How to pay for OpenRouter and AI APIs (DeepSeek, OpenAI)

If you build bots, agents or plug AI into your product, you pay for the API, not a subscription. Most of these services are prepaid: you buy credits, and model requests are drawn from them. A Tegro virtual card — an international Visa/Mastercard on a crypto balance — works for this just as it does for ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro.

OpenRouter: one key, hundreds of models

OpenRouter is an aggregator that gives a single API to models from different developers: GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama and others. It's handy when you want to switch between models without separate billing at each service.

1. Issue a card in USD and top it up — USDT TRC-20 or TON.
2. Sign in at openrouter.ai and open Credits.
3. Buy credits, enter the amount and the card details with a billing address in Latin letters.
4. Confirm 3D Secure in the Tegro Card app if needed.
5. Create an API key and plug it into your code or app.

DeepSeek, the OpenAI API and other direct APIs

With OpenAI, Anthropic and other providers, you add the card under Billing in the developer console and then top up your credit balance. Payment methods accepted by direct APIs depend on the service and country. If paying directly doesn't work, the same model — DeepSeek, for example — is usually available via OpenRouter.

Keep your API from stopping mid-work

• If you enable credit auto top-up, keep at least the top-up amount on the card.
• Set spending limits in the service console — so a runaway loop in your code can't burn the whole budget.
• Use separate cards for work and personal projects — spend never mixes.

These services accept international cards, but every payment is approved by the provider itself. If a payment is declined, see why a payment gets declined and what a BIN is.