--- title: "Card Issuing for UK EMIs | Prepaid and Debit Card Programmes" description: "Card programmes for FCA-authorised EMIs: virtual and plastic cards, contactless, online and ATM switches, CASS 15 balance data. You contract the issuer." url: "https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/uk-emi/" lang: "en" image: "https://crassula.io/static/images/og/crassula-default.d7d01fb8a962.jpg" alternates: "en": "https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/uk-emi/" "de": "https://crassula.io/de/solutions/card-issuing/uk-emi/" "es": "https://crassula.io/es/solutions/card-issuing/uk-emi/" "fr": "https://crassula.io/fr/solutions/card-issuing/uk-emi/" "x-default": "https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/uk-emi/" index: "https://crassula.io/llms.txt" --- United Kingdom · EMI # Card issuing for UK e-money institutions Your EMI owns the card programme and the cardholder. A Mastercard or Visa principal member issues and processes under an agreement you sign with it, and the platform ties every card to a safeguarded e-money balance and puts the controls in your customers' hands. [Request demo](https://crassula.io/request-demo/) [Card Issuing →](https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/) Your market**United Kingdom**EMI - Virtual at sign-up, plastic when ordered - Contactless, online and ATM switches per card - Card balances and holds for CASS 15 - Issuing through Decta or your chosen processor Rails your customers can use **Mastercard****Visa****Faster Payments****Card top-up from e-money****3-D Secure** What the regulator asks about your IT**8** Decta![ClearBank](https://crassula.io/static/images/solutions/connector-logos/clearbank.02d614737cef.png) Case Studies ## See what teams build with Crassula. ![Pay IO](https://crassula.io/static/images/solutions/cases/logo-payio.bbe18d95fdcd.png) - Business accounts - Virtual and physical cards - Multi-currency exchange Live on Crassula ### [Business banking built around everyday financial needs.](https://crassula.io/cases/payio/) Business accounts, virtual and physical debit cards, local payments and multi-currency services with web and mobile interfaces. [Read case study: Pay IO](https://crassula.io/cases/payio/) ![LuxPay](https://crassula.io/static/images/solutions/cases/logo-luxpay.7d1fa138b9ba.png) - IBAN · SEPA - Card issuing - KYC onboarding Live on Crassula ### [A connected banking platform for modern financial services.](https://crassula.io/cases/luxpay/) Account details, SEPA payments, card issuing, KYC onboarding and multi-currency exchange in one financial product. [Read case study: LuxPay](https://crassula.io/cases/luxpay/) Card Issuing · EMI ## Card programmes a UK EMI can run on the platform ### Prepaid GBP cards Customers load a card from their e-money balance and move unspent money back, and a dry run shows the fee and the result before any money moves. ### Cards that spend straight from e-money A card linked to the customer's e-money account places a hold on authorisation and posts the final amount when the scheme settles it. ### Controls cardholders now expect Since the FCA let firms set their own contactless limits, customers want a say. Where your processor supports it, each card has its own contactless, online and ATM switches and spending limits in the app. ### Team cards for small businesses A company issues cards to staff from one business account, sets a limit for each person and reissues a lost card without closing the account. ### Card details and PIN in the app Secure display of card details, PIN delivery, one-time passwords and resets of the PIN retry counter, without card numbers passing through your own systems. ### What this licence does not cover - Consumer credit cards funded from e-money. Safeguarded funds cannot be lent, and credit products need their own FCA permissions. - A Mastercard or Visa card without a scheme member behind it, unless your EMI becomes a principal member itself. - Telling cardholders their balance is protected by the FSCS. Card balances are safeguarded e-money, not deposits. Your market ## What the regulator asks about your IT Each requirement, what the platform gives you for it and who owns it after launch. 1 Agreement with a scheme principal member as issuer or processor Pre-integrated issuers such as Decta, and the technical description your issuer asks for in its due diligence. You sign directly with the issuer 2 Outsourcing of card processing in your FCA application A map of who does what between your EMI, the processor and Crassula, with subcontractors and hosting locations. You, with our input 3 Strong customer authentication for online card payments 3-D Secure sessions through Decta, approved or declined by the cardholder in your app, plus two-factor login. Shared with the processor 4 CASS 15: funds behind card balances in the daily reconciliation Card balances, open holds and settled spend for every cardholder, exported each day for your reconciliation. Your finance team, on platform data 5 PCI DSS scope for card data A PCI DSS Level 1 platform and a cardholder data endpoint, so card numbers stay out of your back office. Shared 6 Refunds of unauthorised card payments by the end of the next business day Card transaction history with merchant name, country and category code, so support can check a claim quickly. Your operations team, with the processor 7 Financial crime controls on card spending Limits per card and per customer and instant freezes. Sanctions screening runs through a connected provider. Your MLRO 8 Operational resilience: the card processor as a critical third party A description of how card authorisations flow through the processor and the platform, for your impact tolerances and scenario tests. You, with our input United Kingdom ## Payment rails and providers Rails your customers can use Mastercard Visa Faster Payments Card top-up from e-money 3-D Secure Decta ### Decta Mastercard principal member that issues cards for a UK-based EMI under its BIN sponsorship programme, covering personalisation, processing, settlement and disputes. Pre-integrated with Crassula, including 3-D Secure. You contract Decta directly. ![ClearBank](https://crassula.io/static/images/solutions/connector-logos/clearbank.02d614737cef.png) ### ClearBank UK clearing bank with safeguarding accounts for EMIs, where the funds behind card balances can sit, and Faster Payments for card top-ups. **24/7**real-time processing, no batch window **60+**payment and provider integrations connected **150+**companies run on Crassula **15+**languages the platform speaks United Kingdom ## Dates to plan around Rules that change what you have to build, in the order they apply. 