Is WanderWallet Safe? Security, Trust & How Your Money Is Protected

TL;DR

Is WanderWallet safe? Yes, WanderWallet is safe. It’s a real company (Borderless Solutions Limited, Delaware), your balance is held safely in regulated digital dollars (USDC) that only you control, and fees are transparent. There’s no FDIC insurance—but there’s a good reason for that, and it might actually work in your favor. Here’s everything you need to know.

Quick Answers to Your Biggest Concerns

Before we dig into the details, let’s address what you probably came here to find out:

Is WanderWallet a scam?	No. Registered US company with verifiable address and founders.
Where is my money held?	In USDC (digital dollars) in a wallet only you control.
Is it FDIC insured?	No, but your funds aren’t held by a bank, so FDIC doesn’t apply.
What if WanderWallet shuts down?	Your money stays safe and yours. Self-custody means only you have access.
Why does it need my ID?	Legal requirement for all payment services (anti-money laundering).

Is WanderWallet Safe and Legit?

Yes. WanderWallet is made by Borderless Solutions Limited, a Delaware C-Corp based in the United States. The company address (1111B S Governors Avenue, Dover, DE) is verifiable, and the founders, Vojta Pohunek and Gabriel Otero, are real people building a real product.

We’re not hiding behind anonymity or offshore shell companies. The app is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, which have their own vetting processes for financial apps.

Is WanderWallet a massive company with 30 million users? No We’re a focused startup solving a specific problem: helping travelers and expats pay like locals in Latin America. But being smaller doesn’t mean less trustworthy. It means we’re laser-focused on doing one thing well.

Where Is My Money Held?

This is where WanderWallet is genuinely different from most payment apps, and it’s actually a security advantage once you understand it.

Your balance is held safe in USDC, a regulated digital dollar issued by Circle. USDC is:

• Backed 1:1 by US dollars and US Treasury bonds
• Regularly audited by independent accounting firms
• Issued by a company licensed as a money transmitter in 49 US states
• Holding over $16 billion in reserves

But here’s the key part: WanderWallet doesn’t hold your money. You do.

We use what’s called self-custody through Circle’s MPC (multi-party computation) technology. In simple terms: your USDC sits in a wallet that only you can access. WanderWallet can’t freeze your account, can’t lock you out, and can’t spend your funds.

With most payment apps, the company holds your money for you. If they get hacked, go bankrupt, or decide to freeze accounts, you’re stuck waiting. With self-custody, even if WanderWallet disappeared tomorrow, your funds would remain exactly where they are, accessible only to you.

Is WanderWallet FDIC Insured?

No. And here’s why that’s not a dealbreaker.

FDIC insurance protects deposits at banks. WanderWallet isn’t a bank. It’s a payment app that lets you hold and spend digital dollars (USDC). FDIC insurance literally doesn’t apply to this type of product.

The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) has warned people about payment apps that claim to be like bank accounts but aren’t FDIC insured. That’s a valid concern when a company is holding your money for you. But WanderWallet’s self-custody model is fundamentally different:

• Your USDC isn’t held by WanderWallet, it’s in a wallet you control
• USDC itself is backed by cash and treasuries, auditable, transparent reserves
• No single point of failure, even if we went offline, your funds stay yours

Is this the same as FDIC insurance? No. But for a travel payment app where you’re holding spending money (not your life savings), the trade-off makes sense. You get more control and transparency in exchange for a different type of protection.

Our honest recommendation: Don’t store more in WanderWallet than you’re about to spend in the near term. Keep it as spending money, not savings.

What Security Features Does WanderWallet Have?

Here’s how we protect your account and data:

Account Security:

• Biometric authentication (Face ID, fingerprint)
• PIN code backup
• Session management

Data Protection:

• TLS 1.3 encryption for all data in transit
• AES-256 encryption for stored data
• Data stored on secure servers in São Paulo, Brazil

Identity Verification:

• KYC (Know Your Customer) verification via Didit.me
• Required for all users, this keeps bad actors out
• Compliant with anti-money laundering regulations

Why Does WanderWallet Need My ID?

Every legitimate payment service requires identity verification. This isn’t optional, it’s the law.

KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements exist to prevent money laundering, fraud, and terrorism financing. If a payment app doesn’t ask for ID verification, that’s actually a red flag.

We use Didit.me for identity verification. They specialize in secure, privacy-respecting KYC processes. Your ID documents are encrypted and used only for verification—we’re not selling your data or using it for anything else.

How Do Refunds Work?

When you pay a merchant through WanderWallet, the payment goes directly to them via local rails (e.g. Pix in Brazil). We don’t hold money in between.

If something goes wrong:

• Payment fails to process: The funds never leave your wallet
• Merchant refund needed: We have a ReRefund smart contract mechanism that creates a claim. When the refund is fulfilled, you easily claim the money from the app and you receive it instantly.

What we can’t do: Mediate disputes like a credit card company. If a merchant refuses to refund you for a legitimate issue, we can’t force them. This is the trade-off for using direct payment rails instead of credit card networks.

For valuable purchases where you want buyer protection, your credit card is still the better choice. WanderWallet is ideal for everyday spending: coffee, meals, groceries, transportation. That’s where the convenience and exchange rate savings outweigh the need for dispute protection.

What If WanderWallet Goes Offline?

This is where self-custody really shines.

With most payment apps, if the company goes down, your money is stuck in their system until lawyers sort things out. With WanderWallet, your USDC stays in a wallet only you control. The app is just the interface and it doesn’t hold your funds.

Even in a worst-case scenario where WanderWallet completely shut down:

1. Your USDC remains in your self-custodial wallet

2. You could access it through other compatible wallets

3. No bankruptcy proceedings, no waiting, no claims process

This isn’t theoretical, it’s how the technology actually works.

When WanderWallet Might NOT Be Right for You

We believe in being honest. WanderWallet isn’t for everyone:

• If you need FDIC insurance: Stick with a traditional bank account
• If you’re not comfortable with KYC: We require ID verification, no exceptions
• If you want credit card purchase protection: Use a card for big purchases
• If you’re storing large amounts long-term: This is a spending wallet, not a savings account

WanderWallet is built for travelers, nomads, and expats who want to pay like locals in Brazil and Argentina. If that’s you, and you’re comfortable with how stablecoins work, it’s a great tool. If you want something that works exactly like a traditional bank, we’re probably not the right fit.

The Bottom Line

WanderWallet is a real company with a real team building a real product. Your money is held in regulated digital dollars that you control, not us. There’s no FDIC insurance, but there’s also no middleman who can freeze your funds or go bankrupt with your money.

Is it as established as Wise or Revolut? Not yet. But the underlying technology (Circle’s MPC custody, USDC backing) is battle-tested infrastructure that handles billions of dollars.

For spending money while traveling in Latin America, WanderWallet offers something genuinely useful: access to local payment rails with transparent fees, clear USD pricing, and the peace of mind that comes from self-custody.

Have questions about security that we didn’t cover? Email us at founders@wanderwallet.io. We read every message!

Related Guides

• How to Deposit Money
• Pix for Foreigners
• QR Payments in Argentina