Tool profile
Lithic: cost, fit and limits
Lithic is a card issuing and processing platform made by Lithic, Inc. that lets software companies create virtual and physical cards through an API, with an Agentic Commerce solution and an MCP server for developers.
What to know first
Lithic sells card issuing as developer infrastructure: instant card creation, multi-currency processing, transaction grouping and virtual or routable accounts, reached through an API. The page we read tags its Agentic Commerce solution as realtime payments with AI and offers an MCP server. It lists SOC 1 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS and ISO 27001, but no plan or price appears, so cost comes from a sales conversation.
Lithic at a glance
| Maker | Lithic, Inc., Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | No |
| Entry price | Quote only |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Card Issuing Platforms in 2026, rank 1 of 12 |
| Website | lithic.com |
Who Lithic is best for
Teams testing agent payments
Lithic tags Agentic Commerce as realtime payments with AI, so a team building an agent that pays for things has a named starting point and an MCP server to connect to.
Commercial card programs
Enhanced commercial data and transaction grouping help programs that need richer line-level detail on business spend than a basic card feed would carry.
Security-reviewed buyers
Four attestations are listed on the page, which shortens the first round of vendor security questions for procurement teams and risk teams, before any contract talks begin.
Lithic plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing not published | Not published on the pages read | The page lists capabilities and developer material but no plan names, amounts or free tier, so a quote is the only route to a number. |
Checked November 2026.
What Lithic does
- Instant card issuance
- Cards can be created instantly through the API, which suits products that hand a card to a user at the moment of signup or approval.
- Agentic Commerce
- A solution tagged as realtime payments with AI, aimed at agents that transact on behalf of a user or business under controls the developer sets.
- MCP server
- A Lithic MCP Server is offered for developers, so an outside AI assistant can work against the platform instead of through hand-built scripts. The page presents it as developer tooling, not as a finance feature.
- Identity verification and tokenization
- The page lists identity verification and tokenization control among its tools, covering onboarding of cardholders and wallet provisioning. Both sit in the issuing tool list beside instant issuance, so a developer reaches them through the same API.
- Multi-currency processing
- Processing in several currencies is described, together with virtual and routable accounts for moving funds around card programs. Routable accounts appear in the same list, which matters for programs that fund or settle card activity through account numbers.
How Lithic handles your data
The page lists SOC 1 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS and ISO 27001 as certifications. It does not say whether customer or cardholder data trains any AI model, how long data is retained or where it is hosted, so the vendor's policy was not checked for this. Card network connections named are American Express, Mastercard and Visa. Digital wallets are referenced in developer guides without naming which ones. Ask for the SOC 2 report and the data processing terms before sending cardholder data.
Where Lithic falls short in practice
- No published price. Neither plans nor amounts appear on the page, so a team comparing vendors on cost cannot rank Lithic until sales answers, and any quote will depend on volume.
- Hosting and retention unstated. A buyer with residency or deletion requirements has nothing on the page to rely on, so those terms must be written into the contract. That makes written contract terms the only protection for those requirements, so negotiate them before launch.
- Developer-led setup. The product is built for engineers using an API, so finance teams wanting a dashboard of budgets and receipts will need to build or buy that layer.
Works with
Alternatives to Lithic
Lithic: common questions
Does Lithic offer anything for AI agents?
The page tags an Agentic Commerce solution as realtime payments with AI, and it offers a Lithic MCP Server for developers. It does not describe spend limits, fees or liability for agent purchases, so ask for those details and a sandbox demonstration.
What certifications does Lithic list?
The page lists SOC 1 Type 1, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS and ISO 27001. It does not say whether the SOC reports cover the card product in full. Request the reports and their scope before you rely on the badges.
Does Lithic publish prices?
No plan names or amounts appeared on the page we read. Card platforms commonly price on volume, so expect a quote built around cards issued and transaction counts. Ask what is charged per card, per transaction and for disputes. Expect any quote to depend on card counts and transaction volume, and ask whether disputes are billed separately.
Which card networks does Lithic connect to?
The page names American Express, Mastercard and Visa. It does not say which networks are available in which countries or for which card types, so confirm that your market and card product are supported before you design a program around one network.
Is Lithic aimed at finance teams or developers?
Developers. The page describes an API, developer guides and an MCP server, with features such as instant issuance and tokenization control. A finance team that wants budgets, receipts and approvals out of the box would look at a spend management product instead.