What Is KAST? The Stablecoin Account and Visa Card Explained

KAST launched in 2024. The CEO is Raagulan Pathy, and the leadership team includes COO Sam Kerrins, CFO Ryan Parsons and Chief Legal Officer Claire Wells ¹¹. In March 2026 the company raised an $80 million Series A co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital. Bloomberg reported a $600 million valuation, which The Block did not confirm ¹⁰.

Your legal counterparty is KAST Tech, Reg. No. 16223, incorporated in Anjouan, Comoros. Regulated services such as card issuance are delivered by a "Partner" ². The terms name Tazapay and BitGo among third-party providers for payments, custody and settlement, but they do not name the card issuer ². Disputes go to arbitration under Singapore International Arbitration Centre rules ².

1. Sign up and pass KYC. You download the app and verify your identity. Supported countries appear in the sign-up dropdown. If yours is missing, KAST is not available there, and using a VPN to get around the block is not allowed ²⁹.
2. Fund the account. Stablecoin deposits are free (network fees aside) and credited 1:1 as USD ⁷. Other tokens are converted into stablecoins automatically, typically at a 2–5% fee ⁸. Bank deposits cost $2 by ACH, $15 by Fedwire, $30 by SWIFT and 0.5% by SEPA ⁷.
3. Spend. A virtual card works right away with Apple Pay or Google Pay. A physical card arrives in 7–10 business days ⁶. When you pay, the partner places a hold on your balance and settles in the merchant's currency ².
4. Move money out. Transfers to other KAST users via a KAST Tag are free, up to $10,000 a day ⁷. Stablecoin withdrawals carry a flat fee plus 0.1%, and bank payouts show their cost before you confirm ¹⁷.

One legal detail matters: under the terms, sending crypto into KAST "is treated as a sale to KAST." In return you hold a right to redeem the unspent balance ². In practice, your balance is a claim on KAST rather than coins sitting in your name on-chain.

Source: KAST cards page and fee article, accessed Oct 23, 2026 ⁶⁷.

Cashback applies only to eligible purchases, and some merchant categories are excluded ⁶. Redeemed cashback goes toward your next card purchase; it cannot be withdrawn ⁵. KAST Points "are not cash and have no guaranteed monetary value" ⁶. The paid tiers are billed upfront for 12 months ⁷.

KAST's fee article, updated October 22, 2026, lists the following ⁷:

• Spending in USD: 0% top-up, 0% transaction fee.
• Spending in other currencies: 0.5%–1.75% FX fee, depending on your residence, where you spend and the card program. Non-USD purchases under $25 carry an extra $0.10.
• Declined for insufficient balance: $0.50.
• ATM cash: $3 plus 2% (plus FX outside USD). Each withdrawal is capped at $500, with up to 3 withdrawals or $1,500 per 24 hours.
• Stablecoin withdrawals: $1 + 0.1% on Solana, $0.20 + 0.1% on Arbitrum, $5 + 0.1% on Tron, $6 + 0.1% on Ethereum. The minimum is $5.
• Cards: the Standard physical card is free plus $40 delivery. A $2 virtual-card fee applies in some regions. You can hold up to 10 cards.

Illustrative example using these rates: a $100 withdrawal from an ATM in USD costs $3 + $2 = $5 in KAST fees, before any fee the ATM operator adds. The cashback and FX figures can roughly offset each other on non-USD spend, but only within the monthly cashback caps ⁷.

The Reserve Account, launched August 20, 2026, pays daily "rewards, not interest" on a USD balance you set aside ⁴⁵. The rewards page lists 8% for Standard, 10% for Premium (on the first $50,000) and 12% for Private until July 1, 2027. KAST says the rewards are funded from its own revenues and balance sheet, and that customer funds are held in stablecoins and treasury equivalents ⁵.

The Reserve Terms are stricter:

• Rewards are "discretionary, variable and not guaranteed" and can drop to 0% ⁴.
• The promotional rate runs through December 31, 2026, or until platform reserves reach $100 million, whichever comes first ⁴. That date conflicts with the July 2027 date on the marketing page. The terms are the binding document.

The account is not a bank or deposit account and carries no FDIC, FSCS or similar protection ⁴.

KAST is custodial. A partner custodian holds the assets, and KAST and its partners can freeze, convert or transfer them as needed to run the service ². The account protections KAST lists are identity verification, encryption, device-level security, fraud monitoring, biometric login and multi-factor authentication ¹.

Risks to weigh:

• Insolvency. KAST's own risk disclosure warns that if it fails, local consumer laws may not protect you and you might not recover your money ³.
• Counterparty layers. The service depends on KAST Tech (Comoros), an unnamed card issuer, a custodian and the stablecoin issuers such as Circle and Tether. See stablecoin depeg.
• Access changes. KAST can update restricted locations without notice ².
• Scams. Support runs through the app's Concierge and [email protected] ². Never share card details or verification codes with anyone who contacts you first (how to avoid crypto scams).

For how cards like this generally work, see how crypto cards work. For a scored comparison, see the crypto card ratings.