OpenAI Codex is the coding agent that writes, reviews and fixes code for you, in the terminal, in your IDE, in the ChatGPT app and in the cloud. There is no separate "Codex subscription" to buy. You get Codex by paying for a ChatGPT plan, or you pay for it per token through the OpenAI API. Both are paid by card, and that is where many developers get stuck: the bank declines foreign charges, the region is not supported by local cards, or there is simply no credit card at all, only USDT in a wallet.
This guide explains how the Codex payment works, which plan you actually need, and how to pay for it with an IZIPAY virtual card that you fund with USDT. The card is issued in about 2 minutes, with no ID documents and no bank account.
Short answer
- Register at IZIPAY and buy a virtual card. You can pay for the card itself in USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL or TRX.
- Top up the card with USDT on TRC20, BEP20, ERC20 or Polygon. Minimum top-up is $5, the fee is 3% plus the network fee.
- In ChatGPT, open the upgrade page, choose Plus or Pro and enter the card details. Codex is included in the plan.
- If you want API access instead, add the same card in the OpenAI Platform billing settings and buy credits.
The rest of this article goes through each step, the costs, and what to do if a payment is declined.
How Codex is paid for: plan or API
Codex comes in two forms, and the payment is different for each.
Codex in ChatGPT. Codex is included in paid ChatGPT plans such as Plus and Pro (and the business tiers). You sign in to the Codex CLI, the IDE extension or the Codex tab in ChatGPT with your ChatGPT account, and usage counts against your plan's limits. Pro gives much higher limits than Plus. You pay a fixed monthly subscription and nothing per request.
Codex through the OpenAI API. You can also run Codex with an API key. In that case you pay for usage: OpenAI charges your prepaid API credit balance per token, according to the model you use. This suits teams, automation and CI pipelines, or anyone who wants to pay exactly for what they use.
| ChatGPT Plus / Pro | OpenAI API | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get Codex | Included in the plan | API key, pay per token |
| Billing | Monthly subscription | Prepaid credits |
| Where you enter the card | chatgpt.com, upgrade / billing | platform.openai.com, billing |
| Good for | Individual developers, daily coding | Automation, teams, variable usage |
| Price | Plan price (Plus is $20 per month at the time of writing) | Depends on model and tokens |
Plan prices and limits change from time to time, so check the current numbers on OpenAI's pricing page before you top up.
If you already know you just want ChatGPT, see our page on how to buy ChatGPT with crypto. For API credits there is a separate page: buy OpenAI API with crypto.
Why a crypto-funded card instead of your bank card
OpenAI does not take crypto directly. It takes card payments. An IZIPAY card sits in between: you hold USDT, you move part of it to the card, and the card pays OpenAI like any other card payment.
Practical reasons people use it for Codex:
- No credit card. Many developers are paid in USDT and do not want to route money through a bank just to pay a $20 subscription.
- Bank declines. Some banks block foreign or "digital services" charges. A separate card funded only for subscriptions avoids that.
- Separate budget. You load exactly what the plan or the API costs. If a key leaks or an automation runs wild, the damage is limited to the card balance.
- No paperwork. The card is issued without KYC, without ID documents and without a bank account.
Which IZIPAY card to choose for Codex
IZIPAY has two card types. Both are Mastercard.
| Mastercard (BIN 5378) | Apple Pay Mastercard (BIN 5240) | |
|---|---|---|
| One-time price | $49.99 | $59.99 |
| Online payments | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Pay / Google Pay | No | Yes |
| Top-up | USDT (TRC20, BEP20, ERC20, Polygon) | USDT (TRC20, BEP20, ERC20, Polygon) |
| Max single transaction | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Issued in | About 2 minutes | About 2 minutes |
For Codex, the 5378 card is enough. ChatGPT and the OpenAI Platform are paid online by entering card details, so you do not need a phone wallet.
Take the 5240 card if you also want to pay in shops or apps through Apple Pay or Google Pay, or if you want to buy the ChatGPT subscription from the iPhone app. One card can then cover Codex and your everyday payments.
Both prices are one-time. After that you pay only when you add funds: 3% of the top-up plus the network fee.
Step by step: pay for ChatGPT Plus or Pro (Codex included)
1. Create an account and buy the card
Go to izipay.me/register, sign up with your email and choose the card type. You can pay for the card with USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL or TRX. After the payment confirms, the card appears in your dashboard in about 2 minutes, with the number, expiry date and CVV.
