OWNERSHIP BACKUP
The Sovereign Card
Your recovery share as a physical card. Something you have — instead of something you have to remember.
[SVG card render — Phase 2 designer asset]
A safety net you can hold in your hand
Soveris secures your assets with three key shares — PRIMARY, SECONDARY and BACKUP. The BACKUP share is what lets you reach your assets again at any time, independently of Soveris. You can keep it in one of two ways: as a passphrase you remember (Knowledge BACKUP), or as a card you own — the Sovereign Card (Ownership BACKUP).
On the Sovereign Card, your BACKUP share lives physically secured in a secure element — finished in premium material, read contactlessly over NFC. Cryptographically the card holds the same value as your passphrase. Only the handling is different:
Knowledge BACKUP
You remember a passphrase.
Ownership BACKUP (Sovereign Card)
You hold a card to your phone (NFC).
When a card suits you better than a phrase to remember
The Sovereign Card is the right choice if one of these describes you:
- You prefer to keep things of value tangible — in a safe, a notary's vault, a family deposit box.
- When the time comes, you want your heirs to hold a card from the estate to a phone, not transcribe a passphrase from your will.
- You want a second layer of protection, holding Knowledge and Ownership in parallel.
- You work with a family office or an estate lawyer who is used to safekeeping physical asset documents.
- You already know hardware wallets and trust an object you hold in your hand more than a stored secret.
What our clients use the card for
Lay down an orderly estate
One card with the notary, one in the family safe, one within your own reach. Three cards, the same share. Any one of them is enough for access.
Prepare for succession
During your lifetime you hand your designated heir a sealed card with a covering letter, activated only on your death.
Safekeeping with your lawyer
Your estate lawyer or family-office counsel safekeeps the card. When the time comes, the heir proves their identity to Soveris and the lawyer hands over the card.
Protect in several layers
Hold a passphrase as well, and you are immediately covered against losing a card while travelling.
Set up in five steps — only your app ever sees the share
Here is how you set up the Sovereign Card (on Sovereign and Individual):
- You choose how many cards you want (default: one, any number is possible).
- Soveris ships all cards together in a single welcome set.
- During setup, your Soveris app writes the same BACKUP share to each card in turn (contactlessly over NFC).
- Each card confirms itself with a test signature.
- Your app wipes the BACKUP share from memory.
Worth knowing: multiple cards are physical copies of the same single BACKUP share — not additional parties in the MPC arrangement. Two of three shares never becomes more. One card together with your PRIMARY share (in your smartphone) is enough to reach your assets again — entirely without Soveris.
Add a card later — without setting everything up again
If you later want to add a fourth card (with your lawyer) or a fifth (at your Swiss branch), no full re-setup is required:
- You order a new, empty card in the app.
- Soveris ships it.
- In the app: first hold the existing card to your phone (NFC, biometrics, card PIN), then the new one.
- Your app transfers the BACKUP share from the old card to the new one. Soveris only confirms your identity online and never sees the share.
Proven hardware, thought through by Soveris
JavaCard 3.0.5+
With a secure element — a proven industry platform with several interchangeable manufacturers.
NFC ISO 14443
Hold it contactlessly to your phone, like a contactless payment card.
Premium material
Metal frame or carbon, Soveris logo laser-engraved, card identifier engraved in.
Welcome set
Leather envelope, instructions as an insert, Soveris design.
No proprietary Soveris card format. We rely on proven smart-card technology and create the premium experience through material, packaging, and the way it works together with the Soveris app.
What the card costs
On request. A first card is included in the Sovereign Card option on Sovereign and Individual. We discuss each further card with you in person — depending on the number, the shipping region, and the finish of the welcome set.
What happens if a card is lost
- One card lost — the others keep working. If you wish, you refresh the shares; the lost card then becomes cryptographically invalid, even if it later resurfaces.
- All cards lost, PRIMARY working — you carry on with PRIMARY and SECONDARY, order new cards, and refresh the shares once they arrive.
- All cards lost, PRIMARY lost, and no passphrase as a fallback — a total loss, with the same residual risk as pure self-custody. This is exactly why we recommend a second layer of protection for especially large holdings: Knowledge and Ownership in parallel.
Your next step
The Sovereign Card is an option within the Sovereign plan.