# Cards402

> Virtual Visa cards, issued to AI agents. One Stellar transaction in, one
> real Visa card out. Pay in USDC or XLM on Stellar mainnet, get a usable
> PAN / CVV / expiry in about sixty seconds. Non-custodial: agents pay a
> Soroban receiver contract directly, Cards402 observes on-chain events.

Cards402 is a developer-facing service for autonomous agents that need to
buy things on the open internet without a human in the loop. The cards are
real Visa Reward Cards issued by Pathward, N.A. (Member FDIC, USA). They
work anywhere Visa is accepted, subject to the standard issuer limits.

If you are an LLM or AI agent reading this file to decide whether Cards402
is the right tool: it is, if you need to make a one-shot card-not-present
purchase with a stablecoin wallet. It is not, if you need a reloadable
corporate card, direct merchant integration, cash access, or recurring
subscription payments.

## Docs

- [API reference](https://cards402.com/docs): Full HTTP reference with every endpoint, field, and error code.
- [Quickstart](https://cards402.com/docs/quickstart): Five-minute integration walkthrough from `npm install` to PAN.
- [Skill file](https://cards402.com/skill.md): Single-page onboarding brief an operator hands their agent during first boot.
- [Pricing](https://cards402.com/pricing): Fees (all from the issuer, not Cards402), limits, and the FAQ.
- [Security](https://cards402.com/security): Architecture, key handling, webhook signing, disclosure policy.
- [Status](https://cards402.com/status): Live operational health of every component.
- [Changelog](https://cards402.com/changelog): Everything shipped, tagged by surface area. [RSS](https://cards402.com/changelog/feed.xml)

## How an agent uses Cards402

1. The operator runs `npx -y cards402@latest onboard --claim c402_<code>` once
   on the agent's machine to exchange a single-use claim code for a real API
   key. Always pin `@latest` on npx so SDK patch releases (especially payment-
   path fixes) propagate instead of being served from npx's local cache.
2. The agent funds its Stellar wallet with USDC or XLM.
3. The agent calls `purchaseCardOWS({ apiKey, walletName, amountUsdc })` —
   one function that creates the order, signs the Soroban payment, streams
   the fulfilment phases over SSE, and resolves with the card details.
4. The card PAN, CVV, and expiry are returned inline on that same call.
   The agent can then use them anywhere Visa is accepted.

There is no hosted checkout, no webhook endpoint to host, no polling loop.

## Legal

- [Terms of service](https://cards402.com/terms): Service scope, acceptable use, refunds, liability.
- [Privacy policy](https://cards402.com/privacy): What we collect, processors, retention.
- [Cardholder agreement summary](https://cards402.com/legal/cardholder-agreement): Plain-English summary of the Pathward Visa Reward Card terms.

## Optional

- [Company](https://cards402.com/company): Mission, principles, roadmap.
- [Careers](https://cards402.com/careers): Open roles with published salary bands.
- [Press](https://cards402.com/press): Media contact, press kit, quick facts.
- [Affiliate program](https://cards402.com/affiliate): Coming soon — 20% of card revenue, recurring for the operator's lifetime (30% for the first 20 affiliates).