Gnosis Pay is a self-custodial payment system that allows you to spend stablecoins directly from your own Gnosis Safe wallet, giving you full control over your funds without needing to trust a third party.
Gnosis Pay is built on the principle of self-custody. With the Gnosis Pay Card, you always remain in full control of your funds — before, during, and after each transaction. Unlike traditional crypto cards that require you to transfer assets to a custodial account, Gnosis Pay allows you to spend directly from your personal Gnosis Safe wallet.
The self-custodial model ensures that your funds are always accessible and secure, even in the unlikely event that Gnosis Pay discontinues its services.
What Self-Custody Means in Practice
You control your assets
Only you can access, approve, and manage your funds. No intermediaries, pooled accounts, or locked deposits.
No third-party risk
Your funds remain untouched by Gnosis Pay. Even if our services stop, your wallet and funds remain fully functional.
Enhanced transparency
All transactions are recorded on-chain and can be independently verified.
This setup is made possible through a smart contract wallet — specifically, a Gnosis Safe — which supports advanced security features directly on-chain.
How It Works Technically
When you activate your Gnosis Pay Card, two smart contract modules are applied to your Gnosis Pay Safe wallet. These modules enhance both usability and protection:
Roles Module
Allows certain permissions to be delegated for transaction approval.
Delay Module
Introduces a short time delay to outgoing transactions for added security.
These mechanisms help ensure that while your wallet is connected to a payment network, its safety and integrity remain intact.
🔗 Learn more: How the Delay and Roles Modules Secure Your Card
Using Your Safe as a Dedicated Spending Vault
For optimal security, your Gnosis Pay Safe should act as a spending-specific wallet. This ensures that funds allocated for payments are managed independently from long-term holdings or other assets.
🔗 Best Practises: Managing Your Gnosis Card Safe
Why Is KYC Required If It’s Self-Custodial?
Although your wallet is self-custodial, Gnosis Pay connects to the regulated Visa payment network. To comply with financial regulations, Know Your Customer (KYC) verification is required during onboarding.
🔗 Read more: Why KYC Is Required for Gnosis Pay
Need Help?
For questions about wallet setup, security modules, or using your Gnosis Safe, check out our Getting Started section or contact our support using the chat widget or via help@gnosispay.com.