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APIs · head to head

i2c vs Skyflow

i2c logo

i2c

APIs

Configurable card issuing and banking processing platform for banks and programme managers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyflow logo

Skyflow

APIs

Data privacy vault that holds sensitive records outside your own systems

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: i2c developer experience lags API-native competitors, and teams expecting Stripe-grade documentation and sandboxes find an enterprise integration project instead.; Skyflow reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • They diverge on capability: i2c covers Configurable product engine, Skyflow covers Tokenised storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which i2c and Skyflow actually diverge.

Attributes where i2c and Skyflow differ
Attributei2cSkyflow
PlatformsWeb, REST APIAPI, Web, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in i2c

  • Configurable product engine
  • Credit and instalments
  • Multi-currency
  • Fraud and risk tooling
  • Digital banking front ends
  • Global scheme connectivity

Only in Skyflow

  • Tokenised storage
  • Polymorphic encryption
  • Field level access policies
  • Data residency
  • Secure functions
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Detokenisation gateway
  • Audit trail

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

i2c

  • A bank wanting credit, debit and prepaid portfolios on one processor rather than threenot Skyflow
  • An issuer in a market where local scheme and currency support rules out US-centric processorsnot Skyflow
  • A programme manager launching instalment products without building a lending corenot Skyflow
  • A credit union replacing an ageing processor without writing custom code for product rulesnot Skyflow

Skyflow

  • A fintech that wants card and bank account data out of its own infrastructure so its application servers leave PCI DSS assessment scopenot i2c
  • A company entering India or the EU with data localisation obligations that would otherwise require standing up regional databases and operationsnot i2c
  • A health technology business that needs protected health information isolated from the analytics stack while still supporting aggregate reportingnot i2c
  • An engineering team that wants support agents to see masked identifiers and payment services to see real ones, enforced centrally rather than in every servicenot i2c

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

i2c

  • Developer experience lags API-native competitors, and teams expecting Stripe-grade documentation and sandboxes find an enterprise integration project instead.
  • Implementations lean on i2c or partner professional services, so timelines and costs are set by a services queue rather than by your own engineering speed.
  • Pricing is per active card and per transaction with monthly minimums, none of it published, so comparing bids requires modelling your own portfolio carefully.
  • Configuration flexibility means product behaviour lives in platform settings rather than in your repository, which complicates version control, testing and audit trails.
  • As a private company with a broad global footprint, regional support depth is uneven, and a programme in a smaller market may get thinner service than a flagship account.

Skyflow

  • Reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • Every read of a protected field becomes a network call to a third party, so latency and an external availability dependency enter paths that were previously local database reads, and outage planning has to account for a vendor you do not control.
  • Analytics and joins on vaulted data are constrained; work that was a simple SQL join now happens through secure functions or on tokens, and data teams routinely discover this after the engineering team has committed.
  • Unwinding the vault later is a rewrite rather than a migration because tokens are threaded through every service, so the switching cost climbs steadily and the negotiating position at renewal weakens with each release.
  • Scope reduction is an architectural claim your own assessor must accept, so the audit saving is real only if the implementation genuinely keeps sensitive values off your systems, and partial implementations that leave a cache or a log line in place deliver the cost without the benefit.

Pricing, plan by plan

i2c

On request
  • i2c processing platform$undefined/year
    • Per-active-card and per-transaction processing fees
    • Minimum monthly commitments by programme
    • Implementation and configuration professional services

Skyflow

On request
  • Skyflow Data Privacy Vault$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus usage by data subject count
    • Priced additionally per data residency region
    • PCI Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose i2c if

  • You need configurable product engine.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want credit and instalments.
i2c review

Choose Skyflow if

  • You need tokenised storage.
  • You work on API, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want polymorphic encryption.
Skyflow review

Questions people ask

Is i2c or Skyflow better?
Neither clearly leads. i2c starts at On request and Skyflow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, i2c or Skyflow?
i2c starts at On request and Skyflow at On request.
Does i2c or Skyflow run on more platforms?
i2c runs on Web, REST API. Skyflow runs on API, Web, Self-hosted.
What is i2c best used for?
i2c is most often used for a bank wanting credit, debit and prepaid portfolios on one processor rather than three, an issuer in a market where local scheme and currency support rules out us-centric processors, a programme manager launching instalment products without building a lending core, a credit union replacing an ageing processor without writing custom code for product rules. Of those, a bank wanting credit, debit and prepaid portfolios on one processor rather than three and an issuer in a market where local scheme and currency support rules out us-centric processors are not what Skyflow is typically brought in for.
What can i2c do that Skyflow cannot?
i2c covers Configurable product engine, Credit and instalments, Multi-currency, Fraud and risk tooling. Skyflow covers Tokenised storage, Polymorphic encryption, Field level access policies, Data residency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

i2c: Does i2c issue the cards itself?

No. It processes; issuance sits with a bank or licensed issuer, and in most markets you need that relationship separately.

Skyflow: Does Skyflow really take my systems out of PCI scope?

It can, if card data never touches your infrastructure and the detokenisation happens at the boundary. Your QSA has to agree the design, so validate the architecture with your assessor before signing.

i2c: Can it handle revolving credit?

Yes. Credit, instalments and buy-now-pay-later sit on the same platform as debit and prepaid, which is unusual among modern processors.

Skyflow: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Reported annual contracts sit around 195,000 US dollars, built from a platform fee plus usage by data subject count and additional charges per data residency region.

i2c: Is it self-serve?

No. Expect a configuration-led implementation with professional services rather than signing up and calling an API.

Skyflow: How does it help with data localisation?

Records can be pinned to a specified region, so an Indian or EU residency requirement is met by the vault rather than by you running regional databases and operations teams.

Skyflow: Can I still run analytics on vaulted data?

Partly. Aggregates and comparisons are supported through polymorphic encryption and secure functions, but arbitrary joins against other datasets are harder than they were, and this is the most common late surprise.

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