How the Exa App works

The Exa App is not just a fintech app but a gateway to decentralized finance through a clean UX. Designed for iOS and Android, the app enables users to manage their crypto assets, earn yield, and make real-world payments in installments — all while maintaining full custody of their funds through a secure account.

Upon downloading the app, users create an account using passkeys that replace outdated systems like passwords and seed phrases with biometric-based authentication (e.g., fingerprints or facial recognition) or device-level security.

After creating an account, users who want to get their Exa Card complete a quick Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process to comply with Visa regulations.

The Exa App, available in over 160 countries, ensures that anyone can access DeFi’s benefits anywhere.

The first onchain credit card

The Exa Card is the first product of the Exa App. It’s the world’s first onchain credit card that allows users to make purchases in the real world in up to six installments without the need to sell their crypto.

The Exa Card is issued immediately after the KYC and can be used for online and in-store purchases. Users can add their Exa Card to their smartphone wallet and start spending in minutes. It works with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.

When users deposit supported assets — such as USDC, ETH, wstETH, WBTC, and OP — into the app, the funds are automatically allocated to Exactly Protocol’s markets, where they begin generating a variable APR. This yield is derived directly from interest paid by borrowers in the protocol, ensuring sustainable returns that are not reliant on token incentives.

Exa Card allows users to purchase directly from their deposited balance. Each time a payment is made, the required amount is seamlessly deducted from the user’s funds stored in Exactly Protocol’s lending markets. Until the moment of payment, these funds continue to generate variable yield, maximizing the efficiency of the user’s assets.

Pay later in installments

The Exa Card allows users to make purchases in multiple installments without selling their assets.

Here’s how it works:

• Collateral and credit limit: Deposited assets act as collateral, determining the user’s credit limit. Deposits made into the Exa App are allocated to Exactly Protocol’s variable lending markets, generating variable yield based on borrowers’ demand.

• Onchain borrowing: When a user makes a purchase, the Exa App borrows the required amount on their behalf from Exactly Protocol’s fixed-rate lending markets. The borrowed funds are converted to USD and sent directly to the merchant. This interest rate is fixed and determined at the time of the transaction.

• Installments and repayment: Users can repay the loan in up to six fixed installments, scheduled every 28 days. This structured repayment cycle ensures predictability and avoids discrepancies caused by variable calendar months.

Users benefit from an innovative financial structure that combines fixed-rate borrowing with variable-rate deposit yields. This unique approach can result in a positive, neutral, or negative net effective interest rate for each purchase, depending on the relationship between the deposit yield and the loan’s fixed interest rate.