Lithic

It’s no secret that partnerships take work. Like any strong relationship, both parties need to keep each other accountable and advocate for each other's best interests. For fintechs working with sponsor banks, this advocacy often comes in the form of audits, certifications, reviews, scrutiny, and increased oversight. While these measures can feel like obstacles that slow down fintechs’ operations, they’re in everyone’s best interest. In our latest guide, we spoke with several sponsor banks about the intricacies of bank partnerships. Sarah Grotta, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of FinWise Bank, shares her perspective: “I advise fintechs that a sponsor bank is your partner, not an annoying business preventer. A good sponsor bank will help keep a fintech out of regulatory hot water that can damage the fintech’s ability to do business, plus a bank partner can be a source of new business. When considering your options for a bank partner, come prepared with questions about their approach to regulatory oversight. Not only will they respect your interest in running a compliant program, but you will have the opportunity to assess how well their approach fits with your business practices.” The benefits of a strong bank partnership cannot be understated. Read the full guide to learn what sponsor banks are looking for in fintech partners and how companies can get started. Link in the comments.

Did you know that our co-founders have been friends since high school? To celebrate 10 years of building Lithic together, we recently launched a special episode of the Fintech Layer Cake podcast featuring all three of them. In it, they discuss some of the biggest challenges they encountered as they scaled Lithic into one of the largest issuer processors in the industry. Bo Jiang shares how building a bespoke card program helped shape Lithic’s approach into the modular offering it’s known for today. Listen to the full episode for more challenges, learnings, and insights from three of the most innovative minds in fintech. Link in the comments.

We’re excited to announce the release of our latest guide: How to Go Direct to a Sponsor Bank. Driven by decades of communal experience and discussions with dozens of sponsor banks, we break down everything fintechs need to know about establishing direct banking partnerships: when to consider this path, what sponsor banks look for in fintech partners, best practices, and more. Link in the comments.

It’s Lithic’s 10-year anniversary! To celebrate a decade of fintech innovation, Reginald (Reggie) Young, the host of Fintech Layer Cake, rounded up Lithic's co-founders Bo Jiang, Jason Kruse, and David Nichols for a special anniversary episode. The founders dive into the transformative journey from their early days at Privacy.com to becoming a leading name in payments infrastructure. They share behind-the-scenes challenges, pivotal decisions, and lessons learned while reshaping the fintech landscape. Whether you're a fintech enthusiast or an industry professional, this episode offers a unique glimpse into the minds of those who are redefining financial technology. Link to the full episode in the comments.

Tokenization has become the industry standard for card programs of all shapes and sizes. It helps companies comply with PCI standards, limit exposure to potential data leaks, store payment details for faster payment experiences, and more. But the management of the tokens can be manual and cumbersome.  Our latest release aims to change that. Lithic’s Token Management API allows you to easily manage the lifecycle of card tokenization. It can be used with digital wallets and merchant tokens and on Visa and Mastercard. In our latest blog post, we cover the benefits of this API, how it works, and how you can get started. Link in the comments.

Hot take: Payments shouldn’t be free. On the latest episode of Fintech Layer Cake Podcast, our host, Reginald (Reggie) Young, sat down with Nikil Konduru, Head of Expansion here at Lithic. The episode unpacks Nikil’s unconventional perspectives on critical fintech topics like the hidden costs of delivering quality payment experiences, Visa’s Flex announcement, fintech venture capital, and more. If you're fascinated by the evolving dynamics of financial technologies, listen to the full episode for a treasure trove of insights and debates that challenge mainstream views. Link in the comments.

Investments in product, marketing, and ops are effective ways to drive growth, but there’s a lesser-known approach that’s proven to pay dividends: Embedded finance. By integrating financial products into their existing offerings, companies can create stronger, more valuable customer relationships and tap into new revenue opportunities. Embedded finance creates a seamless engagement for the customer, making it simple to manage payments as part of an existing product experience. Common embedded finance programs include: ·Payments at checkout ·Credit and debit card issuing ·Financing, including Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) ·Insurance, such as trip protection or extended product coverage ·Investment services to help customers manage their portfolios While embedded finance is relatively new, consumers have come to expect more seamless payment experiences when they shop or work. By creating better product experiences with integrated payment functionality, this technology helps businesses in any industry increase revenue and build customer loyalty. Visit our latest blog post to find out how embedded finance works and how you can get started. Link in the comments.

For fintechs building card programs, it’s crucial to understand BINs and BIN sponsorship. We created an in-depth resource that covers: What BINs are and how they work Types of BINs (consumer, commercial, prepaid, debit, credit) Shared vs. dedicated BINs - pros and cons Getting BIN sponsorship from a bank Compliance requirements and reporting Program management options Whether you're just starting to explore card issuing or already have an established program, this guide provides valuable insights to build and launch a successful card offering. Link to the full guide in the comments.

Small businesses account for over 99.9% of all businesses in the US. From freelancers to family-run enterprises and everything in between, these businesses generated over $16.2 trillion in revenue in 2021 alone. We recently had the pleasure of working with one of the banking partners that many of these operations rely on: Novo. Our digital banking solutions empower Novo to offer a suite of small business banking services to hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the country. Here's what Chelsye Toliver, AAP, APRP, ETA CPP, Director of Payments at Novo had to say about our partnership: “I’ve had a great experience with the Lithic team. They truly desire Novo’s success.” Thanks, Chelsye, and the rest of the Novo team, for trusting us with your business and giving us the opportunity to support your mission of empowering small businesses. Read the full blog post to learn more about how Novo uses Lithic and why they chose to work with us. Link in the comments.

In our latest episode of the Fintech Layer Cake podcast, Lithic’s Reginald (Reggie) Young and Alli Nilsen sit down with Nick Rasines from Column to discuss the ins and outs of partnerships in the fintech space. They cover topics like: · The fundamentals of strong partnerships · The importance of trust · Challenges and opportunities in the Fintech space · Regulatory considerations for fintechs seeking bank partnerships · Balancing startup agility with methodical growth Tune in to learn valuable insights for navigating the complexities of the industry and discover how Column is redefining fintech partnerships. Link in the comments.