Fyatu vs Interlace
Interlace is a payments platform with cards inside it — accounts, wallets, acquiring, scan-to-pay. Fyatu does card issuing and nothing else, on both networks, priced in public.
Instant Card Issuing
Multi-Product Platform
01 — DETAILED COMPARISON
Fyatu vs Interlace: Feature Comparison
Read from both platforms’ public sites and developer documentation. Where a platform publishes nothing, the row says so.
Headquarters
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Singapore
Founded
2020
2019
Regulatory framework
Not a bank; issues through licensed partner institutions
HK TCSP, US FinCEN MSB, Canada FINTRAC; Level 1 PCI DSS
Time to launch
Cards instantly; live programme in 1–3 weeks
Not published
Card types
Virtual, physical, prepaid, one-time and credit
Virtual and physical
BIN control
Fixed BIN ranges assigned to your program
BINs “dynamically updated and non-fixed”; sync before issuing
Integration path
One REST API and one webhook endpoint
Three modes — MoR, Gateway or Distributor — chosen up front
Card networks
Visa & Mastercard
Not named on the public site
Geographic coverage
180+ countries
180+ countries
Spend controls
MCC rules, per-transaction limits, velocity and geo caps
Platform spend controls, plus real-time decisioning on IQ and BZ BINs
Licensing & compliance
PCI DSS, PSD2, SCA, GDPR
HK TCSP, FinCEN MSB, FINTRAC, Level 1 PCI DSS
Product breadth
Card issuing and program management
Cards, accounts, wallets, acquiring, scan-to-pay, crypto
API documentation
Public
Public, with OpenAPI specs
Pricing transparency
Published — $4,300 setup, from $2,500/month
Not published
Leads 6 of 14
Leads 2 of 14
A tick marks the side the published evidence favours. Rows where neither leads are left unmarked. Read from each company’s own site and developer documentation.
02 — AT A GLANCE
Two approaches. One fundamental architectural difference.
Card issuing on both networks. One integration. Published pricing.
- Five card types including credit, with billing cycles and statements
- Visa & Mastercard from a single integration
- Pricing published in full: $4,300 setup, from $2,500/month
- Public API documentation — evaluate before you commit
- One integration path, not three modes to choose between
Multi-Product Platform Cards, wallets, acquiring and scan-to-pay across 180+ countries.
- Broad suite: cards, accounts, wallets, acquiring, scan-to-pay
- Licensed in Hong Kong (TCSP), the US (FinCEN MSB) and Canada (FINTRAC)
- Level 1 PCI DSS
- Public API documentation with OpenAPI specs
- Real-time authorization decisioning documented
- Integration mode — MoR, Gateway or Distributor — chosen before you build
03 — WHERE FYATU IS STRONGER
Fyatu and Interlace: different architectures
What distinguishes Fyatu's infrastructure for modern card programs.
Credit issuing, not only prepaid and debit
Interlace’s published card APIs cover virtual and physical cards, and its documentation describes prepaid issuance in detail. What it does not describe is a credit product. Fyatu issues credit cards with revolving lines, configurable billing cycles, statement generation and 3D Secure 2.0, alongside prepaid, virtual, physical and one-time cards. If your programme needs to extend credit rather than hold a balance, that is not a feature gap you can close with configuration — it is a different product, and only one of the two platforms publishes it.
BINs that stay where you put them
Interlace’s card lifecycle documentation describes its BINs as dynamically updated and non-fixed, and recommends syncing the available list via API before you issue or at regular intervals. That is the behaviour of a platform allocating from a pool it does not own. With Fyatu the BIN ranges are configured to your program and stay fixed — which matters for anything downstream that keys on them: interchange, acceptance testing, chargeback routing, your own BIN-based analytics.
One integration, not a mode decision
Interlace asks you to pick an integration model before you build — Merchant of Record, Gateway or Distributor — each with its own flows, and the real-time authorization interface is available only on certain BIN ranges and with the right permissions. Fyatu is one REST API and one webhook. The architectural choice that Interlace puts in front of you is one Fyatu has already made, which is the difference between evaluating a platform in an afternoon and scoping it in a workshop.
Priced in public
Interlace publishes no pricing at all. Fyatu publishes the numbers — $4,300 one-time setup and from $2,500 per month — which is enough to work out whether a card program pays for itself before you speak to anyone. That is the practical distance between the two: one of these you can evaluate on a spreadsheet this afternoon, the other starts with a sales call.
04 — WHERE INTERLACE IS STRONGER
Where Interlace is the better answer
There are programmes we would not win, and pretending otherwise would not help you choose. These are the cases where Interlace is the stronger option.
A payments platform, not only cards
Interlace covers accounts, wallets, acquiring, scan-to-pay and crypto alongside card issuing, all under one contract and one integration. Fyatu deliberately does one thing. If your roadmap needs collections or accounts within the year, buying them together now is cheaper than bolting a second vendor on later.
Named licences in three jurisdictions
Interlace publishes registration as a Hong Kong TCSP, a FinCEN-registered MSB in the United States and an MSB regulated by FINTRAC in Canada, with Level 1 PCI DSS. These are named registrations with named regulators, which is a different class of evidence from a list of compliance frameworks, and it is what a compliance reviewer will ask you for.
Real-time authorization decisioning
Interlace documents an interface that calls your endpoint and waits up to two seconds for your approve or decline, on its IQ and BZ BIN ranges. Fyatu evaluates spend controls itself and reports the outcome. If your own systems must make the call on each transaction, Interlace offers something Fyatu does not.
05 — HONEST VERDICT
Who should choose what?
An honest breakdown to help you make the right decision for your card program.
Choose Fyatu if…
Where the published evidence favours Fyatu
- You need credit issuing with revolving lines, billing cycles and statements
- Fixed BIN ranges matter to your interchange, routing or analytics
- You want the real cost of a card program in writing before booking a sales call
- Card issuing is what you need, and you would rather not adopt a platform to get it
Choose Interlace if…
LEADS 2/14Where it favours Interlace
- You want cards, accounts, wallets, acquiring and scan-to-pay from a single vendor
- Named licences in Hong Kong, the US and Canada carry weight in your compliance review
- Level 1 PCI DSS is a procurement requirement you have to satisfy today
- Your business is Asia-Pacific-centred and Interlace’s regional footprint fits it well
Fyatu vs Interlace: FAQ
Common questions about comparing Fyatu and Interlace for card issuing.