CardUp
CardUp is a Singapore-headquartered no-code payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to make and collect credit card payments for expenses that traditionally do not accept cards — rent, payroll, taxes, supplier invoices, and education fees — earning rewards and extending interest-free working capital across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What CardUp does
CardUp is a Singapore-headquartered no-code payment enablement platform founded in 2016 that enables businesses and individuals to make and collect payments via credit cards in categories where cards are traditionally not accepted (rent, payroll, supplier invoices, taxes, insurance, education fees, stamp duty, building maintenance, and renovation). The platform operates three interconnected modules: CardUp Make (outgoing payments), CardUp Collect (incoming payments with Guest Checkout and bulk invoice digitisation), and a CardUp Platform Service API for embedded integrations, supported by PCI-DSS compliant infrastructure, 256-bit encryption, a segregated client money account with a locally licensed bank, and locked-in exchange rates for international payments.
The company monetises purely on a transaction-fee model — promotional 2.25% per transaction for personal payments with Singapore-issued cards, 2.90% standard (effective 13 June 2026) for Singapore-issued cards, and 3.30% for internationally-issued cards — with no subscriptions, setup fees, or monthly charges. Business payment and CardUp Collect fees are published separately. The target customer base spans Singapore SMEs (primary), F&B, education, and accounting verticals, alongside individual consumers seeking to earn credit card rewards (miles, cashback, points) on large recurring expenses. CardUp operates across four markets via wholly-owned subsidiaries: Singapore (primary, MAS-licensed as a Major Payment Institution), Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India.
In 2024 CardUp was acquired by Funding Societies | Modalku, Southeast Asia's SME financing platform, pending regulatory approvals, to develop a unified payment and lending experience for SMEs regionally. The company integrates with Xero for automated reconciliation and supports Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and China UnionPay across all major Singapore banks.
CardUp firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CardUp
- Legal name
- CardUp Pte Ltd
- Website
- https://cardup.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CardUp is a Singapore-headquartered no-code payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to make and collect credit card payments for expenses that traditionally do not accept cards — rent, payroll, taxes, supplier invoices, and education fees — earning rewards and extending interest-free working capital across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CardUp industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Payments Platform
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchant Acquiring & Card Processing (PSPs) (CRAFALAB)
Keywords
Where CardUp is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices4 records
Markets served
CardUp business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction fees on payment processing: CardUp charges a percentage-based fee on each payment processed through its platform. For personal payments, promotional fees are 2.25% per transaction (standard Singapore-issued cards 2.90%, internationally-issued cards 3.30%). The CardUp Fee is non-refundable and displayed on the payment confirmation page. The fee covers payment processing costs from the acquiring bank, card issuer, and payment gateway. No subscription, setup fees, or monthly charges are applied.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Personal payment transactions - Singapore-issued cards (promotional) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Personal payment transactions - Singapore-issued cards (standard) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | International-issued card transactions (standard) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Business payment transactions |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | CardUp Collect (receiving payments) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CardUp product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CardUp operates a no-code digital payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to make and collect payments via credit card in categories where cards are traditionally not accepted, including rent, payroll, supplier invoices, taxes, insurance, education fees, and stamp duty. The platform combines CardUp Make (outgoing payment initiation with domestic and international support), CardUp Collect (incoming payment acceptance via credit card and PayNow with guest checkout), and a developer API for embedded payment gateway integration. It is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Major Payment Institution and processes transactions with PCI-DSS compliant infrastructure.
Product overview
CardUp is a no-code payment platform that operates as a unified platform with three interconnected service modules: CardUp Make (for initiating outgoing payments), CardUp Collect (for receiving payments), and a developer-facing API (CardUp Platform Service) for third-party application integration. The platform enables users to shift traditionally non-card payments (rent, payroll, taxes, insurance, education fees) onto credit cards to earn rewards and optimize cash flow. A complementary AI chatbot tool (Shane) provides automated customer support, while a rewards calculator helps users estimate earnings. The platform is designed for both personal and business users across Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CardUp Make (Business) Payment initiation service enabling businesses to make, schedule, or facilitate payments to recipients using credit cards or bank transfers, even when recipients do not accept card payments directly. Supports domestic payments, international payments with locked-in exchange rates, and recurring payment scheduling. Designed for business use cases including payroll, supplier invoices, rent, taxes, and other recurring expenses.
- CardUp Collect Payment collection service enabling businesses to accept credit card and PayNow payments from customers. Features include invoice digitisation, bulk upload for multiple payments, guest checkout payment links, and Xero accounting software integration for automated reconciliation. Targets businesses that want to offer card payments as a collection option.
- CardUp Platform Service (API) Developer-facing API enabling third-party applications to integrate CardUp's payment capabilities. Allows applications to collect payments from end users and facilitate payment processing through CardUp's PCI-DSS compliant infrastructure. API access requires registration, description of the application's purpose, and approval by CardUp.
- CardUp Make (Personal) Personal payment initiation service enabling individual consumers to make credit card payments for large recurring personal expenses that traditionally do not accept cards, including rent, insurance premiums, education fees, income tax, property tax, electricity bills, helper salary, car loans, mortgage, season parking, and stamp duty. Promotional fee of 2.25% per transaction with promo code (standard 2.90% for Singapore-issued, 3.30% for international cards effective 13 June 2026).
