Ethena has launched Ethena Pay, a self-custodial money application that the project describes as an "internet money neobank." The product combines a 6% dollar savings rate, 5% card cashback, and free international transfers across approximately 50 countries at launch.
Product Features
Ethena Pay provides dollar savings accounts, card spending, international transfers, and free onramps in dollars, pounds, and euros, with fiat account numbers tied to self-custodial stablecoin wallets. Users can generate a virtual Visa card in under a minute and spend it at more than 130 million merchants. The card supports Apple Pay at launch, with Google Pay expected to follow.
The card is issued by Third National under license from Visa, with program management from Signify Holdings, operating as Rain. The product is not offered to US persons, and users must be at least 18 to register. There are no monthly account fees, and transfers between Ethena Pay users are free.
Tiered Rewards Structure
Card cashback is broken into tiers: the free Standard plan pays 4% on spending with cashback capped at $100 per month, while Pro and VIP plans lift monthly caps to $360 and $1,000 respectively, with 5% reserved for the top tier. Savings follow a similar pattern, with Standard accounts earning 5% and upper tiers receiving 6%. Rewards pay out daily.
A feature called Buy Now Pay Never applies savings rewards toward purchases without reducing the principal balance. Avalanche serves as the exclusive settlement network. Euro, Japanese yen, and Brazilian real accounts are listed as upcoming additions.
Access and Rollout
Access begins with 400 early users and expands weekly through a September beta period. Wallet keys remain with the user, protected by passkeys and biometrics.
Not a Bank
Ethena Pay Ltd, incorporated in Malta, has stated clearly that it is not a bank and does not hold customer funds. Fiat account numbers are provided through licensed banking partners. The company notes that balances carry no coverage from the US FDIC, the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme, or Malta's depositor scheme.
The savings rate derives from the yield engine behind USDe, Ethena's synthetic dollar, which generates returns through a crypto basis trade. Per DefiLlama, USDe's circulating supply stands near $4.2 billion. Ethena says it has paid holders more than $750 million in rewards on over $30 billion of mints and redemptions. The company previously launched USDtb, a stablecoin backed primarily by BlackRock's BUIDL fund.
Token Reaction
ENA traded 8.6% higher on launch day, according to CoinGecko. The token recorded its largest single day of network growth in more than three months in May after Grayscale added it to its DeFi Fund.
