Rain: A Deep Dive into the Infrastructure Company Behind Stablecoin Card Issuing

What is Rain? The card-issuing infrastructure behind stablecoin cards and the U Card programs it supports

Most consumers rarely interact directly with Rain, but many crypto cards, USD account cards, and corporate spending cards rely on its issuing infrastructure.

Rain does not operate a consumer-facing U Card brand, nor is it a bank or crypto exchange. It primarily serves wallets, exchanges, fintech platforms, and Web3 companies, helping them issue their own branded cards and handle card creation, transaction authorization, stablecoin debits, and settlement through card networks.

Consumers may see products such as ether.fi Cash, Avalanche Card, or KAST Card. The infrastructure provider behind those cards may be Rain.

Sources and limits of the conclusions

Primary-source verification: Rain and Visa partner to accelerate onchain credit cards; What it looks like to launch a card program with Rain; Rain expands Visa Membership into Asia-Pacific.

Rain’s official materials describe the company as stablecoin payments and card-issuing infrastructure and disclose a USDC settlement pilot with Visa as well as card-program expansion in Asia-Pacific. These are public company statements. The actual availability, pricing, issuing entity, and safeguards of any specific program remain subject to that program’s contracts and the terms of its licensed partners.

Assessments in this article concerning cost efficiency, project delivery timelines, or the coverage of specific partner cards are analytical. Fees, availability, or revenue that are not explicitly stated in official terms should not be treated as confirmed commitments.

1. What kind of company is Rain?

Rain was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

The company is led by two co-founders:

• Farooq Malik, Chief Executive Officer

• Charles Yoo-Naut, Chief Technology Officer

Rain describes itself as an “enterprise-grade stablecoin payments infrastructure provider.” Its customers are primarily fintech companies, digital banks, crypto platforms, and institutions rather than individual cardholders.

From a business-model perspective, Rain can be understood as “Card-as-a-Service + stablecoin settlement infrastructure.” Partner companies can use Rain’s APIs to issue Visa or Mastercard virtual and physical cards while connecting stablecoin wallets, custodial accounts, or fiat accounts to traditional card acceptance networks.

It addresses a practical problem: users may hold stablecoins such as USDC or USDT, but spending still takes place inside the Visa, Mastercard, and banking ecosystem. Rain connects those two financial rails.

2. What services does Rain provide?

Rain combines card issuing, accounts, and movement of funds within a single system. Partner platforms do not need to integrate separately with card processors, wallet providers, and multiple settlement channels.

1. Card issuing

Rain supports prepaid, debit, and credit cards, including both virtual and physical cards.

Partner companies can use these capabilities to:

• issue consumer spending cards

• create employee and team cards

• generate single-use virtual cards

• set per-transaction or recurring spending limits

• restrict specific merchants or merchant categories

• manage card expiration

• assign different permissions to employees or AI Agents

• freeze, unfreeze, or terminate cards

Card funding can come from stablecoin wallets, custodial accounts, or traditional fiat accounts.

According to information published by Rain, its cards can connect to more than 150 million Visa or Mastercard acceptance locations worldwide. This refers to the theoretical reach of the card networks and does not mean that every card supported by Rain will work at every merchant or in every country. Actual availability still depends on the issuing country, card type, BIN, merchant risk controls, and local regulation.

2. Accounts and wallets

Rain can provide partner platforms with digital dollar accounts, stablecoin wallets, and virtual accounts.

Platforms can choose custodial, non-custodial, or hybrid architectures according to their business needs and use APIs to manage balances, sweep funds, and control account permissions.

The system can also support corporate expense management and AI Agent payments. For example, a company could create a virtual card for a specific Agent with a $100 limit, permission to pay only designated merchants, and an expiration time of 24 hours.

3. Movement of funds

Rain also provides rails between stablecoins and fiat currencies, including:

• fiat-to-stablecoin conversion

• stablecoin-to-local-fiat conversion

• cross-border B2B payments

• remittances

• merchant settlement

• multi-chain routing

Rain has publicly disclosed integrations with blockchain networks including Solana, Tron, and Stellar.

