CardPlus

What CardPlus does

CardPlus, operating under the trade name Card+ and a product line of CardWare Inc., is a US-based payments hardware and developer-tools company that designs and sells advanced dual-interface smart cards. Founded in 2015 (CardWare Inc., a California Corporation) and headquartered in Austin, Texas with a San Antonio mailing address, the company was reorganized on January 1, 2017 when CardWare Inc. acquired the assets and intellectual property of CardPlus Inc. CardWare's core product is a family of physical smart cards — Card+ Plastc ($100), Card+ Metal ($200), and Card+ BioPlastc ($300) — all supporting NFC (ISO 14443), EMV chip (ISO 7816), and magnetic stripe (ISO 7812) interfaces, with no fixed numbers printed on the card face and using dynamically generated card numbers. The BioPlastc model adds a battery-less biometric fingerprint sensor enabling FIDO-grade passwordless 3-factor authentication over NFC or USB contacts.

The company's underlying technology is protected by an issued and pending patent portfolio covering IoT-connected digital payments, CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) payment devices, secure mobile payments, location-aware and merchant-aware payments, PSD2-ready eCommerce multi-factor authentication, P2P and mPOS applications, and PCI-compliant secure IoT solutions. Alongside hardware, CardWare sells the CardWare SDK — a perpetual developer license priced at $100,000 — providing API documentation, sample code, a payment card reader (Mag-stripe, Chip&Pin, Contactless, USB), and one year of email support for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows integration. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the card-plus.com e-commerce storefront (consumer/SMB) and direct enterprise sales for the SDK, both restricted to use within the United States.

CardWare generates revenue through two streams: one-time hardware sales of physical smart card samples (priced $100–$300 per unit) and one-time perpetual SDK licensing ($100,000 per enterprise license). The target customer base spans three horizontal segments — developers and technology integrators (primary, for SDK + card samples), fintech and payment providers (primary, for biometric and dual-interface cards), and blockchain/crypto companies (secondary, for digital currency payment devices). The company has 11-50 employees, no disclosed external funding, no named customer logos, and no app store presence. Privacy Shield self-certification (EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S.) is the primary external compliance signal. Operating geographies are limited to the United States.

Name

CardPlus

Legal name

CardWare Inc.

Website

https://card-plus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CardPlus (CardWare Inc.) designs and sells advanced dual-interface smart cards (NFC, EMV, biometric) and a $100,000 enterprise SDK for payment integration, serving US-based developers, fintech providers, and blockchain companies through direct e-commerce and enterprise sales channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Card Payment Hardware

NAICS

Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)

SIC

Electronic Components & Accessories (3670)

akta.pro primary industry

Card Issuing & Program Management Platforms (BPAMAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Secure ICs, Smart Cards & Trusted Hardware (HDAHAAAJ), Cards & Issuing Management (Debit/Prepaid/Credit, Program Management) (FSAGAAAE)

Keywords

• Smart card hardware
• Payment card technology
• Biometric authentication devices
• Developer SDK licensing
• IoT payment platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Clara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Smart Card Hardware Sales: Physical advanced smart cards sold as developer samples with one-time purchase pricing. Products include Card+ Plastc ($100), Card+ Metal ($200), and Card+ BioPlastc ($300) with biometric capabilities.
2. Software Development Kit Licensing: CardWare SDK sold as a one-time perpetual license for $100,000. Includes API documentation, sample code, tools, printed documentation, USB stick, and payment card reader. Binary-redistribution license with 1-year email support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CardPlus designs, patents, and sells a line of advanced dual-interface smart cards (Card+ Plastc, Card+ Metal, and Card+ BioPlastc) sold as developer samples for building and testing payment integrations, along with the CardWare SDK developer kit for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. Hardware products are priced $100–$300 per card while the SDK is sold as a $100,000 perpetual enterprise developer license restricted to U.S. use. The platform supports NFC, EMV chip, Mag-Stripe, biometric fingerprint authentication (BioPlastc model), and a patented IoT-connected digital payment stack covering CBDC, secure mobile payments, PSD2-ready eCommerce, and P2P/mPOS.

