Best Credit Card Issuing APIs
Issuing platforms that support credit and charge card programs, not just debit and prepaid.
Our pick: Lithic
Lithic is a programmable card issuing and money movement platform for developers and fintechs, covering virtual, physical, prepaid, debit, credit, charge, and fleet card programs in the US and Canada. Pricing is usage-based with published rates and self-serve signup; an enterprise tier is available for programs exceeding $250K monthly volume, which also unlocks physical and tokenized card issuance. The REST API supports webhooks, idempotency, and SDKs in six languages, with a sandbox environment for testing and an MCP server available. Lithic holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certifications, and counts Mercury, Novo, and Parker among its customers.
Best for: Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; AI agents and automation - an agent-ready surface (MCP / llms.txt); Teams needing broad API coverage out of the box.
Avoid if: You want to try it free before paying
Best for…
Ranked (9)
#1 Lithic
59 / 100- Best overall
- Best for enterprise
- Best for agents
Lithic is a programmable card issuing and money movement platform for developers and fintechs, covering virtual, physical, prepaid, debit, credit, charge, and fleet card programs in the US and Canada. Pricing is usage-based with published rates and self-serve signup; an enterprise tier is available for programs exceeding $250K monthly volume, which also unlocks physical and tokenized card issuance. The REST API supports webhooks, idempotency, and SDKs in six languages, with a sandbox environment for testing and an MCP server available. Lithic holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certifications, and counts Mercury, Novo, and Parker among its customers.
PricingUsage · free tier ✗TrustSOC 2 Type II · ISO 27001 · PCI DSSDoesUsed byMercury, Novo, Parker, GiftlyAvoid ifYou want to try it free before paying#2 Stripe Issuing
50 / 100Stripe Issuing is a card issuance infrastructure API for platforms, fintechs, and enterprises that need to create virtual or physical cards, covering expense management, B2B programs, fleet cards, and embedded finance. It is available in the US, UK, Canada, and across the EU, with over 275 million cards created and customers including Ramp and Shopify. Pricing is usage-based at $0.10 per card, though access requires a sales conversation and a compliance review before launch. The REST API ships with SDKs for seven languages, webhooks, sandbox access, and certifications for SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS, and GDPR.
PricingUsage · from $0.10 card · free tier ✗TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · PCI DSSDoesUsed byRamp, Shopify, WayflyerAvoid ifYou need to start building today without contacting sales#3 Marqeta
45 / 100Marqeta is a card issuing platform that lets companies launch virtual and physical card programs, including expense cards, BNPL cards, neobank debit, credit programs, and marketplace payouts, across 40+ countries. Pricing is not published and requires a sales engagement; sandbox access is self-serve but live program launch needs approval. The REST API supports webhooks, idempotency, and a Python SDK, and Marqeta holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS Level 1, and GDPR certifications. Notable customers include Square, Uber, Affirm, DoorDash, Instacart, and Google.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · ISO 27001 · PCI DSSDoesUsed bySquare (Block), Uber, Affirm, InstacartAvoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front#4 Thredd
38 / 100Thredd is an issuer-processor API supporting debit, credit, prepaid, and virtual card programs across 47+ countries, aimed at fintechs, neobanks, and embedded finance builders. It handles card lifecycle management, real-time authorization, spend controls, 3DS, tokenization, push provisioning, and AI-enabled fraud monitoring via a REST API with OAuth2 and mTLS authentication. Pricing is negotiated through sales with no published rates. The platform holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certifications, and customers include Zilch, Bigpay, and Pliant; notably, Thredd is an issuer-processor and not a BIN sponsor, so clients must arrange their own sponsoring bank.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · ISO 27001 · PCI DSSDoesUsed byZilch, Transcard, Treezor, REAPAvoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front#5 Unit
39 / 100Unit is an enterprise-grade embedded finance platform for software companies that want to offer banking and card products to their own customers, covering virtual and physical debit, credit, and prepaid cards with spend controls, authorization streaming, and JIT funding. It operates in the United States only, with Visa card issuance through FDIC-member bank partners. Pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation. The REST API supports webhooks, idempotency, and a sandbox environment, with SDKs for Node.js/TypeScript, Python, and Ruby, and holds SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS Level 1 certifications.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustSOC 2 Type II · PCI DSSDoesUsed byHoneyBook, Homebase, Roofstock, AngelListAvoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front#6 Synctera
38 / 100Synctera is a banking-as-a-service platform for fintechs and neobanks that need to launch card programs, including consumer debit, credit, secured charge, fleet, and business expense cards, across the United States and Canada. Pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation, with production access also contingent on securing a sponsor bank partner through Synctera's Liftoff matching program. The REST API supports webhooks, idempotency, and a sandbox for development, with SDKs available in Go and Ruby. The platform holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification and PCI DSS compliance, and counts Bolt, Webull, and Ellevest among its known customers.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustSOC 2 Type II · PCI DSSDoesUsed byBolt, Webull, Ellevest, BTG PactualAvoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front#7 Enfuce
35 / 100Enfuce is a card issuing and payment processing platform for fintechs, brands, and enterprises looking to launch debit, prepaid, credit, or specialty card programs (expense, fleet, EV, kids) without needing their own EMI license or scheme membership, as Enfuce holds dual EMI authorization from the Finnish FSA and UK FCA and is a principal Visa and Mastercard member. It covers the full card lifecycle via REST APIs, including spend controls, tokenization, 3DS, dispute management, KYC/KYB, and real-time webhooks, with a sandbox available for self-serve testing. Geographic coverage spans the EEA, United Kingdom, and Latin America, and the platform is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. Pricing is quote-only with no published rates.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustGDPR · PCI DSSDoesUsed byPleo, Swile, Memo Bank, SEB EmbeddedAvoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front#8 Highnote
17 / 100- Broadest surface
Highnote is a US-only card issuance platform for building consumer and commercial card programs, including debit, credit, prepaid, fleet, expense, and virtual B2B cards, targeting fintechs and enterprises launching embedded finance products. It exposes a GraphQL API with webhook support, idempotency, and granular spend controls such as velocity rules, merchant category filters, and real-time collaborative authorization. Pricing is not published and requires a sales engagement. Highnote holds PCI DSS Level 1 certification as a service provider and is SOC 1 and SOC 2 compliant, operating under a bank sponsorship model with FinCEN MSB registration.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustPCI DSSDoesUsed byNetevia, Splitit, FerryAvoid ifYou need to start building today without contacting sales#9 Galileo Financial Technologies
21 / 100Galileo Financial Technologies is a REST API platform for card issuance and payments, serving fintechs, banks, and brands building debit, prepaid, GPR, virtual, corporate, payroll, and fleet card programs alongside ACH, wire, and real-time payment rails. The platform covers 14 countries across the US, Canada, and Latin America, and counts Chime, Robinhood, Varo, Revolut, and Monzo among its customers. Pricing is enterprise and negotiated through sales with no published rates or self-serve signup. Galileo is PCI DSS compliant, supports webhooks and idempotency, and provides a sandbox capped at 1,000 requests per 10 minutes.
PricingSales-led · free tier ✗TrustPCI DSSDoesUsed byChime, Robinhood, Varo, MonzoAvoid ifYou need to start building today without contacting sales