Top Credit Card Issuer Platforms: Overview, Strengths & Headquarters

Credit card payments have made life easy for every consumer. In addition to access to additional funds, credit cards offer cashback, deals, and ease of payment. With the convenience of tap and pay, along with easy instalment, credit cards help in managing expenses to the best without compromising your payment experience.

However, to ensure all of this, there is a complete cycle involved in a credit card transaction. One key component of this cycle is the credit card issuer.

It is a technological solution that allows businesses to issue credit cards to their customers. Everything from the infrastructure required to card issuing to tools that help in managing and processing credit card accounts.

Since the role of a credit card issuer is of high importance in transaction processing, the idea of being one has caught the attention of many, which makes the credit card issuer space highly competitive.

There are several card issuer platforms available in the market today. While these options allow a user to find a suitable solution as per their requirements, they often confuse the user as they have to choose from so many different names in the market.

If you are struggling to choose the right credit card issuer platforms for your fintech business, then do not worry, as this is the post for you.

In this one, let us take a look at a list of top credit card issuer platforms out of hundreds of players, narrowed down to all the popular companies that you can choose from.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

12+ Credit Card Issuer Platforms to Choose From

The core job of a card issuer platform is to offer card issuance, management, and processing services to any financial or non-financial organization. Each fintech entrepreneur has a different vision for their services and looks for a service that aligns with their perspective.

Hence, to make the decision easier for you, we will also be classifying these top credit card issuer platforms based on the core benefits that they offer, just to give you a perspective of what you get when you choose a particular credit card issuer platform. With that said, let’s begin with the list!

(Note: – The below list features the best credit card issuer platforms; however is in no particular order.)

1. Marqeta

One of the leading and most popular names in the credit card issuer market, Marqeta, offers an open API for fintech businesses that they can use to manage, process, and control all types of payment cards, including credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards.

The whole idea of Marqeta is to provide a card issuing and payments solutions platform that allows businesses to easily issue both virtual and physical cards just so they have ease of making payments while using the services.

What makes Marqeta a market leader is its ability to enable businesses to easily launch new payment programs efficiently without compromising on scalability, security, and reliability.

2. Adyen

With its end-to-end payment services available under the same roof, Adyen is a one-stop shop for all business payment needs. The application also offers direct card issuing services that assist in managing physical and virtual cards.

The application is specifically designed for customization, enabling you to create a payment method tailored to your business needs. Adyen also provides the option to develop transaction rules that can be configured for automatic approval or automatic decline.

Additionally, Adyen assists non-financial organizations in entering the market with embedded finance, enhancing user experience through branded cards directly linked to them, rather than to a separate bank.

3. Paymentology

A cloud native global issuer that allows banks, fintechs, and businesses to manage their various card types and operations related to them. The application is focused on bringing payment inclusivity and financial inclusion to society to leave a positive community impact.

It is more of an expert in enabling payments infrastructure for companies and can offer all the technology, team, and experience to issue cards, manage transactions related to different types of cards, including debit, credit, and prepaid cards.

With the help of Paymentology’s global reach and super-fast deployment speed, businesses can roll out cards rapidly and at scale, making it one of the few card issuers that are available anywhere in the world.

4. Basis Theory

Offering a customized vault for payment infrastructure, Basic Theory is a compliant and developer-friendly credit card issuer platform that takes care that all your payments are processed correctly while ensuring that the data is handled securely.

The application makes its way among the top names when it comes to offering card issuing services. It not only allows businesses to build customized commerce flows but also ensures that the solution can manage compliance and regulations control the payment data efficiently.

One thing that helps Basis Theory stand apart from the competition is the collection of tools that it offers, such as encryption, tokenization, and sensitive data management. Various payment processors like 3DS and Apple Pay can be used to integrate the Basis Theory platform.

5. Deserve

Deserve.Inc is a credit card isser platform that has changed the way people use credit card issuing services. With a mobile-first approach, the company offers a cloud-native and API-enabled platform that can help in building a personalized cardholder experience.

It issues credit cards by forming direct partnerships with financial institutions, lenders, merchants, and fintech companies. The whole concept of Deserve is to go digital, in terms of taking the digital cards and transactions approach.

The fact that Deserve offers a platform that is accessed and managed primarily through mobile devices makes it more and more reliable for financial entrepreneurs who are more focused on offering mobile-based solutions.

