Why Non-Custodial?

Understanding the importance of self-custody in the MoniPay ecosystem.

Most "crypto payment" apps are custodial — they hold your funds on your behalf. If they get hacked, freeze your account, or shut down, your money is at risk. MoniPay is built differently.

The Custody Spectrum

  1. Fully Custodial: Banks and centralized exchanges. They have total control over your funds.
  2. Semi-Custodial: Services that share control or use multi-sig where they hold a key.
  3. Non-Custodial: You hold the keys. Only you can authorize transactions.

Why it Matters

  • Censorship Resistance: Even a court order against MoniPay cannot produce your private key because MoniPay doesn't have it.
  • Security: Your device holds the encrypted key. A hack of MoniPay's servers does not expose your funds.
  • Ownership: Your money is truly yours, living on the blockchain, not in a company's database.

In a non-custodial system, MoniPay support cannot recover your funds if you lose your PIN and haven't set up backup. This is by design — it means no one else can take them either.

Key Storage Comparison