“Can a modern developer-first issuer-processor replace the 30-year-old mainframe incumbents and become the default rails for programmable card issuing and money movement?”
Founded in 2014 as Privacy.com, a consumer virtual-card app that let users generate disposable card numbers for online purchases. After hitting limits with legacy issuer-processors, the team rebuilt the underlying infrastructure and in 2021 rebranded to Lithic to sell that infrastructure as a B2B issuer-processor and program manager. Today Lithic powers 100+ card programs across credit, disbursements, digital banking, and (more recently) agentic commerce and stablecoin rails.
Lithic discloses Lithic (in-house) as its banking provider, with Patriot Bank, N.A. as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Lithic does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Patriot Bank, N.A..
Lithic processes payments through Lithic (self-operated issuer-processor). Disclosed money-movement rails: ACH.
Lithic's cards are issued through Lithic (in-house) and lithic on the Mastercard network.
Lithic uses Lithic KYC (in-house) for KYC and identity verification.
Lithic's lending and capital products are provided by Lithic (in-house issuing rails).
Lithic runs its ledger on Lithic Ledger (in-house).
Lithic connects to bank accounts through Plaid.
Lithic's crypto products run on Lithic Stablecoin (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 12 layers in Lithic's stack: Payments / PSP (Lithic (self-operated issuer-processor)); Money movement (ACH); Banking / BaaS (Lithic (in-house)); Card issuing (Lithic (in-house) and lithic); Card network (Mastercard); Ledger (Lithic Ledger (in-house)); Lending (Lithic (in-house issuing rails)); Open banking (Plaid); KYC (Lithic KYC (in-house)); Sponsor bank (Patriot Bank, N.A.); Crypto (Lithic Stablecoin (in-house)); Tax (column tax).
Lithic was founded by Bo Jiang, Jason Kruse and David Nichols and is founded in 2014, headquartered in New York, NY.
Lithic has raised unknown in total (latest round: Series C, 2021; valuation: $800M (2021)).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Lithic and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.