Comparison · 2026 edition
Marqeta vs Stripe Issuing: card issuing compared 2026.
Marqeta and Stripe Issuing side by side in the Card Issuing Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
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Marqeta and Stripe Issuing side by side in the Card Issuing Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
In the Card Issuing Index, Stripe Issuing scores higher overall: 4.3 out of 5 (87 out of 100) against 3.1 (63), ranking 1 and 2 of 11. Stripe Issuing also scores higher in every segment.
Overall and segment scores out of 100, and the score out of 5.
| Score | Marqeta | Stripe Issuing |
|---|---|---|
| Score out of 5 | 3.1 | 4.3 |
| Score out of 100 | 63 | 87 |
| Overall rank | 2 of 11 | 1 of 11 |
| For fintechs and e-money firms (out of 100) | 62, rank 2 | 87, rank 1 |
| For expense and B2B payment platforms (out of 100) | 59, rank 2 | 85, rank 1 |
| For banks and lenders (out of 100) | 67, rank 2 | 89, rank 1 |
| Type | Card issuing processor | Card issuing platform |
Each score with the evidence behind it.
| Criterion | Marqeta | Stripe Issuing |
|---|---|---|
| Card range | 5/5 Virtual, physical, tokenised, debit, prepaid and credit cards published. | 5/5 Virtual, physical, debit, prepaid, credit and charge cards and digital wallet support all published. |
| Published pricing | 0/5 Not published on the pages read. | 5/5 Per-card, per-dispute and cross-border transaction prices published on the pricing page. |
| Issuing countries | 5/5 40+ countries published; no country list. | 3/5 Local issuing in 22 listed countries published. |
| Integration | 3/5 API and private sandbox; no self-serve sign-up or launch time published. | 4/5 API, self-serve sign-up and a stated time to go live; no test environment described on the pages read. |
| Regulatory standing | 3/5 SOC 2 Type 2 published; PCI DSS without level and an e-money licence without a named regulator count as half. | 5/5 Named issuing banks and own UK and EU entities, PCI DSS Level 1 and SOC 2 Type II. |
| Programme support | 2/5 Programme management and UK and EU BIN sponsorship published; KYC, fraud and dispute services not described on the pages read. | 4/5 Bank sponsorship, KYC, fraud tools and dispute handling published; programme management not described as a separate service. |
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in the Card Issuing Index. 0 means not offered or not published. How it is scored
What each provider publishes on its own pages, read on 26 October 2026.
| Fact | Marqeta | Stripe Issuing |
|---|---|---|
| Card range | "Physical, virtual, and tokenized cards"; prepaid and debit programmes, and credit programmes for consumers and businesses; flexible credentials let one card work as debit, credit or buy now pay later. | Virtual and physical cards; commercial secured and charge cards; consumer revolving credit and prepaid debit cards with digital wallet support. US programmes support commercial and consumer debit cards. |
| Pricing | Not published on the pages read. | $0.10 per virtual card; $3.50 per standard physical card (custom cards cost extra, shipping not included); $15.00 per dispute; 1% + 30¢ for cross-border transactions, plus 1% where currency conversion is needed. |
| Issuing countries | "40+ countries certified to operate"; no country list on the pages read. | "Stripe Issuing is live with local Issuance in 22 countries", listed by country code; cards for subsidiaries of US multinationals "in over 40 countries"; homepage states "75+ global markets". |
| Integration | Open APIs with 370+ endpoints, real-time webhooks and a private sandbox for testing and simulating transactions; no self-serve sign-up or launch time published. | API and documentation; "Start now" self-serve dashboard registration; "Go from integration to live cards in minutes, not months." |
| Regulatory standing | Trust Center lists ISO/IEC 27001, PCI DSS (level not stated), PCI 3DS, SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2. States it is not a bank; bank partners not named. TransactPay, now acquired, is described as an "E-Money Institution and BIN Sponsor" in the UK and EEA; regulator not named. | US issuing banks named: Celtic Bank, Lead Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Cross River Bank and Sutton Bank. UK and EU cards issued by Stripe Payments UK Limited and Stripe Technology Europe Limited. "PCI Service Provider Level 1"; "SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II reports are produced annually". |
| Programme support | Programme management support "from planning through execution"; UK and EU card programme management through TransactPay. Platform figures: $400B+ processed in the four quarters to 30 June 2026 and 99.99% uptime in 2025. Named clients include Klarna and Affirm. | Local issuance "meets local KYC and compliance requirements"; fraud tools "trained on data from trillions of transactions"; real-time spend controls; published dispute fee. Named clients include Ramp, Navan, Shopify and Emburse. |
| Date read | 26 October 2026 | 26 October 2026 |
Not published or not stated by Marqeta: pricing, integration, regulatory standing and programme support.
Not published or not stated by Stripe Issuing: programme support.
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: marqeta.com/platform/card-issuing, trust.marqeta.com, marqeta.com/blog/…, marqeta.com/uk/demystifying-cards-guide/…; and stripe.com/au/issuing, stripe.com/pricing, docs.stripe.com/issuing/global, docs.stripe.com/security.
Awards follow from the published scores and cannot be bought.
From each provider's strongest criteria and published terms.
Large programmes needing high volumes across many countries.
Platforms wanting published prices and self-serve launch.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.