Lithic

What it is

Lithic is Lithic, Inc.’s card issuer processing platform for companies that want to issue and manage payment cards. The homepage calls it programmable card issuing and money movement: a platform designed for developers and trusted by banks. Legal terms call the product a card issuing platform, delivered through APIs and a web dashboard. Footer and terms name Lithic, Inc. (formerly Pay with Privacy, Inc.). Lithic is not a bank. Bank Partners provide the regulated financial services, including opening card accounts. Lithic acts as processor and, on the managed path, as program manager.

Two commercial models sit on the same API. Processing (sold on the site as Processor Client and Processing Only): you own the card program, bring your own sponsor bank and BIN, and Lithic supplies processing, issuing APIs, fraud controls, developer tools, and sandbox. Program Managed: Lithic and a partner bank handle sponsorship, compliance, KYC and KYB, ledgering, card manufacturing, and network connectivity, while you control spend logic, branding, and the cardholder experience. Graduation Path is Lithic’s described route from program management toward a direct bank relationship while staying on Lithic processing.

This page is Lithic card issuing for software platforms: virtual and physical cards (debit, prepaid, charge, and credit), authorization decisioning, and the Processing vs Program Managed paths. Accounts and money movement (ACH, wires, virtual and routable accounts), Lithic’s consumer sister brand Privacy, and fleet, disbursement, or stablecoin solution pages are Lithic’s. They are not this page.

Who it’s for

Two shapes, from Lithic’s own pages:

• Software platforms and startups on Program Managed, where Lithic and a partner bank run sponsorship, compliance, and operations so the company can launch cards without standing up its own bank and BIN stack. Docs say this path is for startups and SaaS platforms launching cards quickly.
• Experienced fintechs and financial institutions on Processing, where the company brings its own bank partner, BIN sponsor, and compliance program. Lithic processes authorizations and issues cards through the API.

Card-issuing copy covers consumer and commercial programs, and debit, prepaid, charge, and revolving credit constructs. Industry pages sell cards for bill pay, expense management, corporate incentives, disbursements, fleet, travel, and related programs. The customers page names Mercury and Novo. The homepage names Order.co in a quote about virtual-card issuance through the Lithic API.

It is a fit for a software company that wants branded cards inside the product, will go through sales for production, and either wants Lithic to supply the sponsor bank or already has one.

