Physical Card Platform
Physical card program technology: ordering, personalisation, fulfilment, activation, PIN management and replacements.
- ClientCheckout · wallet
- APIIdempotency key
- Identity & KYCVerified
- Risk & complianceRules passed
- Payment gatewayAuthorised → captured
- LedgerDouble-entry posted
- SettlementBank rail · T+1
Journal entry · balanced
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Customer funds | 120.00 | — |
| Merchant payable | — | 118.20 |
| Fee revenue | — | 1.80 |
Division
Service area
Card Programs & Card Management
Engagement
Project · Team · Managed
Overview
Physical cards involve manufacturing and logistics as well as software: card design approval, personalisation bureau integration, fulfilment tracking, activation, PIN setting, replacements and reissuance. We build the technology that orchestrates physical card programs across processors, bureaus and delivery partners, with customer-facing tracking and support tools.
Delivered with licensed issuing, processing and card personalisation partners.
Common use cases
- Debit card programsPhysical debit cards for account holders.
- Corporate cardsPhysical cards for employees.
- Prepaid cardsGift and payroll cards.
- Premium cardsMetal or special-material card programs.
Quick answers
Physical Card Platform at a glance
The essentials in brief. Every project is scoped individually — ask us for specifics.
- What is physical card platform?
- Physical card program technology: ordering, personalisation, fulfilment, activation, PIN management and replacements.
- Who is it for?
- Typically neobanks, payment companies, lenders, wealth platforms and financial institutions building or modernising customer-facing and back-office systems.
- What does Shivacha provide?
- Card ordering
- Bureau integration
- Delivery tracking
- Activation & PIN
- Replacement & reissue
- Inventory management
- Which technologies are used?
- ISO 8583, PCI DSS, Double-Entry Ledgers, Go (Golang), Kotlin, Swift — chosen to fit your stack and constraints.
- How does the process work?
- Program design → Processor integration → Card lifecycle → Controls & ledger → Launch.
- What affects the cost?
- Banking, card, payment and KYC partners to integrate
- Ledger and reconciliation complexity
- Number of currencies, countries and payment rails
- Compliance, reporting and audit requirements
- Mobile, web and back-office scope
- Availability and disaster-recovery targets
- How long does it take?
- A regulated-market MVP usually takes 4–7 months including partner integrations; extensions to an existing platform can ship in weeks.
- How do I get started?
- Share a short brief in the form below, book a 30-minute call or message us on WhatsApp. A senior engineer replies within one business day; NDA on request.
Capabilities
What we deliver
Card ordering
Order creation and address validation.
Bureau integration
Personalisation and fulfilment partner APIs.
Delivery tracking
Status updates to cardholders.
Activation & PIN
Secure activation and PIN setting flows.
Replacement & reissue
Lost, stolen, damaged and expiry reissuance.
Inventory management
Card stock and design versions.
Architecture
Engineered right from day one
The layers we typically design for card programs & card management, adapted to your stack and partners.
- Partner-led issuingBIN sponsorship and network membership sit with licensed partners.
- Low-latency authorisationAuthorisation decisions within processor time limits.
- Sensitive data handlingPAN and PIN handled through processor-provided secure components.
- Accurate holdsAuthorisation, incremental auth, reversal and clearing mapped to the ledger.
Delivery
How an engagement runs
- 1
Program design
Card types, target users, controls and partner model with your issuer and processor.
- 2
Processor integration
APIs and real-time authorisation webhooks with the chosen processor.
- 3
Card lifecycle
Ordering, activation, freezing, replacement and closure flows.
- 4
Controls & ledger
Spend limits, merchant category rules, holds and settlement accounting.
- 5
Launch
Partner testing, operational runbooks and support tooling.
Security
Security built into delivery
Controls we apply by default on this kind of work — not a separate phase at the end.
Ledger integrity
Double-entry, immutable journals and daily reconciliation against partners.
Idempotent money movement
Every payment operation safe to retry, with no double-spend.
Access control
Maker-checker approvals, least privilege and full audit logging.
Data protection
Encryption in transit and at rest, tokenised card data and PCI-aware architecture.
Technology
Tools we use for this
Products
Start from a platform
Shivacha Card Management
Technology infrastructure for card-program integrations.
Learn moreShivacha Digital Bank
A configurable digital banking platform for banks and licensed partners.
Learn moreShivacha Neobank
Launch a mobile-first neobank on a platform built to scale.
Learn moreRelated services
Often combined with
Card Program Management Technology
Technology for card program managers: program configuration, cardholder management, controls, ledgers and partner reporting.
Learn moreVirtual Card Development
Virtual card features: instant issuance, single-use and merchant-locked cards, secure display and wallet provisioning.
Learn moreVirtual Card Platform
B2B virtual card platforms for payables, procurement and spend management — issuance at scale with reconciliation.
Learn moreDedicated team
Payments Engineering Team
Specialists in gateways, processing, orchestration, settlement and payouts.
Work & insights
Related thinking
Ledger-first architecture for a partner-bank neobank
How we structure a neobank so that balances always reconcile with the sponsor bank and partners can be added or replaced.
Learn moreStablecoin settlement layer for a card-accepting payment platform
A hybrid design that lets merchants accept cards as usual while optionally settling in stablecoins.
Learn moreYour ledger is your product: designing money movement that always reconciles
Fintech products are judged on experience but survive on correctness. A double-entry ledger at the core is what makes balances provable.
Learn moreFAQ
Frequently asked questions
How long does physical card delivery take?
It depends on the bureau, courier and destination; the platform tracks each stage and keeps cardholders informed.
Can PINs be managed in-app?
Yes, through processor-provided secure PIN components.
Can Shivacha issue Visa or Mastercard cards?
No. Card issuing is performed by licensed issuers and network members. Shivacha builds the technology infrastructure — card management, controls, ledgers and user experiences — that integrates with your issuing and processing partners.
Which card processors do you integrate with?
We integrate with modern issuing processors through their APIs and webhooks. Processor selection depends on your markets, program type and partners.
Next step
Discuss Your FinTech Product.
Tell us about your physical card platform requirements — goals, timeline and constraints. We will reply with questions, an approach and next steps.
- Senior engineer reads every enquiry
- Reply within one business day
- NDA on request
Your details are used only to reply to this enquiry.