Fat Cat Card: How to Compare Card Spend With a Bank Payout
Short answer: For a US-dollar expense, spending from a KAST Standard card costs 0% and earns 1.5% cashback on the first $2,000 a month. Paying the same money out to a US bank costs $1 plus 0.08% by ACH or $15 plus 0.08% by wire. In other currencies, a bank payout costs 1% plus a $2 to $4 fixed fee, and it only beats the card once you are past the cashback cap and at the top of the 0.5% to 1.75% FX band. Below about $4,000 in a month, the card wins on cost almost every time.
You hold $1,000 of USDT on a KAST account and need to pay a bill. Paying by card takes one tap. Paying out to a bank takes a transfer, a fee and a day. The fee page lists both routes, and nobody compares them side by side.
This worked example uses the KAST card, one of the USDT cards Fat Cat Card compares, and the fee tables on KAST’s fees and conditions page, updated October 30, 2026. Every figure uses the free Standard tier. It is a calculation, not financial advice.
What This Compares
- What does KAST charge to pay out to a bank account?
- Card or payout for a US-dollar expense: which costs less?
- When does a 1% payout beat the card on non-USD spending?
- How do GBP, KRW, JPY and AUD payouts compare?
- How do you choose the route in four checks?
- The Cases Where Neither Route Fits
What does KAST charge to pay out to a bank account?
KAST charges $1 by ACH or $15 by domestic wire, plus 0.08% where applicable, to send US dollars from a KAST account to a US bank account, and $35 for an international SWIFT transfer, according to its fees and conditions page updated October 30, 2026.
Non-USD payouts follow a different shape: a 1% foreign exchange fee plus a small fixed fee that depends on the currency. The page says fees, minimums and processing times vary by country, rail and provider, and that the app shows the exact fee and FX rate before you confirm.
| KAST route (fee page, Oct 30, 2026) | Fee | Minimum | Processing time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card spend in USD | 0%, plus 1.5% cashback on the first $2,000/month | None listed | Instant |
| Card spend in non-USD | 0.5%โ1.75% FX, plus $0.10 under $25; 1.5% cashback applies | None listed | Instant |
| USD payout, ACH | $1 fixed + 0.08% where applicable | Shown in app | 1โ3 business days |
| USD payout, domestic wire | $15 fixed + 0.08% where applicable | Shown in app | Instant / same day |
| USD payout, international SWIFT | $35 fixed | No limit | 1โ5 business days |
| EUR payout | 1% FX with no fixed fee via SEPA; $2 + 1% FX where a local payout is used | 5 EUR | Almost instant / under 24 hours |
When I compared the payout table with the card fee table, I found that the two are priced on opposite logic. Card spend charges a percentage with a reward attached. Payouts charge a fixed fee with a percentage attached and no reward. That is why the answer flips with the amount.
Card or payout for a US-dollar expense: which costs less?
For any US-dollar expense that a merchant will accept by card, spending from a KAST Standard card is cheaper than paying the money out to a bank first, because the card charges 0% and returns 1.5% cashback on up to $2,000 a month while the cheapest payout rail, ACH, costs $1 plus 0.08%.
| USD amount | Card spend: net (cashback, no other spend that month) | ACH payout cost | Wire payout cost | SWIFT payout cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | +$3.00 | $1.16 | $15.16 | $35.00 |
| $500 | +$7.50 | $1.40 | $15.40 | $35.00 |
| $1,000 | +$15.00 | $1.80 | $15.80 | $35.00 |
| $2,000 | +$30.00 | $2.60 | $16.60 | $35.00 |
| $5,000 | +$30.00 (cap reached) | $5.00 | $19.00 | $35.00 |
The gap at $1,000 is $16.80: a $15.00 gain on the card against a $1.80 cost by ACH. Even at $5,000, where the cashback cap has already been hit, the card is still at 0% while ACH costs $5.00. On USD spend the payout route never wins on price.
It wins on one thing only: payees who do not take cards. Rent, a tax bill, a tuition invoice. For those, ACH is the cheap rail and the wire buys speed for $14 more.
