Avici posted on September 19 that it charges "exactly 0% FX markup across every card," contrasting itself with the 1-2% most cards add every time you spend in a foreign currency. The claim comes from the company's official account and applies to both of its self-custodial secured Visa cards.
The claim and what it actually covers
Avici's model is a secured credit card issued by Rain. You deposit USDC into a loan escrow smart contract you control, receive equivalent USD credit, and spend at merchants that take Visa. The 0% FX markup is not new to this week, but it is the pitch Avici is leaning on: neither the Platinum tier nor the Signature tier adds a conversion margin on foreign-currency purchases.
For a card with no cashback or rewards, that fee stance is the product. Most consumer cards quietly build 1-3% into the exchange rate on overseas spending, and crypto cards often stack a conversion spread on top. A flat zero from the issuer removes one of those layers.
The fee Avici does not control
Zero from Avici does not mean zero at the register. Avici's own documentation notes that Visa may apply a 0.4-1% cross-border fee on non-USD transactions. That charge sits at the network level, so a purchase in euros or yen can still cost slightly more than the mid-market rate even with Avici's markup at zero.
This is the honest way to read any 0% FX card: the disclosed headline covers the issuer's cut, not necessarily the full cost. Card holders spending heavily abroad should treat "0% FX" as "no markup from the card company," then check whether the network passes through its own assessment.
Who this helps and who it does not
The 0% stance matters most for two groups. The first is anyone in Avici's 49 supported markets who spends across currencies often, from travelers to people paid in one currency and spending in another. The second is holders who want to spend from a wallet they control rather than parking funds on an exchange balance.
The trade-offs are plain. There is no cashback, so anyone chasing rewards will do better elsewhere. Platinum charges $1 plus 0.65% on ATM withdrawals and a $10 virtual card fee. Signature costs $30 the first year and $20 after, but waives ATM fees and adds Visa Signature perks including lounge access through the Visa Airport Companion app. Europe, the UK, India, China, and Russia are not covered, and 20 US states are excluded.
Overview
Avici is marketing a 0% FX markup on both card tiers, a real feature that removes the issuer's conversion margin on foreign spending. The important asterisk is Visa's 0.4-1% cross-border fee, which Avici cannot waive. For self-custody users and cross-currency spenders in a supported country, the card is a low-fee off-ramp; for reward chasers, the lack of cashback is the ceiling.