Quantifiable outcome
- Access to interest-free capital at rates 68% cheaper than SME financing loans
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use CardUp
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CardUp technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature9 records
CardUp partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- XerocoreCardUp integrates with Xero accounting software, allowing businesses to automatically reconcile receivables and sync payment data with their accounting software. CardUp has a licence to access information held in the user's Xero account for processing transactions, including invoice details, Payor details, and Payee account details.
- QanvastminorCardUp partnered with Qanvast (interior design platform) to highlight interior design firms in Singapore. CardUp users can use the referral link to access Qanvast's interior design services, with CardUp promoted as a payment method for renovation expenses.
- Major credit card networks and card issuers (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, China UnionPay)coreCardUp processes payments across all major card networks. The platform supports Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and China UnionPay credit cards from all major Singapore banks including DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, Citibank, Maybank, CIMB, BOC, SCB, POSB, and Grab. Rewards eligibility is subject to individual card issuer terms.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CardUp competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- PayHere: Thailand-focused payment gateway and aggregator providing card processing for Thai SMEs and developers. Relevant comparable given CardUp's stated regional expansion ambitions across ASEAN markets.
- Razorpay: India's leading payment gateway and aggregator, providing card processing, payment links, and developer APIs. CardUp operates in India through CardUp India Private Limited, making Razorpay a directly relevant regional competitor in that geography.
Direct peers
- 2C2P (Ant Group): Southeast Asia-focused payment processor providing card acquiring, payment gateway, and alternative payment methods across the region. Acquired by Ant Group, it competes directly with CardUp in providing enterprise-grade payment processing infrastructure to merchants across ASEAN.
- Omise (Sakura Finternet): Payment gateway and processing platform operating across Southeast Asia (Thailand, Japan, Singapore). Provides card processing and payment APIs comparable to CardUp's CardUp Collect and Platform Service offerings, serving regional merchants with similar payment orchestration capabilities.
- AsiaPay: Hong Kong-headquartered payment processor operating across 12 Asia-Pacific markets. Offers card processing, alternative payment methods, and payment gateway services comparable to CardUp's full stack, with overlapping geographic footprint in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
- HitPay: Singapore-headquartered all-in-one payment platform for SMEs that enables acceptance of cards, PayNow, and other payment methods alongside business tools. Most direct Southeast Asian competitor to CardUp's CardUp Collect offering, serving the same SME customer base in Singapore and regional markets.
Emerging players
- Atome: Singapore-headquartered buy-now-pay-later and digital payments platform owned by Advance Intelligence Group. Offers card-linked instalment plans at point-of-sale across SEA — an alternative consumer credit mechanism that competes for the same credit-card-driven consumer behaviour CardUp enables.
Broad incumbents
- Xendit: Indonesia-headquartered payment platform with regional Southeast Asian reach, providing payment APIs, card processing, and disbursements. Compares to CardUp's API-first and SME-targeting positioning, though at much larger scale.
- Stripe: Global payments infrastructure giant that provides payment processing, card acceptance, and developer APIs for businesses. While not focused on the non-card payment categories CardUp pioneered, Stripe increasingly targets the same SME and developer-customer base across Singapore and the region.
Others
- Funding Societies | Modalku: CardUp's parent company post-2024 acquisition. Southeast Asia's largest SME digital financing platform; not a direct competitor but provides strategic context for CardUp's distribution, capital, and cross-sell opportunities within the lending ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CardUp social profiles
Digital presenceCardUp compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
CardUp financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CardUp leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
CardUp subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
CardUp funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CardUp M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CardUp
What does CardUp do?
CardUp operates a no-code digital payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to make and collect payments via credit card in categories where cards are traditionally not accepted, including rent, payroll, supplier invoices, taxes, insurance, education fees, and stamp duty. The platform combines CardUp Make (outgoing payment initiation with domestic and international support), CardUp Collect (incoming payment acceptance via credit card and PayNow with guest checkout), and a developer API for embedded payment gateway integration. It is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Major Payment Institution and processes transactions with PCI-DSS compliant infrastructure.
Is CardUp a public or private company?
CardUp is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was CardUp founded?
CardUp was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CardUp based?
CardUp is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does CardUp make money?
One revenue line is on record: transaction fees on payment processing.
Who are CardUp's main competitors?
Regional players on record are PayHere and Razorpay. Direct peers are 2C2P (Ant Group), Omise (Sakura Finternet), AsiaPay and HitPay. Atome is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Xendit and Stripe. Funding Societies | Modalku is listed as an others.
Does CardUp have an API?
Yes. CardUp provides an API (application programming interface) that enables users to integrate the CardUp Service into their own applications to collect and facilitate payments. API access requires registration, and users receive Access Credentials (bearer token or API key) for authentication. The API allows authorized applications to: collect payments from end users, facilitate payments between end users of their application, and display CardUp content within their application. API usage must follow security best practices (OWASP Top 10), include proper attribution displaying CardUp logo or 'powered by CardUp' statement, and must not exceed fair usage restrictions. Users must ensure end users comply with applicable law and CardUp's Terms of Service.
What industry is CardUp in?
CardUp's product category is Digital Payments Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFALAB, Merchant Acquiring & Card Processing (PSPs). Its NAICS code is 52232 and its SIC code is 6199.