Funding, Withdrawals & Fees

This article covers how to load funds into your Tangem Pay account, how withdrawals work, what fees apply, and important warnings about supported tokens.

Supported token

Tangem Pay only supports USDC on the Polygon network. This is the only token accepted by your Tangem Pay smart contract account.

Important: Sending any other token — including USDC on a different network, or any other cryptocurrency — to your Tangem Pay address will result in permanent, unrecoverable loss of those funds. There is no way to retrieve, convert, or return incorrectly sent tokens. Always verify you are sending USDC on Polygon before confirming any transfer.

How to fund your account

Tap Add funds in the app. You have two options:

Option A — Direct deposit (Receive) Copy your USDC address on Polygon and send USDC directly from your Tangem Wallet or any external wallet. Funds are available immediately after on-chain confirmation. Polygon network gas fees apply to this transfer — these are network fees, not charged by Tangem.

Option B — Swap through the app Tap Swap to convert another asset into USDC directly within the app before it is credited to your Tangem Pay account. This uses integrated swap providers and their applicable rates and fees.

Important: Only use the Swap option within the app to convert assets before funding. Never send non-USDC tokens directly to your Tangem Pay address — doing so will result in permanent, unrecoverable loss of funds.

You do not need POL tokens to make card payments. POL is only relevant when sending USDC from your wallet to top up.

How to withdraw funds

Your Tangem Pay balance is held in a smart contract you control. You can withdraw any available USDC back to your Tangem Wallet at any time by tapping Withdraw in the app.

Withdrawals are only available through Swaps at this time. Only funds in your on-chain balance can be withdrawn — see the refund section below for an important exception.

Note: while a withdrawal is being processed, you cannot initiate another withdrawal or swap until the current one is complete.

How refunds affect your balance

Refunds work differently from withdrawals and this distinction is important to understand.

If a merchant issues a refund, the amount is returned to your card balance and will be available for spending again. However, it will not be returned to your on-chain USDC balance and cannot be withdrawn back to your wallet.

Additionally, your on-chain USDC balance and your card balance are not always identical. After a purchase, your on-chain balance may take up to 2 business days to update. During this window the two balances may differ — this is normal.

Why can't I withdraw my full balance?

If you are unable to withdraw your full balance, it may be because part of your balance consists of refunded funds, which remain in the card program and cannot be withdrawn. If you believe there is an error, contact pay@tangem.com with your wallet logs and a description of the issue.

Fees

There are no monthly account fees or standard transaction fees for using Tangem Pay.

The following charges may apply:

• Foreign exchange markups — if you make a purchase in a currency other than USD, Visa’s standard foreign exchange rates apply. When paying abroad, selecting the local currency at the terminal (rather than USD) typically results in lower fees.
• Polygon network gas fees — apply when you send USDC from your wallet to top up your Tangem Pay account. These are network fees, not charged by Tangem, and vary based on network conditions.
• ATM withdrawals — not yet available.

A full fee schedule is provided during sign-up and is available in your cardholder agreement at paera.com/tangempay.