That’s usually the whole decision for US-dollar money.
When does a 1% payout beat the card on non-USD spending?
A 1% KAST bank payout in a non-USD currency only beats spending on the card when the month’s eligible spend is already past the $2,000 cashback cap and KAST’s FX fee is at the upper end of its 0.5% to 1.75% range; at 1.75% that crossover sits near $4,000 of spend, and at 1% or below the card never loses.
Here is the arithmetic. Card cost on a non-USD amount is the FX fee minus cashback, where cashback is 1.5% of the first $2,000. Payout cost is 1% of the amount, plus a fixed fee unless the rail is SEPA. Set them equal for the top FX band: 1.75% of the amount minus $30 equals 1% of the amount. That solves to $4,000.
| EUR-equivalent amount | Card net at 0.5% FX | Card net at 1.75% FX | SEPA payout (1%) | Local payout ($2 + 1%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | +$5.00 | -$1.25 | -$5.00 | -$7.00 |
| $2,000 | +$20.00 | -$5.00 | -$20.00 | -$22.00 |
| $4,000 | +$10.00 | -$40.00 | -$40.00 | -$42.00 |
| $5,000 | +$5.00 | -$57.50 | -$50.00 | -$52.00 |
| $10,000 | -$20.00 | -$145.00 | -$100.00 | -$102.00 |
Positive numbers are money back; negative numbers are cost. Read the $4,000 row: at the top of the FX band the card and the SEPA payout tie at $40. Above that, the payout is cheaper if, and only if, KAST is charging you near 1.75%. At the bottom of the band the card is still ahead at $10,000.
When I checked the EUR row on the fee page, I noticed that SEPA is the one payout rail with no fixed fee at all. Every other currency on the list adds $2 to $4. That makes the euro the easiest case for the payout route and still a narrow one.
The FX fee KAST applies depends on your country of residence, where the transaction happens and the card program, and the app shows it before you confirm. You cannot run this calculation from the table alone; you need your own band. The cashback cap timing guide covers the other lever, which is splitting a big purchase across two months.
How do GBP, KRW, JPY and AUD payouts compare?
KAST’s October 30, 2026 fee page prices a GBP payout at $3 plus 1% FX, a KRW payout at $2 plus 1% FX with a 20,000 KRW minimum, a JPY payout at $2 plus 1% FX with a 500 JPY minimum, and an AUD payout at $4 plus 1% FX with a 10 AUD minimum.
| Payout currency | Fee (fee page, Oct 30, 2026) | Minimum | Cost on $500 | Card net on $500 (0.5%โ1.75% FX) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GBP | $3 + 1% FX | 2 GBP | $8.00 | +$5.00 to -$1.25 |
| KRW | $2 + 1% FX | 20,000 KRW | $7.00 | +$5.00 to -$1.25 |
| JPY | $2 + 1% FX | 500 JPY | $7.00 | +$5.00 to -$1.25 |
| AUD | $4 + 1% FX | 10 AUD | $9.00 | +$5.00 to -$1.25 |
| EUR via SEPA | 1% FX, no fixed fee | 5 EUR | $5.00 | +$5.00 to -$1.25 |
Same conclusion in every row. On a $500 expense the worst the card does is a $1.25 cost, and the best any payout does is $5.00. The fixed fee is what hurts small payouts: on a $100 KRW payout the $2 fixed fee alone is 2%, before the 1% FX.
Processing times are the one place payouts shine. The fee page lists KRW, JPY and AUD as almost instant and GBP as arriving the same day. If the money needs to be in a bank account today, that is the reason to pay the fee, not price.
How do you choose the route in four checks?
Choosing between a KAST card payment and a bank payout comes down to four checks, and the first one settles most cases.
Confirm whether the payee takes a card at all
If yes, and the expense is in USD, the card wins outright: 0% fee and 1.5% back up to the cap. If the payee only takes bank transfers, skip to the rail choice.
