Lithic's Card Issuing API Has Crossed $1B in Annual Charge Volume

Ten million virtual cards. That was the consumer traction Lithic, then called Privacy.com, had amassed by May 2021 [TechCrunch, May 2021]. For CEO Bo Jiang and his co-founders, it was proof of concept for a larger bet. The company has since pivoted, rebranded, and refocused its infrastructure to serve other businesses. The bet is that the same technology that secured online shopping for individuals can power the next generation of corporate card programs.

Lithic now provides a developer-first, API-driven platform for companies to issue physical, virtual, and tokenized cards [Contrary Research, accessed 2026]. The target customers are digital banks, fintechs, and any business building a payment product. The wedge is a technical stack that abstracts away the complexity of bank partnerships, network integrations, and compliance. For a company like Lightspark, it meant launching a Visa card program settled in USDC stablecoins through a partnership with Lithic and Lead Bank [Lightspark, accessed 2026].

From Consumer Wedge to B2B Platform

The pivot was a classic infrastructure play. Privacy.com’s consumer product gave the founding team,Jiang, CTO Jason Kruse, and CDO David Nichols,direct, scaled experience with card issuance and fraud controls. Issuing over 10 million virtual card numbers provided a real-world stress test for their systems [TechCrunch, May 2021]. That operational knowledge became the foundation for a sellable service.

Lithic’s current platform allows corporate clients to own the customer relationship while outsourcing the card-issuing rails. Key features include integration with Visa’s Card Program Enrollment API for account-level management and tools for expense management and rewards programs [FF News, accessed 2026] [CB Insights, accessed 2026]. The company reports serving over 100 clients, a mix of digital banks and fintechs.

The Funding Trajectory

Investor conviction has followed the strategic shift. A $43 million Series B in May 2021, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, funded the initial pivot [TechCrunch, May 2021]. That round included Index Ventures and Tusk Venture Partners. The more recent $60 million Series C, led by Stripes, suggests the model is scaling [Fintech Futures, Unknown]. Total disclosed funding now stands at approximately $110 million [Lithic Blog, Unknown].

Jul 2020 Series A | 10.2 | M USD
May 2021 Series B | 43 | M USD
Series C | 60 | M USD

Traction in Volume and Revenue

Public metrics are sparse, but the numbers that have surfaced point to meaningful scale. The company has crossed $1 billion in annual charge volume on its platform [LinkedIn, Julian Ranz, accessed 2026]. It also claims to have helped its business customers generate over $20 million in annual interchange revenue [LinkedIn, Julian Ranz, accessed 2026]. These are the kind of figures that resonate with enterprise buyers evaluating infrastructure stability.

The consumer product, Privacy.com, continues to operate. It maintains a strong user reputation for managing subscriptions and preventing overcharges, with thousands of reviews on Trustpilot [Trustpilot, accessed 2026] [Justuseapp.com, accessed 2026]. This provides a steady, if smaller, revenue stream and an ongoing source of product insight.

A Crowded and Capitalized Field

The card-issuing infrastructure space is not for the faint of heart. Lithic’s competitors are well-funded incumbents and aggressive newcomers. The risk for any platform player is being squeezed between commoditized services and full-stack giants.

• Established scale. Marqeta is the public market incumbent, with deep enterprise relationships and a broader suite of services. Galileo (via SoFi) and Stripe Issuing use massive existing distribution networks.
• Developer focus. Highnote is a direct competitor also targeting developers with a modern API, making differentiation on features and service critical.
• Global reach. Adyen Issuing and Enfuce offer strong international capabilities, a potential gap for a US-focused player like Lithic.

The company’s answer appears to be a combination of technical flexibility and its unique heritage. The stablecoin settlement partnership with Lightspark is one example of pursuing niche, forward-leaning use cases that larger players may move slower to support.

The Next Twelve Months

For a company that has raised $110 million, the mandate is clear: scale the enterprise business. Key milestones will likely include announcing anchor enterprise clients beyond the fintech cohort, expanding internationally, and potentially exploring adjacent services like lending or more sophisticated data analytics.

The Series C from Stripes is a significant vote of confidence, but it also sets a high bar. The question for Jiang and his team is whether they can convert their billion-dollar volume base into a defensible, profitable business before the next capital call. Can the infrastructure that powered 10 million consumer cards become the default for the next 100 million business cards?

Sources

1. [TechCrunch, May 2021] Privacy.com rebrands to Lithic, raises $43M for virtual payment cards | https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/20/privacy-com-rebrands-to-lithic-raises-43m-for-virtual-payment-cards/
2. [Contrary Research, accessed 2026] Lithic company overview
3. [Lightspark, accessed 2026] Lightspark and Lithic partner on Visa card program | https://www.lightspark.com/
4. [FF News, accessed 2026] Lithic integrates with Visa ALM
5. [CB Insights, accessed 2026] Lithic platform description
6. Lithic client count
7. [Fintech Futures, Unknown] Lithic raises $60M Series C led by Stripes
8. [Lithic Blog, Unknown] Lithic total funding announcement
9. [LinkedIn, Julian Ranz, accessed 2026] Lithic charge volume and interchange revenue metrics
10. [Trustpilot, accessed 2026] Privacy.com reviews
11. [Justuseapp.com, accessed 2026] Privacy.com subscription management features