From first plan to first card, sponsor and licence included
BIN sponsorship, issuing relationships in any jurisdiction, principal membership when you are ready, EMI or PI licensing and vIBAN partners, from the people who run the processor.
Card issuing advisory · Financial consultancy
From first plan
to first card.
BIN sponsorship, card issuing relationships in any jurisdiction, Visa and Mastercard principal membership, EMI and payment institution licences, virtual IBAN providers and scheme certification. Advice from the people who run an issuer-processor, for any business that wants to issue cards.
- Fintechs launching a first card programme
- Neobanks adding a second market or a second scheme
- Crypto companies who cannot find a sponsor
- Marketplaces and platforms adding embedded cards
- Banks and EMIs moving to principal membership
- Any business that wants to put its brand on a card
roadmap · card issuing entitytypical ranges
BIN sponsorship3 – 6 months
sponsor + processor already paired
vIBAN & banking partner2 – 4 months
selection, then integration
EMI / PI licence9 – 12 months
UK FCA · LT · IE · NL · SG · UAE
Principal membership9 – 18 months
capital, collateral, certification
run in parallel with your processor integrationlive on Rigid in weeks
WHAT WE DO
Six things every card issuer needs and nobody teaches.
Ranges below are what practitioners see, not regulator commitments. What moves them is how complete your file is on day one, and that is the part we own with you.
BIN SPONSORSHIP
A sponsor bank that says yes
We know what sponsors ask for: the flow of funds, the unit economics, the AML programme, the settlement collateral, the processor. We prepare the pack, make the introductions and negotiate the terms, including for stablecoin-funded programmes, which sit in a smaller sponsor pool.
3 – 6 months with a paired sponsor and processor
ISSUING RELATIONSHIPS
Card issuing in any jurisdiction
Issuing banks and sponsors in the UK, the EU, the UAE, Singapore, LATAM and the US. We match the market you want to launch in with the entity that can issue there, and run the RFP when there is a choice.
Shortlist in weeks, signed in months
PRINCIPAL MEMBERSHIP
Visa and Mastercard principal membership
When volume or control justifies it: the regulated entity, the capital and collateral, the scheme application, the technical certification and the ongoing reporting. We have done the paperwork and the plumbing.
9 – 18 months, longer when the licence is new
LICENSING
EMI and payment institution licences
UK FCA, Lithuania, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore MAS, the UAE's CBUAE, VARA, ADGM and DIFC regimes. Jurisdiction selection, the business plan and financial model the regulator expects, safeguarding, MLRO onboarding and the Q&A rounds.
6 – 18 months by jurisdiction
BANKING & vIBAN
Virtual IBAN and banking partners
Named vIBANs are now the expectation. We select and integrate the provider that fits your programme's currencies, markets and settlement design, and connect the account structure to the ledger.
Selection in 4 – 8 weeks, integration in 2 – 4 months
CERTIFICATION
Scheme and security certification
PCI DSS, EMV card profiles, 3-D Secure ACS certification, Apple Pay and Google Pay tokenization, scheme testing and brand approval. Project-managed alongside the processor integration so they finish together.
Runs in parallel with your build
WHO DOES WHAT
Three roles. One firm can hold two of them.
Most confusion in card issuing comes from these three words. We settle them in the first meeting.
- Programme manager
- The product, the cardholders, the marketing and first-line risk. Usually you.
- Issuer or sponsor
- The licence and the scheme membership, settlement and regulatory liability.
- Processor
- Authorization, clearing, the ledger, disputes. Rigid.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Deliverables, not decks.
- Regulatory roadmap and jurisdiction selection memo
- Business plan and 3 – 5 year financial model, formatted for the regulator and the scheme
- AML/CTF programme, risk appetite statement and safeguarding arrangements
- Sponsor bank shortlist, introductions and term negotiation
- Programme manager, processor and vIBAN RFPs and vendor selection
- Licence application drafting and regulator correspondence
- Flow-of-funds and settlement design, collateral sizing, stablecoin settlement where it fits
- Certification project management: PCI DSS, EMV, 3-D Secure, tokenization
- Go-live readiness review and post-launch scheme reporting
WHY AN ISSUER-PROCESSOR ADVISES
We have sat on every side of the table.
We built the processor, certified the ACS, negotiated the sponsor terms and filed the paperwork ourselves. The advice is what we would do with your file, and the platform is ready the day the sponsor signs.
Sponsor-ready pack
Flow of funds, model, AML programme and controls in the shape sponsors expect.
Stablecoin literate
Sponsors and settlement designs for programmes funded in USDC, USDT or EURC.
Processor in the room
Certification and ledger design land together, not after.
No guarantees, only ranges
Timelines with the drivers named, and a plan for each.
FAQ
Becoming a card issuer, answered
What is BIN sponsorship and do we need it?
A BIN sponsor is a licensed scheme member that lets your programme issue cards under its bank identification number, taking on the scheme relationship and the regulatory liability. Almost every fintech launches this way; principal membership comes later, when volume or control justifies the capital and the timeline.
How long does it take to launch a card programme?
With a sponsor and processor already paired, three to six months from kick-off to first live card is typical. A direct sponsor relationship, a new licence or principal membership each add their own months. We give you ranges and the specific things that move them, never a promise we cannot keep.
Which jurisdictions do you work in?
The UK, the EU (Lithuania, Ireland and the Netherlands most often), the UAE across CBUAE, VARA, ADGM and DIFC, Singapore, and issuing relationships across LATAM and the US. Rigid itself is headquartered in the DIFC.
Is this legal advice?
No. We are practitioners who have built and run an issuer-processor; we work alongside your counsel and your regulator, we do not replace them. Approvals, sponsors and timelines are never guaranteed by anyone honest.
Do we have to process with Rigid to use the advisory?
No. Most clients do, because the sponsor pack, the certification and the ledger design land faster when the processor is in the room. The advisory stands on its own if you already have a processor.
WHO BUILDS ON IT
Who Advisory is for, and what they get.
The same platform, used differently by different teams. Each card names the segment, the outcome, and the products that carry it.
Tell us where you want to issue.
Market, product and funding model. We come back with the route, the partners and the honest timeline.