Key takeaways
Karta has raised a $125M warehouse facility from a traditional finance lender, and that money powers a smart contract run through its card issuer, Rain.
Freddy Juez says Karta reaches the clients of more than 70 private wealth management banks, people who need at least $10,000,000 at those banks to open an account.
The Karta AI Concierge on WhatsApp handles activation, chargebacks and travel booking, and can create one-time virtual cards to pay on a user's behalf.
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Summary
Karta's founder describes a credit card for very wealthy travelers that runs on stablecoins, sold through private banks, and handled almost entirely in WhatsApp.
Karta has raised a $125,000,000 warehouse facility from a traditional finance lender to fund its stablecoin-powered credit card for global travelers. Founder Freddy Juez says the money from the lender powers a smart contract that the company owns through its card issuer, Rain, and that contract gives the cards their spending power.
Selling through private banks
Karta uses a B2B2C model that Freddy Juez says lets it go global from day one, reaching wealthy customers across LATAM, Europe and Asia through a network of more than 70 private wealth management banks. He says the company finished the year with 40 banks distributing the card. Clients at those banks need at least $10,000,000 deposited to open an account. He says Amex and Chase pay $2 to $3,000 to acquire customers like these.
Freddy Juez says he wants to grow to maybe 100 or 150 banks by Q3 or Q4. He also says the cardholders do not need to be told the card runs on stablecoins.
“We have such a pristine portfolio, you know, we have, you know, the wealthiest customers in the world, no losses, no delinquencies.”
Freddy JuezCredit rather than debit
Freddy Juez says many companies offer stablecoin debit cards and bank accounts, but few offer credit, and Karta works only in credit. He names three advantages: the warehouse, the distribution and the product, and says a company needs all three. He describes the portfolio as having no losses and no delinquencies.
Brazil first, then Europe and Asia
Freddy Juez says Brazilian cardholders lose six to 10% each time they swipe a card while traveling. In his view Brazil has the most developed legal framework for stablecoins and is ahead of Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. He says Karta is about to roll out to European and Asian customers.
A concierge in WhatsApp
Activation, notifications, reversals and chargebacks for the card all happen on WhatsApp, where the Karta AI Concierge can also book flights, hotels and car rentals. Freddy Juez says the agent can go to a website, create a one-time card for that payment and pay on the user's behalf. Users ask the agents for an unlimited range of tasks, he says, and he is still amazed by how the agents perform.
Karta is staying small: it has 18 people and may add five or six more. Freddy Juez says it will not launch products that compete with its distribution partners, and will stay focused on the credit card and the WhatsApp concierge.
Compo, Rain, Arculus, and Ramp come up most.
- People
- Freddy Juez
- Michael Fowler
- Companies
- Compo
- Rain
- Arculus
- Ramp
- Chase
- Goldman Sachs
- MetaMask
- Karta
- American Express
- Dfns
- Tencent
