At a glance
- Company: Arca - global non-custodial dollar wallet (by AIAI Holdings & Constellation Network). Hold, send, spend, and save in USD from your phone. No bank needed.
- Headquarters: US
- Industry: Stablecoin Neobank
- Products used: Earn
Key stats
- Users earn yield on their dollars across the largest DeFi venues through one integration
- 2 weeks from signed agreement to live in-app
- Non-custodial - Compass never touches user funds
- Built-in revenue - embedded fees let Arca earn alongside their users
Arca & Compass
Arca partnered with Compass to power their savings feature, connecting users directly to the most liquid DeFi lending markets so they can earn yield on idle stablecoins, without leaving the app.
The opportunity
Arca is building the dollar wallet for people who don't have a bank account. Hold dollars, send them instantly, save in USD from your phone in 30 seconds.
Their users hold stablecoins in the wallet - money that sits idle between transfers. Arca wanted to offer savings yield without compromising on what defines their product: fully non-custodial, zero friction, users always in control.
But offering yield means integrating with DeFi protocols. Protocol research, transaction construction, security considerations, ongoing maintenance. Engineering time better spent on their core product - getting dollar accounts into the hands of people who need them.
"We wanted to offer yield to users who've never touched DeFi and never should have to. The hard part wasn't the idea — it was doing it without an intermediary vault, without custody risk, and without rebuilding protocol integrations from scratch. Compass handled all of that. We went from signed agreement to live in-app in two weeks, and our users just see a savings account."
João Carvalho, Arca wallet
The solution
Compass connects Arca users directly to the most liquid DeFi venues - protocols with tens of billions in combined liquidity - for yield opportunities. No intermediary vaults. No custody transfer. No third-party managers.
Multiple protocols, one integration. Arca gets access through the same Compass API. Users benefit from more options without Arca building and maintaining separate integrations for each protocol.
Compass constructs the transaction; it never holds or touches the funds. This was key for Arca: the same non-custodial principles that define the rest of their product suite now extend to yield.
How it works:
- User deposits USDC in Arca Savings
- Compass API constructs the transaction
- Funds go directly into lending or yield pools
- Interest accrues on-chain, visible in real time
- User withdraws anytime - no lockups, no minimums
The data layer:
Compass doesn't just handle transactions - it gives Arca the full picture to show their users:
- Real-time balances across all positions
- Transaction history for every deposit, withdrawal, and yield event
- PnL tracking (realised & unrealised)
- Rate data so users can see yield stability
The same API that constructs the transactions returns all the data needed to build a complete savings dashboard.
Key benefits
- Direct to protocol: users interact with battle-tested smart contracts with billions of dollars in liquidity, not an intermediary or vault wrapper
- Non-custodial: Compass never holds funds, consistent with Arca's architecture
- Multi-protocol access: DeFi's largest lending markets through one API
- Built-in revenue: embedded fees let Arca earn alongside their users
- Full portfolio data: balances, PnL, tx history, cost basis - all from the API
- No minimums, no lockups: users move in and out freely
Get started
Arca turned idle dollar balances into a yield-generating savings feature - giving users in emerging markets access to the same DeFi yields that were previously only available to crypto-native users.
See how Compass can do the same for your wallet, fintech, or payment platform. Book a demo, explore Compass Studio, or read the docs.
Compass does not control DeFi protocols or smart contracts. Using DeFi protocols involves risk, including potential loss of funds. This is not investment advice.