2. Top up the card with USDT
Card top-ups work only with USDT, on one of four networks: TRC20, BEP20, ERC20 or Polygon.
- BEP20 and Polygon have the lowest network fees. Use them if your wallet or exchange supports them.
- TRC20 has the highest network fee of the four.
- The minimum top-up is $5.
- The fee is 3% of the amount plus the network fee.
Top up a little more than the plan price. For ChatGPT Plus at $20, loading around $22 to $25 leaves room for local taxes that OpenAI may add in some regions.
3. Subscribe in ChatGPT
- Log in at chatgpt.com.
- Open your profile menu and choose the upgrade option.
- Pick Plus or Pro.
- Enter the IZIPAY card number, expiry, CVV and the cardholder name shown in your dashboard.
- If your dashboard shows a billing address for the card, use it. A mismatch between the address and the card is a common reason for declines.
- Confirm. If the bank page asks for a one-time code, take it from the IZIPAY dashboard.
4. Start using Codex
Once the plan is active, sign in to the Codex CLI or the IDE extension with your ChatGPT account, or open Codex inside ChatGPT. No API key is needed for this route.
Keep in mind that the subscription renews every month. Before the renewal date, make sure the card has enough balance, otherwise the charge will fail and ChatGPT will downgrade your account.
Step by step: pay for OpenAI API credits for Codex
If you want to run Codex with an API key:
- Log in at platform.openai.com.
- Go to Settings > Billing and add a payment method: enter the IZIPAY card details.
- Buy credits. OpenAI sets a minimum purchase amount, which is shown on that page.
- Consider switching off auto-recharge or setting a low recharge amount. With a prepaid card that is safer: if something goes wrong, OpenAI can only charge what is on the card.
- Create an API key and use it in the Codex CLI or your own tooling.
There is more detail on the API route in our OpenAI API with crypto page.
What it costs
Here is an example for one month of ChatGPT Plus with the 5378 card. The network fee depends on the network you choose and is shown before you pay.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Card 5378, one-time | $49.99 |
| Top-up of $25 | $25.00 |
| Top-up fee 3% | $0.75 |
| Network fee | Depends on network (lowest on BEP20 and Polygon) |
| ChatGPT Plus, first month | $20 plus any local tax |
From the second month, you only pay the top-up (plan price plus 3% plus the network fee). To save on network fees, top up for two or three months at once rather than $20 every month.
With the 5240 Apple Pay card, the only difference is the one-time price: $59.99 instead of $49.99.
If the payment is declined
A card payment can fail for several reasons, and some of them are on the merchant's side. We cannot promise that every checkout will accept every card every time. Here is what usually helps:
- Check the balance. The balance has to cover the full charge, including tax. Top up and try again.
- Check the details. Card number, expiry, CVV and the name have to match what the dashboard shows. Use the billing address from the dashboard if there is one.
- Wait and retry. Several failed attempts in a row can trigger the merchant's anti-fraud check. Wait 15 to 30 minutes, then try once more.
- Try another route. If the web checkout fails, try from a different browser, or the other way round, from the ChatGPT mobile app.
- Try the other card type. The 5378 and 5240 cards have different BINs. If one is declined by a particular merchant, the other one sometimes goes through.
- Contact IZIPAY support in the chat on the site if the charge still does not go through. Support can check whether the payment attempt reached the card.
Limits and practical notes
- Max single transaction: $20,000. That covers any ChatGPT plan and large API credit purchases.
- Minimum top-up: $5.
- Top-up currency: USDT only, on TRC20, BEP20, ERC20 or Polygon. If you hold BTC, ETH or another coin, swap it to USDT first. Paying for the card itself can be done in more coins.
- One card for all AI tools. The same card pays for ChatGPT, the OpenAI API and other services. If you use several tools, read our guide to pay for ChatGPT with crypto or the OpenAI and Anthropic API guide.
- Your OpenAI account is yours. The card only handles the payment. OpenAI's terms and country availability still apply to the account itself.
Summary
Codex has no separate price tag. You either subscribe to ChatGPT Plus or Pro, which include Codex, or you pay for API usage with prepaid credits. Both accept a regular card payment, so a virtual card funded with USDT does the job. For Codex alone, the $49.99 Mastercard 5378 is enough. If you also want Apple Pay and Google Pay, take the $59.99 Apple Pay Mastercard 5240.
Ready to set it up? Create an account, or read more about the virtual card first.