Lithic and Lightspark Partner to Power Global Card Program on Stablecoin Settlement Rails

USDC settlement with unified issuer processing on the Visa network

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lithic, the card issuer processing platform powering next-generation financial experiences, and Lightspark, the open infrastructure for moving money worldwide, today announced a partnership to power Lightspark’s card program on the Visa network issued by Lead Bank. The program settles in USDC, part of a broader industry shift toward using stablecoins and blockchain-based infrastructure for real-world settlement.

“We’re building payments infrastructure that makes money move instantly and without friction, which means speed is essential,” said David Marcus, CEO at Lightspark. “We needed a processor that could match our pace, and Lithic delivered. The team made it feel like a real partnership from day one."

USDC settlement capabilities are integrated into Lightspark’s platform, which holds account balances in stablecoins natively and converts to local currency at the point of spend. The card program settles on the same rails as the rest of Lightspark’s platform.

Lithic’s Authorization Intelligence underpins the program with a programmable layer that unifies card authorization, device authentication, and fraud controls into a single decisioning system. Rather than managing these as separate stacks, Lightspark has programmable control over every point in the transaction lifecycle.

“Lightspark came to us with a vision for one of the most ambitious card programs, spanning multiple geographies, incorporating stablecoin capabilities and demanding a level of speed most processors aren’t built to meet. Lithic was built for exactly this, and that is the result of deliberate architectural choices we made years ago,” said Bo Jiang, CEO at Lithic.

About Lithic

Lithic is the leading card issuing processor built for high-growth technology companies. Lithic's APIs and operational enablement services enable businesses to move money, build card programs, and issue debit, credit, and prepaid cards to consumers and businesses with unparalleled ease and flexibility. With a focus on empowering businesses to scale globally, Lithic is committed to providing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the financial services industry. For more information, visit www.lithic.com.

About Lightspark

Lightspark is the open infrastructure for moving money worldwide. One integration to send, receive, hold, spend, and convert money in any currency, fiat or stablecoin, across 65+ countries. With Global Accounts, any business gives its users a dollar account and keeps the economics of every transaction. Follow on X @lightspark.