Standout details

• Card types in current docs: VIRTUAL (card-not-present, and wallet-capable if the program is enabled), PHYSICAL (manufactured, card-present and card-not-present, white-label branding, credit, ATM, PIN debit, chip/EMV, NFC, magstripe), and SINGLE_USE (closed after the first successful authorization). The card-issuing page and FAQ add debit, prepaid, charge, and credit programs, plus tokenized cards. Virtual cards can convert to physical on the same PAN. Instant virtual issuance and mobile or web wallet provisioning are on the product pages. Digital-wallet copy names Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Physical programs need BIN setup with the network and manufacturer, card art, and a product_id. Lithic offers templated black or white cards (including generic, no-customization stock) and custom cards contracted with a partner manufacturer. Fulfillment is described as domestic and international. FAQ: many clients go live in a matter of weeks. Program Management FAQ: launch timelines vary by product type and partner bank.
• Networks on current product pages: Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, via direct connections (no third-party gateway in Lithic’s telling). A May 14, 2025 newsroom post says fintechs can apply to issue on the American Express network through Lithic. Authorization Stream Access (ASA) sends an HTTP POST during authorization so your endpoint can approve, decline, or challenge. Lithic runs pre-ASA checks (default security rules, Authorization Rules, and balance checks where configured). If your endpoint does not respond within 6 seconds, the transaction is declined. Lithic recommends responding within 3 seconds. Authorization Rules (including velocity limits, conditional actions, custom code, and shadow-mode testing) run on Lithic infrastructure as an alternative to operating your own ASA endpoint.
• Identity: Program Managed copy says Lithic manages KYC/KYB, AML/BSA, OFAC, and ongoing risk monitoring. Processing copy says you handle KYC/KYB, fraud, and oversight. Current docs and API: individuals can enroll through Lithic-run KYC (KYC_BASIC appears in API examples and guides), bring-your-own KYC (KYC_BYO, for programs Lithic has pre-approved), or KYC_EXEMPT on a program-by-program basis. Businesses can use Lithic-run KYB_BASIC (document upload when review is needed) or KYB_DELEGATED when verification is done outside Lithic. Docs say the KYC/KYB endpoints are for compliance, not a comprehensive fraud solution.
• Production is not self-serve. Dashboard signup at app.lithic.com starts in sandbox, with sandbox API keys and simulated transactions. Sandbox is for exploration and integration, not load testing. Docs say to contact Sales (lithic.com/about/contact) to move to production. Contact is a sales form. Physical-card setup requires an implementation or customer-success conversation for BIN, manufacturer, and product_id.
• Lithic does not publish a public rate card. lithic.com/pricing redirects to the homepage. Terms (last updated January 30, 2024) point to fees in the agreement and an API Pricing section of the website, and say Enterprise Terms control if executed. Revenue share is described at a contract level, not as a public buy rate. This listing does not repeat a rate card.
• License sits with partner banks, not Lithic. Incentive Cardholder Agreement: a Lithic Mastercard prepaid incentive card is issued by Patriot Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Authorized User Terms define Issuer as Patriot Bank, N.A. or such other bank partners as the cardholder may determine. A January 27, 2026 newsroom post: Stearns Bank will serve as BIN sponsor across major payment networks for Lithic’s program-managed services, with expanded services available to businesses across the United States. A January 29, 2025 newsroom post: Veritex Community Bank is a banking partner for Lithic commercial credit products, also described as available across the United States. Lithic’s press index lists a July 27, 2026 Byline Bank partnership. Program Management FAQ: Lithic partners with leading sponsor banks and shares specific partnerships during engagement. On Processing, you bring your own BIN sponsor.
• Geography: the United States is the core market. A September 18, 2024 post calls Canada Lithic’s first non-U.S. market and adds multicurrency processing and physical cards with offline PIN for Canadian standards. Card-issuing FAQ: domestic and international issuing, including Visa, Mastercard, and Amex. Transaction-processing FAQ: multi-currency processing and settlement, including USD, EUR, CAD, and more. Privacy policy (updated June 1, 2026) says personal data for international card programs may originate from or transfer outside the United States. Terms treat the managed Program as subject to U.S. financial-services, AML, and sanctions obligations. Contact and privacy list Lithic, Inc., 228 Park Ave S, PMB 71040, New York, NY 10003. That is a PMB, not treated here as headquarters.
• Homepage states SOC 1 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001, plus 99.99%+ uptime and no scheduled downtime. The customers page prints 99.999% uptime, $10BN+ total processing volume, and a 90% chargeback win rate. Program Services copy also states a 90% win rate on eligible chargebacks. Those figures are Lithic’s. Uptime copy disagrees across pages, so do not treat a single availability number as audited.
• Named on current Lithic pages (not empty-alt logos): Order.co (homepage quote), Mercury (customers page and case study), and Novo (customers page and case study). Adjacent Lithic products include Accounts and Payment Hub (ACH, including same-day, virtual and routable accounts, wires), consumer virtual cards at Privacy.com (the sister brand Lithic was built from), and solution pages for digital banking, fleet, disbursements, credit, stablecoin, and agentic commerce. Those are Lithic’s. They are not this page.

Sources: lithic.com, Card issuing, Transaction processing, Program Management, Processing Only, Graduation Path, Accounts, About, Customers, Contact, Press, Stearns Bank, Veritex Community Bank, American Express network, Canada expansion, Mercury case study, Novo case study, Terms, Incentive Cardholder Agreement, Authorized User Terms, Privacy Policy, Docs welcome, Processing vs Program Managed, Sign up, Environments, Cards, Physical cards setup, ASA, Authorization Rules, Account holders KYC, Account holders KYB.

Honest verdict

Lithic is the listing to read when the job is card issuing for a software platform: virtual and physical cards on major networks, real-time authorization (hosted rules or your own ASA endpoint), and either Lithic program management or processing on a bank relationship you bring. Lithic is not a bank. The BIN and the card-issuing license sit with partner banks. On Program Managed, Lithic supplies that bank. On Processing, you do.

What it is not: a published buy rate, a self-serve live start, or a company that holds the issuing license for you. Sandbox signup is public. Production keys follow sales, program setup, and a sponsor bank. If you will not complete that, stop. If the job is issuing cards inside the product, start here.