How to Get an International Card

Why your card gets declined when you pay abroad

The problem is almost never your balance. It is the network. A card issued to work inside one country runs on a local network, and a foreign online store is not connected to that network: when it tries to charge you, it finds no route. On the merchant's side there is no explanatory message, just a flat decline, and from your side it looks like the card doesn't work.

That is where the line that opens this site comes from: a card that does get accepted. It is not about having more money available, but about having a card that international platforms know how to charge.

What changes with an international-network card

Mastercard and VISA are international payment networks. When your card belongs to one of them, any merchant or platform that accepts that network can charge you, wherever it is. That is all that changes, and it changes everything: the transaction no longer depends on whether your bank has a relationship with that merchant.

An international card is not a bank account abroad either. It is a card with its own balance, which you top up and spend from. It doesn't lend you money and has no overdraft: if there is no balance, it doesn't pay.

Which cards ACR Card offers

ACR Card is an international debit card service, not a bank. It issues an international Mastercard debit card —virtual, and physical if you ask for it— as well as an international physical VISA card.

There are two levels, and what separates them is the minimum top-up they open with and what each one includes:

• Master, the business level, for those who move more volume. It opens from 5,000 USD. It includes international payments with no amount limit, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and a personalized card with your first and last name printed on it.
• Daily, the standard level for everyday spending. It opens from 100 USD. It runs on the international VISA network and includes balance and top-ups in the app.

Virtual from day one, physical whenever you want

With Mastercard you start with the virtual card. There is no shipping to wait for: as soon as it is activated and topped up, you have the card details and can use it online. For paying on the Internet that is all you need, because an online merchant never sees the plastic.

The physical card is optional and you request it whenever it suits you. It is made of metal and is sent to your address. With it you can also pay in store and withdraw cash at ATMs. The VISA, on the other hand, is physical from the start.

Requesting the physical card costs 50 USD on the Master and 30 USD on the Daily, plus shipping.

Shipping and timing are agreed with you on WhatsApp before you pay anything. We don't publish a generic delivery time because it depends on the address.

What you need to apply

Four details, and none of them is a bank account:

• Your first and last name, exactly as you want them to appear on the card.
• Your ID or passport number.
• An email address you can actually access. The whole process after that goes through it: the link to create your password arrives at that address.
• A contact phone number.

You don't need an account at any bank, to set up any direct debit or to prove income. The card works with the balance you put on it.

The process, start to finish

There are five steps and all of them go through your email. From the moment you submit the form until the card is ready to pay:

• You fill in the application form, choosing the level you want. The system automatically creates your account on the platform where you will manage the card: V1 if you asked for the Master, N09 if you asked for the Daily.
• We reply with the instructions within 24 to 72 hours.
• You receive an automatic email with a button to create the password for that account. If you don't see it within a few minutes, check your spam folder.
• You sign in with the same username as on the application and the password you just created. Once inside, you see the balance, the transactions and the card details.
• You make the first top-up. Until the card has a balance it cannot pay, so this step is the one that gets it going.

How much it costs to open and keep

Everything is handled in US dollars. These are the figures we publish:

• Minimum opening top-up: 5,000 USD on the Master and 100 USD on the Daily. That money is not a fee: it is your balance, and you are the one who spends it.
• Top-up fee: 3% of the amount if you top up by payment link, bank transfer or cryptocurrency. 5.5% if you top up in cash.
• Request for the physical card: 50 or 30 USD depending on the level, plus shipping.

We don't publish any other fee because no other fee is published. If anything else applied in your case, you would be told before paying anything. That is the commitment stated in the footer of every page on this site.

Where it works once you have it

On the websites, stores and digital platforms that accept Mastercard or VISA cards, inside and outside your country. With the physical card, also in store and at ATMs to withdraw cash. Contactless payment is supported.

The balance is in USD, so if you are going to pay in another currency it is worth asking us first how the transaction would work out.

We don't publish a list of specific countries or merchants, and we won't make one up: who accepts a payment is decided by each network and each establishment, not by us. If you have a specific case in mind, ask us on WhatsApp before requesting the card and we will go over it with you.

What we won't promise you

It is worth putting in writing, because a lot gets promised in this space:

• ACR Card is not a bank. We don't open bank accounts in your name, we don't hold deposits and we don't offer credit.
• We don't guarantee that a specific merchant will accept the payment. That is up to the merchant and its payment gateway.
• We don't publish exchange rates, because we don't set them.