APIs · head to head
Lithic vs Treasury Prime
Lithic
APIs
API-first card issuing platform with direct Visa, Mastercard and Amex network connections
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Treasury Prime
APIs
Banking as a service platform sold to sponsor banks rather than to fintechs
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lithic pricing is entirely undisclosed, so a company cannot compare total cost against Marqeta, Galileo or Highnote without a sales conversation.; Treasury Prime a fintech cannot buy Treasury Prime directly since the 2024 pivot, so the sales process starts with finding a sponsor bank willing to take your programme, which adds months and removes most of your negotiating leverage on fees.
- They diverge on capability: Lithic covers Direct network connections, Treasury Prime covers BankOS.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lithic and Treasury Prime actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lithic | Treasury Prime |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, API | API, Web |
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 Lithic
- Direct network connections
- Processor Client mode
- Lithic Program Management
- Card lifecycle APIs
- Sandbox environment
- Real-time authorization controls
Only in Treasury Prime
- BankOS
- OneKey Banking
- Deposit accounts
- Payments
- Card issuing
- Bank oversight tooling
- Ledger and reconciliation
- Programme onboarding
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lithic
- A fintech wanting direct Visa or Mastercard network access rather than routing through a third-party processornot Treasury Prime
- A company that already holds its own issuing licence and wants API access without full programme managementnot Treasury Prime
- A neobank or expense platform wanting Lithic to manage bank and network relationships end to endnot Treasury Prime
- A product team prototyping a card programme in sandbox before committing to a launchnot Treasury Prime
Treasury Prime
- A community or regional bank that wants to run an embedded finance line with examiner-acceptable oversight of its fintech programmesnot Lithic
- A fintech that has already chosen its sponsor bank and needs API access to that bank rather than to a middleware layernot Lithic
- A company that wants deposits spread across several banks for FDIC coverage beyond a single institution limitnot Lithic
- A bank replacing a fragile middleware arrangement with a structure where it holds the customer contract and the oversight obligationnot Lithic
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lithic
- Pricing is entirely undisclosed, so a company cannot compare total cost against Marqeta, Galileo or Highnote without a sales conversation.
- Choosing Processor Client mode still leaves the company responsible for holding its own issuing licence and managing the regulatory relationship, which is a substantial undertaking many teams underestimate.
- As with any card infrastructure provider, an outage or network issue at Lithic becomes a direct outage for every card programme built on it, and a customer has limited visibility into root cause during an incident.
- Building a card programme on API infrastructure requires real engineering investment; it is not a plug-and-play product for a non-technical team.
- Switching card infrastructure providers after launch is a major undertaking involving card reissuance and programme migration, so the initial choice carries lasting lock-in.
Treasury Prime
- A fintech cannot buy Treasury Prime directly since the 2024 pivot, so the sales process starts with finding a sponsor bank willing to take your programme, which adds months and removes most of your negotiating leverage on fees.
- Commercial terms including minimum deposit balances, reserve requirements and per transaction pricing are set by the bank rather than the platform, so two fintechs on the same software can face materially different economics with no public benchmark.
- The company cut roughly half its staff in the 2024 pivot, which reduced the teams that supported fintech customers directly and left fintechs relying on their bank for support rather than on the vendor who wrote the software.
- Bank risk appetite is now the binding constraint, and after the Synapse failure sponsor banks decline programmes in higher risk categories that a middleware provider would once have onboarded, so some business models simply cannot get placed.
- If your sponsor bank exits the programme or is told by its regulator to reduce fintech exposure, you are migrating your entire deposit base to another institution, and the software being the same at both ends does not make that a small project.
Pricing, plan by plan
Lithic
On request- Lithic$undefined/year
- Volume and interchange-based pricing, not published
- Separate Processor Client and Program Management pricing tracks
- Custom quote required via sales
Treasury Prime
On request- BankOS$undefined/year
- Sold to sponsor banks, not directly to fintechs
- Fintech commercial terms are set by the sponsor bank
- Minimum deposits, reserves and per transaction fees vary by bank
Which should you pick?
Choose Lithic if
- You need direct network connections.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want processor client mode.
Choose Treasury Prime if
- You need bankos.
- You work on API, Web.
- You also want onekey banking.
Questions people ask
- Is Lithic or Treasury Prime better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lithic starts at On request and Treasury Prime at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lithic or Treasury Prime?
- Lithic starts at On request and Treasury Prime at On request.
- Does Lithic or Treasury Prime run on more platforms?
- Lithic runs on Web, API. Treasury Prime runs on API, Web.
- What is Lithic best used for?
- Lithic is most often used for a fintech wanting direct visa or mastercard network access rather than routing through a third-party processor, a company that already holds its own issuing licence and wants api access without full programme management, a neobank or expense platform wanting lithic to manage bank and network relationships end to end, a product team prototyping a card programme in sandbox before committing to a launch. Of those, a fintech wanting direct visa or mastercard network access rather than routing through a third-party processor and a company that already holds its own issuing licence and wants api access without full programme management are not what Treasury Prime is typically brought in for.
- What can Lithic do that Treasury Prime cannot?
- Lithic covers Direct network connections, Processor Client mode, Lithic Program Management, Card lifecycle APIs. Treasury Prime covers BankOS, OneKey Banking, Deposit accounts, Payments.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Lithic: Does Lithic publish pricing?
No, pricing is volume-based and requires a sales conversation.
Treasury Prime: Can a fintech buy Treasury Prime directly?
No. Since the 2024 pivot it sells to banks. A fintech contracts with a sponsor bank running BankOS, and the bank sets the terms.
Lithic: What is the difference between Processor Client and Program Management?
Processor Client suits companies with their own issuing licence and bank relationships; Program Management is for companies wanting Lithic to coordinate those relationships on their behalf.
Treasury Prime: Why did it change model?
Regulatory pressure on the tri-party middleware structure, sharpened by the Synapse failure. Examiners want the bank holding the customer contract and the oversight obligation, which is what bank-direct means.
Lithic: Which networks does it connect to?
Visa, Mastercard and American Express directly.
Treasury Prime: What is OneKey Banking?
A way of spreading deposits across several banks in the network, used for FDIC coverage above a single institution limit and for resilience if one bank exits.
Treasury Prime: Is pricing published?
No, at neither the bank nor the fintech level. Fintech economics are set by the sponsor bank, so expect wide variation.
Related pages
More on Treasury Prime
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