6. Corserv

An innovative payment card issuing, processing, and program management platform, CorServ offers a turnkey issuing program for credit cards, prepaid cards, and virtual cards, enabling banks and financial institutions to deliver competitive branded payment services.

The brand is synonymous with one-of-a-kind card issuance, processing, and management services that not only cater to businesses and financial institutions but also provide modern payment card issuing for banks and fintechs.

CorsServ’s credit card and issuing programs focus on providing technology and scale to all types of institutions. With the help of an intelligently crafted API dedicated to modern issuing and processing debit, credit, and virtual cards, CorServ can very well support in building an independent financial institution, be it a Neobank, or any other type of fintech solution.

7. Stripe Issuing

Stripe issuing is a commonly used API that businesses can use to create and manage virtual and physical cards for their users or employees. It allows businesses to customize card designs and track transactions to trace fraudulent activities.

The application comes from the popular payment processing company Stripe, which offers multiple payment methods, making it a widely used gateway and payment solution.

The platform understands the importance of insights for any business, which is why it offers different features such as Card Issuing, Spend Management, Real-time payments, integration, and scalability for better business growth.

8. Galileo Financial Technologies

Galileo Financial Technologies is a leading provider of financial services and digital payments solutions that include card issuing, digital banking, and online payments. Just like other financial services, Galileo also has an API that businesses can use.

The API allows companies to issue personalized credit cards for payments and provides a comprehensive set of tools for managing card setup, fulfillment, and activation.

By using Galileo for card issuing, you simply make your solution cost-effective, innovative, and compliant with the regulations. All in all, it is one of the most comprehensive card-issuing solutions that can help you create and manage card programs efficiently.

9. Railsbank

Also referred to as Railsr, it is a popular UK-based fintech card provider. Businesses can choose the design of their card as per their requirements. The perks don’t stop there, as at Railsbank, customizing the design of the card is not only easy but highly secure.

Railsr is super efficient and offers services to all types of businesses, from SMEs to large enterprises. Since the service in itself is backed by Railsbank, there are several advantages that it brings along.

These advantages include the ability of direct integrations between the card and Railsbank. Services such as payment processing and open banking APIs help Rails deliver a comprehensive financial solution.

10. Fiserv

One of the leading debit and credit card issuing and processing companies, Fiser started its journey in the pre-digital era and was able to convert its experience into digital solutions successfully. Fiserv also offers dedicated card issuing and payment services that are specifically targeted towards smartphone users.

One of the key issues that several credit card issuers struggle with is the strict compliance and regulations of the card payments. However, Fiser deals with them excellently as it is highly compatible and compliant with all the decided norms of card issuance.

Fiserv, as a solution, is highly suitable for young fintech businesses that still have time to expand their business to other countries, as Fiserv is available in more than 40 countries across the globe.

Here are the top 10 credit card issuers, along with a few honorable mentions that can also meet your needs.

11. SynapseFI

SynapseFI is one of the complete payment service providers that not only offer the card issuance services but also work in payment processing, deposit accounts, and loans.

12. Solaris Bank

Solaris Bank is a well-regarded card issuer that offers customizable card solutions. It is especially recommended for businesses within the European Economic Area due to its strong understanding of local regulations.

13. BOND

Comes with both virtual and physical card issuing services that support KYC onboarding and verification. It is also an all-rounder when it comes to offering payment services, including loans, and can be integrated with Apple Pay & Google Pay.

With all the options explained, you can easily choose the one that suits your business. If you are a financial service provider who wants to enter the credit card issuer platforms market, you must know how to build a card issuer platform for your financial institutions.

Nimble AppGenie Can Help You With a Customized Credit Card Issuer Platform

If you plan to go big and build a credit card issuer platform of your own that helps you build and manage all the aspects related to the card issuance system from managing the transactions to controlling all the aspects of your user’s card then reach out to our developers as they can help you build the solution.

Nimble AppGenie is one of the leading fintech service providers that can make it possible to deliver services related to card issuance and credit card management.

Fintech app development services encompass a wide range of products and services, so you can always expand your idea in different directions.

Reach out today to get your card issuer platform!

Conclusion

Choosing the right card issuer is important for any business, as you need enough room for customization without compromising on the quality and security of the transactions.

Hopefully, the list mentioned above can be useful to you, as all these services can do the job for you without any effort. However, you must identify what each of them offers and then make the decision.

Building a custom card issuer platform is also an option if you are up for it; however, it may require you to invest a bit more. But that also means better customizations and better control over the cards you issue to your customers.

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Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.