3. How does Rain settle stablecoin card transactions?

Traditional card programs usually need to pre-fund fiat and maintain a certain level of reserves or collateral within banking or card-network systems. Funding and settlement can take several business days.

Rain connects stablecoin rails to Visa and Mastercard networks in an effort to shorten that process.

A transaction roughly follows this path:

Cardholder

↓

U Card brand / wallet / exchange

↓

Rain issuing and payments system

↓

Partner bank or licensed issuer

↓

Visa / Mastercard

↓

Acquirer

↓

Merchant

After the cardholder pays, the merchant still sees a conventional card transaction. The merchant does not need a crypto wallet and does not need to accept USDC directly. Stablecoin debiting, conversion, and settlement take place between the card platform, Rain, partner financial institutions, and the card network.

Rain has worked with Visa on stablecoin settlement, allowing assets such as USDC to be used in routine settlement. Compared with models that rely entirely on banking business days, stablecoin rails can shorten some funding delays and may reduce the amount of fiat collateral that a card program needs to keep locked up for long periods.

This does not mean that every time a consumer swipes a card, Rain sends stablecoins directly to the merchant. The merchant still receives funds processed through the conventional card network.

4. What is the relationship between Rain, Visa, and Mastercard?

Rain has obtained Visa Principal Membership and announced in 2026 that it had become a Mastercard Principal Member.

Principal membership gives Rain more direct access to card-network infrastructure and allows it to participate in card-program design, issuance management, and transaction processing. For partner companies, access to both Visa and Mastercard also increases the range of choices across card networks, issuing regions, and product types.

However, principal membership is not a universal “license to issue cards anywhere in the world.”

Whether a card program can launch still depends on:

• the issuing country and the user’s location

• local partner banks or licensed institutions

• Visa or Mastercard program approval

• KYC, KYB, AML, and sanctions-screening requirements

• whether the card is prepaid, debit, or credit

• how user funds are custodied and converted

• local regulation of stablecoins, credit, and card activity

As a result, two cards that both say “Powered by Rain” may use different issuers, BINs, user agreements, and funding structures.

5. Rain is not a bank

Rain is a fintech and payments infrastructure company. It is not a bank or crypto exchange, and it is not necessarily the final custodian of user funds.

Actual card and banking services must be provided by partner banks or other licensed institutions. For some U.S. programs, Rain states that cards are issued by Third National pursuant to Visa licensing. Other markets may use different licensed entities.

Seeing “Rain-issued” or “Powered by Rain” confirms that Rain participates in the program, but it does not mean that Rain is necessarily the legal issuing bank named in the cardholder agreement.

Rain’s role also varies by program and may include:

• card creation and lifecycle management

• BIN or card-network access

• transaction authorization and routing

• stablecoin balance debiting

• Visa and Mastercard settlement

• KYC, KYB, or transaction-monitoring interfaces

• wallet and account systems

• corporate spending controls

To understand the legal relationship behind a card platform, users still need to review the user agreement, cardholder agreement, and issuing terms.

6. Rain’s growth and funding history

Based on publicly disclosed financing data, Rain has raised more than $338 million in total. Disclosed investors include:

• ICONIQ Capital

• Sapphire Ventures

• Lightspeed Venture Partners

• Norwest Venture Partners

• Dragonfly

• Galaxy Ventures

• Bessemer Venture Partners

• FirstMark

• Coinbase Ventures

• Circle Ventures

• Khosla Ventures

7. Which crypto cards use Rain?

According to Rain’s website, the company now serves more than 200 partners. However, most white-label programs do not publicly disclose their underlying issuing infrastructure provider.

The list below includes only programs that can be confirmed through Rain, the card brand, or related official announcements.