Product overview

Card+ is a product line of advanced smart cards offered by CardWare. The portfolio consists of three physical smart card products (Card⁺ Plastc™ at $100, Card⁺ Metal™ at $200, and Card⁺ BioPlastc™ at $300) plus the CardWare™ SDK development kit priced at $100,000. All three card variants are dual-interface smart cards supporting NFC and EMV transactions, with the BioPlastc model featuring biometric fingerprint authentication. The cards bear no fixed numbers on the card face and use dynamically generated card numbers. The SDK provides the software interface specification for developers to build applications that integrate with Card+ smart cards across iOS, Android, Mac OS/X, and Windows platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Card+ BioPlastc: Advanced dual-interface smart card with biometric fingerprint sensor for NFC and EMV transaction authorization, FIDO-grade authentication, made from recycled plastic, $300
• Card+ Metal
• Card+ Plastc
• CardWare SDK

Products and services

• Card+ Plastc An advanced dual-interface smart card made from recycled plastic with no fixed numbers on the card face, supporting NFC and EMV transactions with dynamically generated card numbers. Sold as a developer sample at $100 per card to developers and enterprises integrating payment systems.
• Card+ Metal An advanced dual-interface smart card made of metal with no fixed numbers on the card face, supporting NFC and EMV transactions with secure dynamic card numbers. Sold as a premium developer sample at $200 per card.
• Card+ BioPlastc An advanced dual-interface smart card made from recycled plastic with a built-in battery-less biometric fingerprint sensor for authorizing NFC and EMV transactions, functioning as a FIDO-grade authentication device for passwordless 3-factor authentication via NFC or ISO7816 USB contacts. Sold as a developer sample at $300 per card.
• CardWare SDK Advanced Smart Card, Web Payment, and App Interface Specification sold under a CardWare developer license agreement for use within the United States. Includes API documentation, sample code, tools, printed documentation, USB stick with SDK, payment card reader (Mag-stripe, Chip&Pin, Contactless, USB interface), and one-year email support; available for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. Sold as a one-time $100,000 perpetual binary-redistribution license to enterprises.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CardWare Inc.coreOthers · 1 January 2017CardWare Inc., a California Corporation, acquired the assets and intellectual property of CardPlus Inc. on January 1st, 2017. The acquisition was intended to accelerate development of innovative products and technology for Mobile Payments, Card Payments, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and payments-related electronic device products, technologies and services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Stripe Issuing: API-driven card issuing platform that lets businesses create and manage virtual or physical cards programmatically. Comparable on the developer-facing 'Card Issuing & Program Management Platform' dimension, particularly with CardWare SDK's developer-tooling positioning.
• Zwipe: Norwegian biometric smart card specialist offering battery-less fingerprint-authenticated payment cards. Closest direct competitor to Card+ BioPlastc on the biometric, battery-less design dimension, though Zwipe is focused on licensing its technology to card manufacturers rather than selling finished cards direct.
• Fingerprint Cards (FPC): Swedish biometric sensor company whose fingerprint sensors are used in biometric payment cards including Zwipe's offerings. Comparable as a biometric-authentication technology provider within the smart card ecosystem, though FPC sells components rather than finished cards.

Direct peers

• CPI Card Group: US-headquartered payment card manufacturer producing EMV, metal, and contactless cards for US issuers. Comparable on physical card product range and US-centric manufacturing footprint, though without the biometric differentiation CardPlus claims.
• Giesecke+Devrient (G+D): German smart card and payment technology manufacturer producing EMV, biometric, and metal cards for issuers globally. Operates in the same product category as CardPlus — physical payment cards with advanced security features — and represents the type of established incumbent CardPlus must displace or partner with.
• Thales (Digital Identity & Security): Through the former Gemalto business, Thales is a top-tier smart card and secure IC provider serving banks and governments worldwide. Comparable product set (biometric, metal, and eco-friendly payment cards) but with established issuer relationships and global certifications CardPlus lacks.
• IDEMIA: Global leader in smart card manufacturing, including biometric EMV cards and payment card issuance. Directly comparable to CardPlus in physical smart card products with biometric and dual-interface capabilities, but at vastly greater scale with full EMVCo and scheme certifications.

Broad incumbents

• NXP Semiconductors: Supplies the secure ICs and smart card chips that power biometric and EMV payment cards, including the kind CardPlus builds. Comparable at the chip and secure-element layer underpinning CardPlus's hardware, though NXP operates one level deeper in the stack as a semiconductor IDM.
• Apple (Apple Pay): Dominant mobile wallet that tokenizes physical cards and reduces card-present transactions. Comparable as a payment authentication experience competing for the same end-user spend, but as a structural headwind to physical card volumes rather than a direct card manufacturer.
• Marqeta: Modern card issuing and processing platform whose API-based infrastructure parallels CardWare's SDK vision. Comparable on the 'Payments-as-a-Platform' positioning but operates purely in digital/issuer-processing rather than physical smart card hardware.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cardplus-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 CardPlus