit route if you already have USDC on Starknet.
Deposit Option D: Buy Crypto In-App
App → “Fund” → “Buy crypto.” Powered by on-ramp providers (such as Ramp or Banxa), this lets you purchase USDC with a debit or credit card. Funds arrive within minutes but the provider fee is typically 3–4%. Use this only if you need to top up quickly and do not have existing USDC elsewhere — the fee is the highest of the four options.
Spending: Google Pay, Freeze Card, and FX Rates
Ready Card is a standard Mastercard at the point of sale. Merchants see a contactless payment; there is nothing crypto-specific about the transaction experience from their side. The 16g metal card has a solid, premium feel — noticeably heavier than a standard plastic bank card.
Google Pay is fully supported. Add your card in the app and use it for contactless payments at any Google Pay-enabled terminal. Apple Pay is not yet available — Ready has confirmed it is in development and will announce a launch date when ready. Do not rely on Apple Pay being available in the near term.
Freeze and unfreeze is available with a single tap in the app — no call to customer support required. If you misplace your card or want to pause spending temporarily, you can lock and unlock it instantly.
FX rates: Ready uses the official Mastercard exchange rate with no markup and no hidden bid-ask spread. Metal adds 0% on top of that. UK high-street banks and even digital banks typically charge 2–3% on foreign currency transactions; some charge a fixed fee per transaction on top. On a £500 trip to continental Europe, Ready Metal saves you roughly £10–15 compared to a typical UK bank card — and that’s before cashback. Lite adds 1% to the Mastercard base rate, which is still competitive but worth factoring into the Metal versus Lite decision if you travel frequently.
For a comparison with another popular crypto card option in this market, see our RedotPay Card guide.
STRK Cashback — How It Works
The cashback programme is one of Ready’s headline features, but it comes with caveats that are worth understanding clearly before you base spending decisions on it.
Funded by the Starknet Foundation, not by Ready or Kulipa directly. The Foundation is sponsoring the programme as a growth incentive for the Starknet ecosystem. This is structurally different from a bank offering 1% cashback from its own margin — it means the programme is subject to a quarterly review and could be reduced, modified, or discontinued. Ready has been transparent about this: the FAQ explicitly states the cashback programme is reviewed quarterly and is not guaranteed in perpetuity.
Cashback is paid in STRK — Starknet’s native token — automatically credited to your Ready wallet by the 15th of the month following your spending. No manual claiming required.
Metal cap: spend $5,000/month → earn $150/month in STRK → up to $1,800/year. Actual GBP or EUR value depends on the STRK market price at the time you receive or convert the tokens. The programme is reviewed quarterly by the Starknet Foundation and is not guaranteed to continue indefinitely.
Maximising your cashback:
- Route your everyday spending — groceries, subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify), restaurants, travel — through Ready Metal to hit the $5,000/month cap
- STRK tokens land automatically in your Starknet wallet; you can hold them, swap them for USDC on a Starknet DEX (such as Ekubo), or bridge them to another chain
- Use the Metal card’s $800/month free ATM allowance before the limit resets; withdrawals above that on Metal cost the standard ATM network fee
- Excluded categories include gambling, cash-equivalent transactions, money transfers, and similar high-risk transaction types — using Ready for these will not earn cashback and may violate terms
- Consider the STRK price risk: if STRK drops significantly before you convert, your effective cashback rate is lower than 3% in fiat terms
Ready Card vs Wirex vs Nexo Card
The UK/EEA crypto card market has a few established players. Here’s how Ready Metal compares to the two most commonly cited alternatives.