1. **19 Mar 2026** The FCA dropped the GBP 100 contactless cap. Issuers with strong fraud controls set their own limits and must explain any change to cardholders. 2. **7 May 2026** CASS 15 took effect. Money behind card balances is part of the daily reconciliation and the monthly safeguarding return. 3. **Every month** Safeguarding return due within 15 business days of month end, including the funds that back your cards. EMI ## Applying to the FCA as an EMI with cards in your plan? Name us in your application. If cards are part of your business plan, the FCA will want to know who issues them, who processes them and how the money behind them is safeguarded. We show the card flows on a working platform and write that part of the technical file with you. [Talk to us about your application](https://crassula.io/request-demo/) Crassula provides technology and documentation support. We do not provide legal or regulatory advice and cannot guarantee the outcome of an application. 1. 01 ### A platform you can demonstrate A configured environment to show the regulator, not slides. 2. 02 ### The technical part of your application, prepared IT systems, card processing outsourcing, PCI DSS scope, security and continuity sections of your FCA application. 3. 03 ### Providers lined up Card issuing and processing through Decta, safeguarding through ClearBank, and KYC providers from our network. ![An everyday contactless payment at an independent café.](https://crassula.io/static/images/features/people/spending-1200.c1677a4b1c39.webp) Card Issuing ## How a launch usually runs Think of an EMI in Bristol whose app pays gig workers the same day they finish a job. Its customers ask for a card so they can spend that money at once. The EMI signs an issuing and processing agreement with a scheme member, and we connect the card product to the platform. Workers get a virtual card the moment they are verified and can order plastic later, keeping the same card. After the March 2026 change, the EMI kept a GBP 100 contactless limit as its default and let each worker switch contactless or online payments off in the app. Card holds and settled spend go into the daily safeguarding reconciliation from day one. For the licence itself, see our [UK EMI licence guide](https://crassula.io/guides/licenses/uk-emi/). New to card programmes? Start with [what card issuing is](https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/guides/what-is-card-issuing/). Guides ## Read the licence guides ![UK EMI License in 2026: The Complete FCA Authorised EMI Guide](https://crassula.io/static/images/guides/uk-emi/london-shard-preview-960.3d95fe51ab3d.jpg) ### [UK EMI License in 2026: The Complete FCA Authorised EMI Guide](https://crassula.io/guides/licenses/uk-emi/) ![FCA Safeguarding Rules in 2026: CASS 15 Guide for EMIs and Payment Institutions](https://crassula.io/static/images/guides/uk-safeguarding-cass-15/safeguarding-boxes-preview-960.2782fe508dd7.jpg) ### [FCA Safeguarding Rules in 2026: CASS 15 Guide for EMIs and Payment Institutions](https://crassula.io/guides/licenses/uk-safeguarding-cass-15/) ![What Is Card Issuing? BIN Sponsorship, Virtual Cards and Compliance Explained](https://crassula.io/static/images/guides/what-is-card-issuing/card-issuing-press-preview-960.499cb024b4f3.jpg) ### [What Is Card Issuing? BIN Sponsorship, Virtual Cards and Compliance Explained](https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/guides/what-is-card-issuing/) ![White-Label Debit Cards in 2026: The Complete Guide](https://crassula.io/static/images/guides/white-label-debit-cards/debit-card-vault-preview-960.4f49fa92c4de.jpg) ### [White-Label Debit Cards in 2026: The Complete Guide](https://crassula.io/solutions/card-issuing/guides/white-label-debit-cards/) [**Explore all guides**Licensing, payments, cards and core banking, explained by our team.](https://crassula.io/guides/) United Kingdom · EMI ## FAQ The questions teams ask us before a first call. [**Not covered here?**Bring your question to a demo with our team.](https://crassula.io/request-demo/) Can a UK EMI issue Mastercard or Visa cards? Yes. Issuing payment instruments falls within an EMI's permissions. To carry a scheme brand you either join the scheme as a principal member or, as most EMIs do, work with an issuer that already is one. Does Crassula provide the BIN? No. Crassula is not a scheme member. You contract the issuer directly, and interchange and fees are part of that agreement. The platform is pre-integrated with issuers such as Decta, which has issued cards for a UK EMI under its BIN sponsorship programme. Who sets the contactless limit now? Since 19 March 2026 firms with strong fraud controls can choose their own limit instead of the old GBP 100 cap, and they must tell customers clearly about any change. The FCA also wants customers to be able to set their own limit or turn contactless off. The per-card switch handles turning it off; a separate contactless limit depends on what your processor supports. Do APP scam reimbursement rules apply to card payments? No. Mandatory APP reimbursement covers Faster Payments and CHAPS. Card fraud falls under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which require a refund of an unauthorised payment by the end of the next business day, and under scheme chargeback rules. How do card balances fit into CASS 15? Money behind a card linked to e-money is safeguarded like any other e-money. The ledger shows each cardholder's balance, open holds and settled spend, and your finance team reconciles that against the safeguarding account every day. What does the issuer need from us before cards go live? Expect due diligence on your EMI and its owners, a programme description, scheme approval of the card design and testing of the integration. We supply the technical description and work through the integration tests with the issuer, so virtual cards can usually go live before plastic. United Kingdom · EMI ## Card programmes a UK EMI can run on the platform Tell us your licence and country. We will map the rails, providers and documents you need. [Request demo](https://crassula.io/request-demo/) [**Know what you pay**One setup fee and a monthly plan with accounts and transactions included.*See pricing →*](https://crassula.io/prices/) [**Start with the API**Documented endpoints for accounts, payments, cards and customers.*Explore the API →*](https://crassula.io/features/api/)