What Bridgecard does

Bridgecard is a Nigerian fintech founded in 2021 that operates an API-first card issuing platform enabling African businesses and fintechs to programmatically issue virtual and physical Mastercard- and Visa-branded cards to their end users. The core technology is a REST API with sandbox and production environments, supporting card creation, authorization controls, tokenization for Apple Pay and Google Pay, 3D Secure enrollment, and add-on modules including Transaction Enrichment, Rewards-as-a-Service (RaaS), and a Potential Spend Notification (PSN) algorithm for spend-behavior insights. Card issuance is enabled through issuing partnerships with multiple licensed banks and FDIC-member institutions across 30+ countries, positioning Bridgecard as a card program distributor rather than a bank.

The business model combines subscription/usage fees for API access, interchange revenue share on cardholder transactions, and float-wallet-related transaction fees from the multi-currency wallet that anchors each client's user transactions. Bridgecard is PCI DSS and NDPR compliant, Y Combinator-backed, and selected for the second cohort of Visa's African Fintech Accelerator Program. The company is headquartered in Lekki, Nigeria, with a registered office in Delaware, and has 1–10 employees with co-founders Tunde Adewole (CEO) and Owumi Festus (CTO).

Customers are primarily African businesses and fintechs seeking USD/EUR card issuance and global banking capabilities, plus developers and platforms embedding card-issuing APIs into their own products. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, integration reportedly takes an average of five days, and only one reference customer (CashEx) is publicly named. Strategic backers include ABV Fund, Ingressive Capital, Pioneer Fund, Team Ignite Ventures, Y Combinator, Visa, Risevest, and Raven Bank, with cumulative disclosed funding of approximately $940K across pre-seed and accelerator tranches through 2022.

Name

Bridgecard

Legal name

Bridgecard Inc.

Website

https://bridgecard.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bridgecard is a Nigerian fintech that provides API-first card issuing infrastructure, enabling African businesses and fintechs to issue virtual and physical Mastercard and Visa cards to their users across 30+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Card Issuing API

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (522210)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel Money Cards & Multi-Currency Prepaid (FSAMANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cross-Border Card-Based Transfers & Multi-Currency Cards (FSAGAKAE), Card-Based Cross-Border Payments & FX Settlement (FSAMAIAD), Commercial & Corporate Card Schemes (FSAMAAAF)

Keywords

• Card issuing API
• Virtual card issuance
• Embedded finance infrastructure
• Payment card platform
• Cross-border payment cards

Headquarters

HQ city

Lekki

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. API Subscription/Usage Fees: Companies sign up and maintain accounts to access card issuing APIs, likely with recurring fees for API access and usage
2. Interchange Revenue Share: Business models enable profit from interchange fees on any transaction customers make, sharing in the transaction processing revenue
3. Float Wallet Fees: Companies maintain a float wallet with Bridgecard serving as the seat for all user transactions, generating fees from currency conversion and wallet management

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bridgecard is a card-issuing platform that provides APIs enabling businesses in Africa to issue virtual and physical Mastercard and Visa cards to their customers or employees. The platform supports both virtual and physical card issuance in 30+ countries with up to $10,000 monthly spending limits, alongside built-in features such as transaction enrichment, rewards-as-a-service, 3D security, tokenization, authorization controls, and interchange revenue sharing. Bridgecard also offers USD and EUR bank account services for cross-border transactions.

Product overview

Bridgecard is a card issuing platform offering APIs for businesses to issue virtual and physical Mastercard and Visa cards to users in Nigeria and across 30+ African countries. The core product is the Card Issuing API, which supports both virtual cards (up to $10,000 monthly spending) and physical cards, backed by licensed bank partners. The platform is modular: in addition to card issuance, businesses can access Authorizations (transaction approval controls), Tokenization (Apple Pay/Google Pay support), 3D Security, and Profit on Interchanges as built-in features. Premium add-on modules include Transaction Enrichment (spending insights), Rewards as a Service (RaaS — discounts and promo codes from global merchants), and Potential Spend Notification (PSN — spending behavior analytics). The platform also offers USD/EUR global banking accounts. Cards are issued by licensed bank partners in partnership with Mastercard and Visa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Card Issuing API
• Virtual Cards
• Physical Cards
• Global Banking (USD/EUR Accounts)

Quantifiable outcome

• Average 5-day integration time from signup to go-live
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• VisaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026Bridgecard was selected for Visa's African Fintech Accelerator Program second cohort, a 12-week training and mentorship initiative. The program aligns with Visa's $1 billion investment pledge by 2027 to advance Africa's digital payments landscape, culminating in Demo Day where startups pitch to potential investors.
• MastercardflagshipTechnology or IntegrationBridgecard issues Mastercard-branded virtual and physical cards. Cards are issued by a licensed bank and Member of the FDIC pursuant to license by Mastercard International Inc. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
• Visa U.S.A. Inc.flagshipTechnology or IntegrationBridgecard issues Visa-branded cards. Cards are issued by a licensed bank and Member of the FDIC pursuant to license by Visa U.S.A. Inc. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International.
• Multiple Bank PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBridgecard has issuing partnership agreements with multiple bank partners in different countries, enabling card issuance across multiple countries. Banking services are provided by licensed banks and electronic money service providers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Flutterwave: Flutterwave is a major African payment infrastructure company that has expanded into card issuance and virtual dollar cards through products like Barter. It is a broader payments incumbent with substantially more capital and reach than Bridgecard.
• Block (Square): Block (Square) operates broader payments and banking infrastructure including card programs and Cash App. While not Africa-focused, it represents the type of broad incumbent that competes for embedded finance and card-issuing workloads globally.

Direct peers

• Unit: Unit is a banking-as-a-service platform that includes card issuing as a core feature alongside accounts, lending, and compliance infrastructure. It targets fintechs and platforms in a similar manner to Bridgecard and competes for the same developer customer base.
• Stripe Issuing: Stripe Issuing is a global card-issuing API that enables platforms and businesses to create and manage virtual and physical cards. It competes directly with Bridgecard's core product offering and serves many of the same types of fintech and platform customers worldwide.
• Lithic: Lithic is a US-focused card-issuing API platform targeting fintechs and developers, similar to Bridgecard's developer-first approach. It is directly comparable in product positioning, though it lacks Bridgecard's African geographic focus.
• Railsr: Railsr (formerly Wirecard's UK assets / Embedded Finance) is an embedded finance platform offering card issuing, banking, and lending infrastructure. It competes directly with Bridgecard in the BaaS and card-issuing infrastructure space.
• Marqeta: Marqeta is a leading global card-issuing platform that provides API infrastructure for businesses to issue and manage physical and virtual payment cards. It is the closest direct competitor to Bridgecard in the developer-first card-issuing space, with a significantly larger scale and customer base.
• Grey: Grey is a Nigerian fintech that provides USD and other foreign currency cards and accounts for African users and businesses. It is a direct regional competitor to Bridgecard in the cross-border multi-currency card segment.

Regional players

• Paystack: Paystack (owned by Stripe) is a leading Nigerian/African payment processor offering cards, transfers, and merchant services. It competes in adjacent African payment infrastructure and shares Bridgecard's Nigerian base.
• Chipper Cash: Chipper Cash is a well-funded African cross-border payments fintech that has expanded into card products and USD accounts. It overlaps with Bridgecard's African multi-currency card offering and competes for similar customer segments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bridgecard