Read your FX band in the app before a non-USD payment
KAST shows the FX fee before you confirm. Note whether you are near 0.5% or near 1.75%. The whole payout-versus-card question in foreign currency depends on that number, and it is not printed on the fee page as a single figure.
Check how much of the $2,000 cashback cap is already used
Cashback is 1.5% on the first $2,000 of eligible spend each month. Once that is used, the card’s non-USD cost is the bare FX fee, and a 1% payout can start to compete at the top of the band.
Pick the cheapest rail that arrives in time
For USD: ACH at $1 plus 0.08% when you can wait one to three business days, wire at $15 plus 0.08% when you need it the same day, SWIFT at $35 only for accounts outside the US. For EUR: SEPA at 1% with no fixed fee. For the other currencies, accept the $2 to $4 fixed fee and compare it with the card’s cost on that exact amount.
The Cases Where Neither Route Fits
Two situations sit outside both routes and have their own fee lines on KAST’s page.
- You need cash. A KAST ATM withdrawal costs $3 plus 2% of the amount, plus FX on non-USD cash, and is limited to $500 per withdrawal and $1,500 per 24 hours. On $500 that is $13, which is worse than any payout in the tables above. The ATM cost breakdown runs the numbers card by card.
- You want the USDT, not fiat. Sending stablecoins out costs $1 plus 0.1% on Solana, $0.20 plus 0.1% on Arbitrum for USDC, $5 plus 0.1% on Tron and $6 plus 0.1% on Ethereum, with a $5 minimum. The leftover-balance guide compares those networks with a bank payout.
If you’ve ever paid a $35 SWIFT fee to move $200, you know why the first check in the previous section exists.
One more point. Incoming money has its own table. Deposits by ACH cost $2, by FedWire $15, by SWIFT $30 and by SEPA 0.5%, so the round trip of depositing dollars and paying them out again is never free; the deposit-rail comparison covers that side.
Tips
- Default to the card for anything billed in USD; the payout route cannot beat 0% plus cashback.
- Before a large non-USD purchase, screenshot the FX fee the app shows; that is the number to plug into the $4,000 crossover.
- Batch small bank payouts into one transfer so the $2 to $4 fixed fee is paid once.
- Use SEPA for euros whenever the payee has an IBAN; it is the only rail on the list with no fixed fee.
Warnings
- KAST says payout fees, minimums and processing times vary by country, rail and provider; the app figure overrides the table.
- The 0.08% on USD payouts is marked “where applicable” on the fee page; some accounts may see only the fixed fee.
- Cashback depends on eligibility, the monthly cap and KAST’s rewards terms.
- Figures are from KAST’s fee page updated October 30, 2026. This is a worked example, not financial advice.
FAQ
Is a KAST ACH payout cheaper than a wire for small amounts?
Yes. KAST’s fee page updated October 30, 2026 lists ACH at $1 plus 0.08% where applicable and a domestic wire at $15 plus 0.08%, so the wire costs $14 more at any amount. The wire is listed as instant or same day; ACH takes 1 to 3 business days.
Does a KAST bank payout earn cashback?
No. KAST’s 1.5% Standard cashback applies to eligible card spending up to $2,000 a month. A payout to a bank account is a transfer, not card spend, so it earns nothing and carries its own fee.
What is the minimum KAST payout in euros?
KAST lists a 5 EUR minimum for euro payouts on its October 30, 2026 fee page, with a 1% FX fee and no fixed fee when SEPA is used, or $2 plus 1% where a local payout rail is used.
Sources
- KAST: What Are the Fees and Conditions for KAST Cards and Accounts? (updated Oct 30, 2026)
- Fat Cat Card: 2026 USDT cards compared, with check dates and official sources
Next step: before the next bill, ask whether the payee takes a card, then open the KAST app and read the FX fee it shows. Those two facts decide the route. For the deposit side of the same account, see Fat Cat Card: How to Choose ACH, Wire or SEPA for KAST.
Fact-checked against KAST’s fees and conditions page (updated October 30, 2026) as of October 31, 2026. Not financial advice.
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