1. Consumer crypto cards

2. USD account and remote-worker cards

3. Corporate and institutional cards

4. AI Agent payment cards

Confirmed programs currently include at least:

ether.fi Cash, Avalanche Card, KAST Cards, Spritz Card, Exa Card, NAKA+, Lydian Card, Rizon Card, Offramp Card, Qash Card, Meru Card, TakeCard, Zar Card, FRNT Card, Wallbit Card, Cadana Card, Slash GlobalUSD Card, Whop Cards, Dakota Corporate Cards, MPCVault Card, Klutch Card, and Sponge Agent Cards.

This is not a complete customer list for Rain. White-label relationships, commercial confidentiality, and regional licensing all affect how much of the partnership structure becomes public.

8. How much does Rain charge for card issuing?

Rain does not publish a single standard price for a complete Card Program. Companies that want to issue branded cards to external users must submit business information to Rain and obtain a customized quote.

Before evaluating costs, it is important to distinguish between two types of Rain products.

These two products should not be treated as the same thing.

Corporate Cards are an internal expense-management tool. A full Card Program is the infrastructure that an exchange, wallet, or U Card platform would use to issue cards to its own customers.

1. Public pricing for Corporate Cards

Rain’s published corporate-card plans include:

These plans are designed for managing employee spending and should not be used directly to estimate the cost of launching a customer-facing card program.

2. How is a full Card Program priced?

Issuing a branded card to external users normally requires a customized contract. Commercial terms are typically based on:

• platform and program-management fees

• contract term

• minimum card volume or minimum transaction volume

• transaction-processing fees

• physical-card manufacturing and delivery costs

• compliance scope

• Interchange revenue sharing

Differences between quotes are often not limited to “how much you pay per month.” They also include how much Interchange revenue the partner is allowed to retain.

Lower-entry-cost plans may require less upfront investment but provide the partner with a smaller share of transaction revenue. Accepting higher minimum transaction commitments or signing a longer-term contract may make it possible to negotiate better revenue-sharing terms.

Specific terms remain subject to the formal quote and contract provided by Rain.

3. What costs can a full card program involve?

The items below are common cost categories in enterprise card-issuing programs. They are not an official unified Rain price list.

Physical-card programs are generally more expensive than purely virtual-card programs. Custom card artwork, premium materials, independent packaging, and cross-border delivery can all increase both cost and preparation time.

9. How much budget is needed to launch a Rain card program?

Rain does not publish a standard launch price for a full program. The ranges below are only early-stage budgeting references and should not be interpreted as a Rain quote.

These figures are industry cost estimates derived from comparable Card-as-a-Service programs and are not official prices published by Rain.

Program budgets are influenced by factors such as:

• expected monthly and annual transaction volume

• number of users and cards issued

• ratio of virtual to physical cards

• whether custom card artwork and packaging are required

• target markets and issuing countries

• KYC, KYB, and transaction-monitoring scope

• whether the product uses prepaid, debit, or credit cards

• whether funds are managed by Rain, a partner institution, or the platform itself

• whether wallet, fiat on-ramp, and fiat off-ramp services are needed

• whether multi-chain support is required

• contract duration and minimum transaction commitments

Transaction volume is usually one of the most important variables in commercial negotiations. The greater the volume, the more likely a platform is to negotiate lower processing fees and a higher share of Interchange.

10. What is Interchange?

Interchange Fee is the portion of card-acceptance economics commonly referred to as the interchange fee.

After a user pays by card, the merchant’s payment fee is distributed among the acquirer, card network, and issuer. The portion that flows to the issuer is Interchange. It is one of the main revenue sources in card issuing.

Using a $100 purchase as an example:

1. The user pays $100 at the merchant.

2. The merchant does not necessarily receive the full $100.

3. Fees are deducted across the acquiring, card-network, and issuing layers.

4. Part of the issuer’s revenue comes from Interchange.

5. If the card is issued through a partnership between the platform and Rain, the resulting revenue is distributed according to the contract.

If the merchant’s total payment cost is 1.5%–2.5%, that amount does not all go to the issuer. The acquirer, payment processor, Visa or Mastercard, and issuing institution all participate in the economics. How much the card platform ultimately receives depends on the issuing region, card type, merchant category, and commercial agreement.

