What Privacy.com does

Privacy.com, operating under legal entity Lithic, Inc. (formerly Pay with Privacy, Inc.) and headquartered in New York, is a US-only virtual card platform founded in 2014 that issues disposable 16-digit card numbers to shield users' actual payment information during online and in-person transactions. The product targets privacy-conscious consumers, parents managing children's allowances, small business owners issuing employee cards, and — as a newer segment — developers building AI agents that need to transact. The company reports over 600,000 customers and a 4.2 average rating across app stores.

The technical stack is built around four card types — Single-Use Cards (auto-close after one transaction), Merchant-Locked Cards (restricted to the first merchant used), Category-Locked Cards (capped by merchant category), and Everywhere Cards (mobile-wallet-compatible for in-person use) — distributed via native iOS and Android apps and browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox. Cards are issued by Patriot Bank, N.A. under Mastercard and Visa network licenses, with bank account linking handled through Plaid. The infrastructure is PCI-DSS compliant and SOC 2 Type II certified with 256-bit encryption, and the company has begun shipping an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server and CLI tool for AI agent integrations, alongside a waitlist for stablecoin-funded cards.

The business operates a freemium model: Personal (free, with a 3% foreign transaction fee), Plus at $5/month, Pro at $10/month (cashback plus Everywhere Cards and waived FX fees), and Premium at $25/month (60-card monthly creation limit). Primary revenue is interchange collected on transactions, supplemented by subscription fees. Distribution is fully self-serve and product-led, with earned media coverage in Forbes, Wirecutter, TechCrunch, the Wall Street Journal, and the Today Show driving top-of-funnel awareness. Geographic scope is restricted to US residents, and the company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds or revenue figures.

Name

Privacy.com

Legal name

Lithic, Inc.

Website

https://privacy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Privacy.com is a US-only virtual card platform that issues single-use, merchant-locked, and category-locked card numbers to protect over 600,000 individual and small business customers' payment information during online and in-person transactions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Virtual Payment Cards

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (522210), Credit Card Issuing (52221), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual Prepaid & Single-Use / Tokenized Cards (FSAMANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual Card & Tokenization Schemes (FSAMAAAG), Virtual / Digital-First Credit Cards (FSAKABAK)

Keywords

• Virtual payment cards
• Online payment security
• Merchant-locked cards
• Subscription spending controls
• Digital wallet cards

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Interchange/Transaction Fees: Privacy collects transaction fees called interchange from merchants, similar to other card companies. This is the primary revenue source.
2. Subscription Tiers: Premium subscription tiers (Plus $5/mo, Pro $10/mo, Premium $25/mo) offering additional features like category cards, cashback, and higher card creation limits.
3. Foreign Transaction Fees: Personal tier users incur 3% fee ($0.50 minimum) on foreign transactions. Pro and Premium plans waive foreign transaction fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Privacy.com issues virtual payment cards (16-digit numbers with CVV and expiration) that mask users' real credit or debit card details during online and in-person purchases. Cards can be configured as Single-Use (auto-close after one transaction), Merchant-Locked (restricted to the first merchant), Category-Locked (restricted to a merchant category), or Everywhere (mobile-wallet-compatible for physical use). The service is delivered through a web app, native iOS/Android apps, and browser extensions, with cards issued by Patriot Bank, N.A. on the Mastercard and Visa networks.

Product overview

Privacy.com is a virtual card platform offering secure, temporary card numbers that protect users' actual payment information during online transactions. The core product consists of four types of Privacy Virtual Cards: Single-Use Cards (auto-close after one transaction), Merchant-Locked Cards (restricted to specific merchants), Category-Locked Cards (limited to merchant categories), and Everywhere Cards (for in-person use with mobile wallet). The platform operates on a tiered subscription model with Personal (free), Plus ($5/mo for category controls), Pro ($10/mo for cashback and Everywhere Cards), and Premium ($25/mo for high-volume card creation up to 60 cards/month). Additional offerings include AI Agents & Assistants integration with MCP/CLI tools for autonomous payment systems, a Browser Extension for Chrome/Safari/Edge/Firefox, Mobile Apps for iOS/Android, and Stablecoin Cards (waitlist) for cryptocurrency funding. Cards are issued by Patriot Bank, N.A. on Mastercard and Visa networks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Privacy Virtual Cards Secure, temporary 16-digit virtual card numbers with CVV and expiration dates that mask the user's actual credit or debit card details during online or phone purchases, configurable as Single-Use, Merchant-Locked, Category-Locked, or Everywhere Cards. Built for individual consumers and small businesses in the US.
• Single-Use Cards

