Comparison · 2026 edition
Nium vs Stripe Issuing: card issuing compared 2026.
Nium and Stripe Issuing side by side in the Card Issuing Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
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Nium 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 3.0 (61), ranking 1 and 3 of 11. Stripe Issuing also scores higher in every segment.
Overall and segment scores out of 100, and the score out of 5.
| Score | Nium | Stripe Issuing |
|---|---|---|
| Score out of 5 | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Score out of 100 | 61 | 87 |
| Overall rank | 3 of 11 | 1 of 11 |
| For fintechs and e-money firms (out of 100) | 62, rank 3 | 87, rank 1 |
| For expense and B2B payment platforms (out of 100) | 58, rank 3 | 85, rank 1 |
| For banks and lenders (out of 100) | 63, rank 4 | 89, rank 1 |
| Type | Card issuing platform | Card issuing platform |
Each score with the evidence behind it.
| Criterion | Nium | Stripe Issuing |
|---|---|---|
| Card range | 3/5 Virtual, physical, prepaid and tokenised cards published; debit and credit not specified. | 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 | 3/5 30+ markets published. | 3/5 Local issuing in 22 listed countries published. |
| Integration | 5/5 API, sandbox, self-serve sign-up and a stated time to production. | 4/5 API, self-serve sign-up and a stated time to go live; no test environment described on the pages read. |
| Regulatory standing | 4/5 Own licences with numbers and SOC 2 Type 2; PCI DSS without level counts as half. | 5/5 Named issuing banks and own UK and EU entities, PCI DSS Level 1 and SOC 2 Type II. |
| Programme support | 3/5 Own issuing, programme management and fraud protections published; KYC 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 | Nium | Stripe Issuing |
|---|---|---|
| Card range | Physical, virtual and digital cards; prepaid, embedded and white-label programmes; tokenisation and 3DS; Visa, Mastercard and Discover. Debit and credit not specified. | 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 | "Operate custom card programs in 30+ markets with no BIN sponsor"; country tables for Australia, the EEA, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the USA. | "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 | Self-serve Nium Web Portal sign-up and sandbox; SDKs for Node, Python, Go and Java; "Most teams reach production in under two weeks." | API and documentation; "Start now" self-serve dashboard registration; "Go from integration to live cards in minutes, not months." |
| Regulatory standing | Licences page lists FCA e-money and payment authorisations (refs 901024, 900800, 721549), a Bank of Lithuania EMI licence (No. 14), MAS Major Payment Institution PS20200276 and US money transmitter licences (NMLS 1528562). Badges for PCI DSS (level not stated), SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001. | 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 | Issues without a separate BIN sponsor; card programme management API; tokenisation and 3DS protections. Named clients include Aspire, AXA Bank and Amadeus. | 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 Nium: pricing, regulatory standing and programme support.
Not published or not stated by Stripe Issuing: programme support.
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: nium.com/products/issue-cards, nium.com/developers, nium.com/licenses, nium.com/newsroom/nium-us-card-issuance; 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.
Travel and B2B platforms issuing in Asia Pacific, Europe and the US.
Platforms wanting published prices and self-serve launch.
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