“Can a single FCA/EU-regulated card issuer and BIN sponsor become the default infrastructure layer bridging traditional card rails and on-chain stablecoin settlement?”
Monavate is a UK/Lithuania-based regulated card issuing and BIN sponsorship platform, positioned as a principal member of Mastercard, Visa and Discover offering issuing, virtual IBANs, multi-currency accounts and program management under a single regulated perimeter. The company is best known as the launch partner behind Zilch's BNPL card, and has expanded into Web3 (Baanx), travel, insurance and media-buyer verticals. A November 2025 merger involving W3C signals a strategic push deeper into on-chain payments and stablecoin settlement.
Monavate discloses Monavate (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Monavate does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Monavate (in-house).
Monavate processes payments through Monavate (in-house) and global payments.
Monavate's cards are issued through Monavate (in-house), monavate and lithic on the Mastercard, Visa and Discover networks.
Monavate uses ComplyAdvantage, SmartSearch, Sumsub, Know Your Customer Limited and Featurespace for KYC and identity verification.
Monavate runs its ledger on Episode 6.
Monavate connects to bank accounts through tell.money.
Monavate uses Monavate (in-house) for FX and cross-border payouts.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 9 layers in Monavate's stack: Payments / PSP (Monavate (in-house) and global payments); Banking / BaaS (Monavate (in-house)); Card issuing (Monavate (in-house), monavate and lithic); Card network (Mastercard, Visa and Discover); Ledger (Episode 6); Open banking (tell.money); KYC (ComplyAdvantage, SmartSearch, Sumsub, Know Your Customer Limited and 1 other); FX & payouts (Monavate (in-house)); Crypto (Baanx and Lithic).
Monavate was founded by Michael Rolph and Scott Lucas and is founded in 2020, headquartered in Duxford, Cambridge, England, UK.
Monavate has raised $6.86M in total (latest round: Merger (W3C), November 2025).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Monavate 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.