Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) Review (2026)

The Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) is a Visa debit card with a $20/year membership fee, available in Restricted list (87 countries excluded).

Reviewed by Card Pilled Editorial · Last verified 2026-09-04

Key Facts

Cashback
0% (Points only)
Annual Fee
$20/year membership
Region
Restricted list (87 countries excluded)
Type
Debit
Network
Visa
KYC
standard
Mobile Pay
Apple Pay, Google Pay

Overview

Solayer is a Solana restaking protocol developed by Solayer Labs, founded in February 2024 with backing from Polychain Capital, Hack VC, and Maelstrom (Arthur Hayes' family office). The seed round closed in 2024 at a reported $80 million valuation, and the protocol launched on Solana mainnet that May.

The Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) is a crypto debit card offered by Solayer, available in Restricted list (87 countries excluded). The annual fee starts at $20/year membership. It runs on the Visa network and requires standard identity verification.

Cashback Tiers

Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) cashback tiers and requirements
TierRateRequirement
Solayer Card Points0%Every transaction earns points, with the multiplier set per individual transaction: 1x under $100, 2x from $100 to $499, 3x from $500 to $2,499, and 5x at $2,500 and above. Points redeem toward future $LAYER rewards, partner airdrops, beta access and merchandise. No cashback rate is published in any current official document

Pros

Cons

Fees & Costs

Conversion Fee
1% top-up fee
FX Fee
0.1-1.5%
Top-Up Fee
1%

Cost & Returns

On $500/mo spend, the estimated monthly cost breakdown for Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) is: gas $0.00, conversion spread $5.00, flat/FX fees $0.00, and amortised card/tier fee $1.67, for a total drag of 1.3% of spend. After $0.00/mo cashback that is still a net cost of about $6.67/mo ($80.04/yr). Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) tops up from a centralized balance, so there is no on-chain gas cost regardless of how often you reload. Figures are conservative estimates and vary with conditions.

Note: REBRANDED to Solayer Pay. No cashback programme appears in any current official document: the overview, fee, card and FAQ pages describe points only, so the 1% base cashback and the 10% first-transaction cashback previously recorded here are not supported. Point multipliers are set per individual transaction, not by monthly spend as previously recorded. Points redeemable for token rewards and partner airdrops. Physical card launched May 14, 2026 (free for existing users, $20/yr for new). Sub-accounts feature added (labeled subcards with individual spend limits). The fee page states a $20 annual membership while the card page calls it a one-time $20 account activation fee, and the $10 Genesis and $75 standard issuance figures previously recorded here appear on no current official page. Top-up is quoted as 1% on the fee page, 0.5% in the FAQ and $0.10 flat in the top-up tutorial, so Solayer's own pages disagree. 1% top-up fee + $0.10-1.5% international fees. ~4% yield via tokenized US T-Bills. 40,000+ users; Solayer publishes no positive country list, and 87 countries are restricted. US: 17 states restricted. 'Jade Card' variant launched with Nubit for Bitcoin rewards. The up to 10% cashback promotion ran July 29 to August 29, 2026 and has now expired; it was a time-boxed campaign and did not establish an ongoing rate.

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FAQ

What is the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card)?

The Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) is a crypto debit card offered by Solayer. It is available in Restricted list (87 countries excluded) and allows users to spend cryptocurrency at merchants worldwide.

What are the fees for the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card)?

The Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) has an annual fee of $20/year membership. Additional fees: Conversion fee: 1% top-up fee; FX fee: 0.1-1.5%; Top-up: 1%.

Does the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) require KYC?

Yes. Solayer requires standard identity verification (KYC), typically a government-issued ID, during signup.

Which countries is the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) available in?

The Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) is available in Restricted list (87 countries excluded).

Is the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) a credit or debit card?

The Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) is a debit card. You need to load cryptocurrency onto the card before making purchases.

Does the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) support Apple Pay or Google Pay?

Yes, the Solayer Pay (formerly Emerald Card) supports Apple Pay and Google Pay for contactless payments.

Visit Solayer

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