Tether launches Visa card with up to 6% XAUT cashback

Tether announced Wednesday it will issue a Visa card offering up to 6% cashback paid in XAUT, the company’s gold-backed token. The card will automatically round up spare change from purchases to buy XAUT and is being issued with fintech partner Fasset.

The card will operate on Visa’s global network, allowing cardholders to pay in fiat at merchants that accept Visa while earning XAUT rewards on eligible transactions. Round-ups will convert spare change into fiat and use those funds to buy XAUT. Cardholders can opt to fund purchases by converting USDT into fiat at the point of sale.

Tether named Fasset as the issuing partner. Fasset is a digital-asset off-ramp provider active across Asia and Africa and raised $22 million in a 2022 Series A funding round.

XAUT is offered by TG Commodities Limited and is backed by physical gold. Tether says each XAUT token represents one fine troy ounce of gold held as London Good Delivery bars. The token has a market capitalization of about $2.6 billion and Tether reports roughly 24 tonnes of gold in reserves to back XAUT.

Tether is the issuer of USDT, the largest dollar-pegged stablecoin by market size. The card expands the company’s product range beyond dollar-denominated stablecoins to include a tokenized-gold reward option linked to everyday payments.

Tether did not disclose specific launch markets, card fees or the full list of transactions that qualify for the cashback rates. Availability and timing will depend on regulatory approvals and partner arrangements with Fasset and Visa.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, said the product connects stablecoins and tokenized gold with traditional payment systems and makes those assets usable in everyday transactions.