| Feature | Ready Metal | Wirex X-tras | Nexo Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | 120 USDC | Varies by tier | Free (no annual fee) |
| Cashback | 3% in STRK (up to $5k/month) | Up to 2% in WXT | Up to 2% in NEXO |
| FX fee | 0% | 0% on premium tiers | 0% |
| Self-custody | Yes — Starknet wallet | No — custodial | No — custodial (collateral-based) |
| Supported coins | USDC only | Multiple (BTC, ETH, WXT, stablecoins) | Multiple (BTC, ETH, NEXO, stablecoins) |
| Region | UK + EEA | UK + EEA + wider | EEA (excluding UK for some tiers) |
| FCA-related status | Kulipa is the regulated issuer | Wirex holds FCA e-money licence | Nexo operates under EU licences |
The critical differentiator for Ready is the self-custody model. Post-FTX, a meaningful segment of UK crypto users has become wary of custodial platforms — the ability to hold your USDC in your own wallet until the moment of spend eliminates one layer of counterparty risk. Wirex and Nexo are custodial: your funds sit on their platform. Both are regulated, but regulated and risk-free are not the same thing.
If you need broader coin support (BTC, ETH, platform tokens) or want to earn yield on collateral while spending, Wirex or Nexo may suit you better. If the Starknet ecosystem alignment and self-custody principle are priorities, Ready Metal is the strongest option in this category.
Referral Rewards
Ready has a referral programme with different reward structures for Metal and Lite sign-ups. The Metal referral is the more valuable path for both parties.
| Plan | Your reward | Friend’s reward | Unlock condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal | $15 | $15 | Friend orders Metal card and spends $50 |
| Lite | $1 (after 5+ successful referrals) | $5 | Friend completes card setup |
For the Metal referral to pay out both the $15 rewards, your referred friend must: (1) use your referral link, (2) choose the Metal plan, and (3) spend at least $50 on the card. The Lite referral gives your friend $5 on sign-up; your $1 reward kicks in only after you have successfully referred five or more people on the Lite plan. If you are sharing the card with friends who are likely to go Metal and will actively use it, the referral is genuinely worth sharing.
FAQ
Can UK residents apply for Ready Card?
Yes. UK residents are explicitly in scope. The application requires a UK address for shipping and a UK-issued or EEA-issued government ID for KYC. The card functions as a standard Mastercard once issued and works anywhere Mastercard is accepted globally.
Can people outside the EEA apply?
Not at this time. Ready Card applications are restricted to UK and EEA addresses. If you are outside this region — including the US, Australia, Asia, or the Middle East — you cannot currently apply. Ready has indicated expansion to additional countries is planned but has not confirmed a timeline. Importantly, once a card is issued to an eligible applicant, it works in 140+ countries worldwide, so EEA diaspora or people with dual residency may be able to benefit.
What happens to my funds if Ready shuts down?
This is the strongest argument for self-custody. Your USDC is in your own Starknet wallet — not in Ready’s or Kulipa’s custody. If Ready ceased operations tomorrow, your wallet balance would be unaffected. You would still control your funds using your seed phrase and could access them through any compatible Starknet wallet (ArgentX, Braavos, etc.) without Ready’s involvement. The only scenario where there could be funds at risk is if you had pre-loaded USDC into a separate card spending balance distinct from your main wallet — keep balances minimal to reduce this exposure. Note: there is no FSCS protection on crypto assets in the UK.
Can STRK cashback be converted to cash?
Not directly — Ready has no built-in fiat off-ramp. STRK lands in your Starknet wallet automatically. To convert it to GBP or EUR you need to: (1) swap STRK for USDC on a Starknet DEX such as Ekubo, (2) bridge the USDC from Starknet to an exchange that supports Starknet withdrawals, or bridge to Ethereum first via a cross-chain bridge, then (3) sell USDC for GBP/EUR on an exchange and withdraw to your bank. It takes a few steps but is entirely doable. Be aware that in the UK, converting STRK to fiat is likely a taxable event under Capital Gains Tax — consult a tax professional if you are unsure.
Can you switch between Metal and Lite?
Upgrades from Lite to Metal are supported within the app — you pay the 120 USDC annual fee and a new physical Metal card is issued. The old Lite card is deactivated. Downgrading from Metal to Lite is a less straightforward process; contact Ready support if you need to do this. Frequent switching is not practical because each plan change that involves a physical card means waiting for a new card to ship. Virtual card functionality continues during the transition.
