You have one agent that makes occasional low-value purchases
Either a shared team card or Cards402 works. Shared is faster to set up; Cards402 is safer if the agent is LLM-driven.
Compare
Cards402 vs the alternatives.
Cards402 isn't the right answer for every agent-payment use case. This page is the honest matrix we'd show in a sales call — every row where a corporate card or a shared team card wins is explicitly marked. Use it to pick the right tool for the job you actually have.
| Feature | Cards402 | Corporate card | Shared team card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Single command (claim code) No forms, no approval wait | Days to weeks Business verification, KYC, credit check | Instant for the human Hours for the agent to get access |
| Card issuance | Per purchase ~60s on mainnet | Per cardholder Physical mail or virtual via admin | One card, many users Blast radius = shared |
| Spend control | Per-key spend cap Policy-gated approvals optional | Per-cardholder limit Re-approval for changes | Trust-based No technical enforcement |
| Credentials in agent context | Single-use claim code Worthless after redemption | Card number pasted into prompt Transcript exposure | Card number pasted into prompt Transcript exposure |
| Custody | Non-custodial Agents pay the receiver contract directly | Issuer-custodial Funds held by the bank | Issuer-custodial Funds held by the bank |
| Funding source | USDC or XLM on Stellar Face value, no markup | Bank account / credit line Fiat on/off ramp required | Bank account / credit line Same |
| Per-order latency | ~60s | Instant Card already exists | Instant Card already exists |
| Per-order cost | $0 markup Only issuer fees ($2 + 2% FX) | Platform fees + interchange Varies by provider | $0 extra Already paid for the card |
| Maximum per order | $10,000 Pathward's per-card balance ceiling | Credit-line limit Typically $10k+ | Card balance Whatever is loaded |
| Works in the EU | Yes $2 + 2% foreign txn fee | Yes Native local rail | Yes Same terms as the shared card |
| Agent-to-agent handoff | Fresh card per agent Bounded blast radius | Manual re-provisioning Each new agent needs its own card | Share the same card One leak compromises everyone |
Rows with the green accentare ones we think Cards402 genuinely wins. The others are either tied or lost — we're not painting the whole column green.
Picking the right tool
Six scenarios, plainly answered.
You have ten agents and want per-agent blast radius
Cards402. Shared team cards collapse into one compromised credential; corporate-card provisioning takes days per agent.
You need a single recurring subscription paid from one card
Not Cards402 — Pathward reward cards block recurring charges. Use a corporate card.
You want predictable cost per transaction without platform markup
Cards402. Face value + issuer fees only, no per-order platform cut.
Your agents run on stablecoin-native infrastructure
Cards402. Skip fiat on/off ramps entirely — pay the receiver contract directly in USDC or XLM.
You need a physical card or ATM access
Not Cards402. Reward cards are virtual-only with no cash access. Use a corporate card.