Therefore, platform revenue cannot be calculated simply as “purchase amount × merchant total fee rate.”

Why do card platforms care about Interchange?

For many issuing programs, Interchange is one of the principal sources of revenue.

Platform revenue broadly depends on two variables:

• how many eligible transactions users generate

• how much of the Interchange share the platform is allowed to retain

This also explains why issuing platforms care about active users, monthly transaction volume, and spending use cases. A card that has been opened but remains inactive for long periods produces no ongoing Interchange revenue while still potentially generating account, compliance, and system-maintenance costs.

Rain’s commercial contracts therefore need to balance two sets of terms: program fees, platform fees, and minimum transaction commitments on one side, and the partner’s share of Interchange on the other.

11. What should you confirm with sales before integrating Rain?

Simply asking “How much does it cost to issue one card?” usually does not produce a useful answer. A complete quote needs to be broken down and checked item by item. Companies should confirm the following with Rain:

Program eligibility

• whether companies incorporated in the current jurisdiction are accepted

• whether cards can be issued to users in the target countries

• which Visa or Mastercard card types are supported

• minimum expected user count or transaction-volume requirements

• whether crypto platforms, wallets, or stablecoin businesses are accepted

Legal and compliance

• who the legal card issuer is

• which BIN and issuing country are used

• who performs KYC and KYB

• who custodies user funds

• who converts stablecoins into fiat

• whether the platform itself requires a local license

• how responsibility for sanctions screening and transaction monitoring is divided

Fees

• one-time setup fee

• monthly or annual platform fee

• minimum monthly spend or transaction volume

• fee per virtual and physical card

• transaction authorization, cross-border, and FX fees

• refund, chargeback, and dispute-handling fees

• wallet, deposit, and withdrawal fees

• make-up fees if minimum transaction volume is not met

Revenue sharing

• how Interchange is calculated

• which transactions do not generate revenue share

• whether revenue share varies by merchant category

• how Rain, the issuer, and the card platform divide revenue

• revenue-share settlement cycle

• how refunds and chargebacks reduce revenue

Technology and delivery

• API integration timeline

• whether the sandbox or test environment is charged

• earliest possible launch date for virtual cards

• design, production, and delivery timeline for physical cards

• whether Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported

• whether Webhooks, transaction controls, and real-time authorization APIs are provided

• how user balances and existing cards are handled after the partnership ends

12. How should “Powered by Rain” be interpreted?

“Powered by Rain” confirms that Rain participates in the program, but the phrase by itself does not explain the full issuing relationship.

For ordinary users, the points that are really worth verifying are:

• the legal card issuer

• the Visa or Mastercard BIN

• the custodian of user funds

• the entity converting stablecoins

• applicable countries and regions

• responsibility for freezes, chargebacks, and settlement

• how balances are handled if the platform stops operating

Rain addresses the infrastructure problem of moving stablecoins into traditional card-payment networks. Whether an individual card is safe and stable still depends on the brand operator, licensed issuer, fund-custody structure, user agreement, and local regulation.

So Rain is an important participant in the issuing chain, but it is not the entire chain. Seeing the Rain, Visa, or Mastercard logo can provide one clue about a program’s structure, but it cannot replace reviewing issuing terms and fund-safety arrangements.

What is Rain? The card-issuing infrastructure behind stablecoin cards and the U Card programs it supports

Most consumers rarely interact directly with Rain, but many crypto cards, USD account cards, and corporate spending cards rely on its issuing infrastructure.

Rain does not operate a consumer-facing U Card brand, nor is it a bank or crypto exchange. It primarily serves wallets, exchanges, fintech platforms, and Web3 companies, helping them issue their own branded cards and handle card creation, transaction authorization, stablecoin debits, and settlement through card networks.

Consumers may see products such as ether.fi Cash, Avalanche Card, or KAST Card. The infrastructure provider behind those cards may be Rain.