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 600,000 customers use Privacy for secure online payments
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Patriot Bank, N.A.coreOthersPatriot Bank, N.A. is the issuing bank for Privacy Virtual Cards. Cards are issued by Patriot Bank pursuant to licenses from Mastercard and Visa, and are Member FDIC. The bank provides the underlying credit line that Privacy Cards access.
• MastercardcoreOthersPrivacy cards are issued pursuant to license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Cards can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
• VisacoreOthersPrivacy cards are issued pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Cards can be used everywhere Visa is accepted. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association.
• PlaidcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrivacy works with Plaid Technologies, Inc. to securely store bank account access credentials and access users' authorized bank accounts for the purpose of providing Privacy services. Plaid's services are governed by their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
• Lithic, Inc.coreOthersLithic, Inc. (formerly Pay with Privacy, Inc.) is the parent company doing business as Privacy.com. Lithic manages the Privacy Card program as the Bank's agent and service provider.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Revolut: Revolut offers single-use virtual cards and disposable virtual cards to consumers in-app, often free with its Standard plan and unlimited on Premium tiers. It is one of the strongest direct competitors globally, overlapping Privacy.com on virtual card creation, merchant controls, and subscription management use cases.
• Wise: Wise issues multi-currency debit cards with virtual card functionality for online shopping and cross-border purchases. The product directly overlaps Privacy.com's Everywhere Card and foreign-transaction fee waiver value props while adding a cross-border remittance moat.
• Capital One (Eno): Capital One's Eno assistant generates virtual card numbers for online shopping within the existing Capital One credit card portfolio. This is the closest direct competitor to Privacy.com from a consumer virtual-card feature standpoint, leveraging interchange economics on a much larger cardholder base.
• Citi (Virtual Account Numbers): Citi offers virtual account numbers through its flexible spending accounts and digital wallet integrations, providing disposable card numbers for online purchases. It targets a very similar consumer use case to Privacy.com, leveraging Citi's cardholder base as distribution.
• Bank of America (ShopSafe): Bank of America's ShopSafe feature issues temporary virtual card numbers tied to existing credit cards. It competes head-to-head with Privacy.com on the core merchant-locked and single-use card use cases, backed by an enormous existing customer deposit and credit base.

Emerging players

• Klarna: Klarna offers one-time cards and Pay-in-4 installment flows at checkout that compete with Privacy.com on consumer online-payment safety and budget control, but layer in short-term credit rather than virtual card infrastructure.

Others

• Stripe Issuing: Stripe Issuing lets platforms and fintechs create and manage virtual and physical cards via API. Comparable to Privacy.com through its underlying virtual-card-as-a-service capability, but targeting B2B platform customers rather than the end consumer.
• Marqeta: Marqeta is a card-issuing processing platform whose API powers fintechs (including Lithic's own B2B business). It is comparable to Privacy.com only as enabling infrastructure in the same virtual/card-issuing ecosystem rather than as a direct consumer competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Apple Card: Apple's consumer credit card offers advanced digital security, spend tracking, and virtual card numbers via Apple Pay's merchant tokens. While not a standalone virtual card product, it competes with Privacy.com at the consumer fintech layer and pulls users into Apple's broader wallet ecosystem.
• Brex: Brex issues corporate cards with virtual card, spend controls, and employee card management features targeting SMBs. It overlaps with Privacy.com's Small Business Management offering on virtual cards and centralized controls, but serves a higher-end B2B segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/privacyhq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/privacy-com

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Privacy.com