EST. 2012 CODEGO GROUP LTD · MALTA BANKING AS A SERVICE LOCAL IBAN · 15 COUNTRIES SEPA · SEPA INSTANT · SWIFT · 21 CCY PCI DSS CERTIFIED 2025 API FIRST · WEBHOOKS 79 COUNTRIES DEPOSITS MULTI-CURRENCY · 12+ FIAT $1.1BN PROCESSED 2025 EST. 2012 CODEGO GROUP LTD · MALTA BANKING AS A SERVICE LOCAL IBAN · 15 COUNTRIES SEPA · SEPA INSTANT · SWIFT · 21 CCY PCI DSS CERTIFIED 2025 API FIRST · WEBHOOKS 79 COUNTRIES DEPOSITS MULTI-CURRENCY · 12+ FIAT $1.1BN PROCESSED 2025
Codego · Banking infrastructure · est. 2012 Comparison · Vol. XII · Issue 06/2026 ● Live · 7 regions · Malta HQ
CMP

Codego vs ChainUp.
An honest comparison
of crypto card programmes and white-label banking infrastructure.

ChainUp is one of the largest blockchain technology providers in the market — exchange systems, MPC custody, tokenization and a white-label crypto card solution delivered through an aggregated issuer network. But it is fundamentally a technology and development vendor, not a licensed card issuer. Codego approaches the same space as a licensed European issuer: its own BIN sponsorship across seven regions, partner EMIs, native EU IBANs and PCI DSS Level 1 certification, with a real self-service sandbox and a turnkey programme live in roughly 15 days. The distinction is simple — with ChainUp you assemble the regulated issuing layer; with Codego it is the product.

Talk to Codego Comparison table
01
At a glance

At a glance

  Codego ChainUp
Headquarters Malta (EU) Singapore
Founded 2012 2017
Regulatory framework Licensed EU issuer — own BIN sponsorship, partner EMIs, PCI DSS Level 1 (Adsigo 2025) Blockchain technology vendor; cards via aggregated third-party issuer network, not a licensed issuer itself
Card schemes Visa and Mastercard, both with BIN sponsorship Visa / Mastercard via aggregated issuer partners
White-label crypto cards First-class: stablecoin and crypto-funded with real-time conversion, own issuing stack Available; orchestrated over a third-party issuer network
Global issuing reach Locally licensed issuers / BINs across 7 regions (EU, US, UAE, Asia, Africa, LATAM, Oceania), one console Card acceptance in 180+ countries; issuing depends on aggregated partners
EU IBAN issuance Native via partner EMIs; SEPA, SEPA Instant, SWIFT Not a native EU IBAN issuer; banking rails out of scope
Time to launch Virtual cards day 1; turnkey programme live by day 15 Build / integration project; timeline depends on assembled stack
Self-service sandbox / API Yes — developer-first REST API, self-service sandbox key and no-code console Enterprise integration and managed delivery; less self-service
Apple Pay / Google Pay Supported, provisioned within 24 hours Supported on the card product
Pricing model Revenue-share plus interchange on a licensed issuing stack Solution / development pricing; issuer-network fees pass through
02
Where Codego is the stronger choice

Where Codego is the stronger choice

A licensed issuer, not a development vendor

This is the defining difference. ChainUp is a blockchain technology company that orchestrates card issuance over an aggregated third-party issuer network — you are buying software and integration, and the regulated issuing layer sits with partners you do not directly control. Codego is a licensed European issuer: it operates with its own BIN sponsorship, partner EMIs and PCI DSS Level 1 certification (Adsigo, 2025), and the licensed issuing relationship is the product. For a regulated fintech or neobank, the difference between buying a card programme from a licensed issuer and assembling one through a dev shop is the difference between a defined compliance perimeter and one you have to build and defend yourself. See Codego's Banking-as-a-Service model for how that perimeter is structured.

You own the BIN relationship across seven regions

Codego holds BIN sponsorship on both Visa and Mastercard and issues through locally licensed issuers and BINs across seven regions — the EU, US, UAE, Asia, Africa, LATAM and Oceania — all from one console. That means a defined institution on your authorisation messages, direct dispute-resolution standing and the ability to negotiate interchange tiers as volume grows. When card issuance is routed through an aggregator's network, that foundational relationship is one layer removed from you. Codego's card issuing infrastructure keeps it direct and gives you a single multi-region issuing footprint instead of a patchwork.

Native EU IBAN issuance and real banking rails

ChainUp's white-label card bridges crypto to spend, but EU banking rails are out of its scope — it is not a native IBAN issuer. Codego provisions native EU IBANs through its partner EMIs with full SEPA Instant, standard SEPA and SWIFT connectivity built in. For any programme that needs to hold client funds, receive payroll or enable peer-to-peer transfers, native IBAN issuance is the architecture that scales — and it lives inside the same platform as the card, rather than being a separate vendor you contract and reconcile against.

Turnkey 15-day launch instead of a build project

Because the licensed issuing, BIN sponsorship, IBAN and PCI DSS Level 1 layers are already in place, Codego delivers virtual cards on day one and a turnkey programme live in roughly 15 days. Assembling a programme through a technology vendor — sourcing the issuer, the licensing entity and the banking rails as separate components — is a build project where each regulated piece carries its own onboarding, contracting and integration cycle that you coordinate. Codego's core banking layer and self-service portal let programme managers configure limits, fee schedules, velocity rules and card art without raising a ticket.

Developer-first: real sandbox, real API, real no-code console

Codego is built for builders. The crypto card API is documented at developers.codegotech.com; you can self-issue a sandbox key at apikey-visacard-sandbox.codegotech.com and call the live sandbox base URL https://vcc-sandbox.codegotech.com/api/v1 with an X-Api-Key: vcck_sbx_… header. Teams that prefer no code can configure a full programme in the no-code console. You evaluate the entire issuing flow before signing anything — a self-service path that an enterprise managed-delivery vendor rarely matches.

First-class crypto cards with real-time conversion and dual scheme

Codego treats white-label crypto cards as a first-class product on its own issuing stack: stablecoin and crypto-funded programmes run with real-time crypto-to-fiat conversion at authorisation, so the cardholder spends in fiat while the programme settles from a crypto balance. Apple Pay and Google Pay provisioning completes within 24 hours, and the dual Visa-and-Mastercard BIN sponsorship lets you run parallel programmes or pick the scheme per market. With around 366,000 cards issued, ~$1.1B processed and 59 live programmes, this is a proven issuing operation, not a roadmap item.

03
Where ChainUp is the stronger choice

Where ChainUp is the stronger choice

Honesty matters. ChainUp is a serious, large-scale infrastructure provider, and there are scenarios where it is the better answer.

Breadth of crypto infrastructure beyond cards

A card programme is one product for Codego; for ChainUp it is one item in a very wide catalogue. ChainUp offers white-label exchange (CEX, DEX and hybrid) systems, MPC custody wallets, asset tokenization, KYT analytics, staking and broader Web3 infrastructure. If your project needs an exchange, a custody wallet and a card under one roof, ChainUp's breadth is a genuine advantage that a focused issuing provider like Codego does not try to match. Teams building a full digital-asset platform — not just a card — may legitimately prefer that single-vendor scope.

A large engineering organisation and product depth

ChainUp is a sizeable technology company with a deep engineering bench and years of delivering exchange and custody systems at scale, reportedly serving over a thousand clients. For an organisation that already holds its own regulatory entity and primarily needs a capable development partner to build and integrate a wide, customised crypto stack, ChainUp's engineering capacity and product maturity are real strengths. Where the requirement is bespoke software depth rather than a licensed turnkey issuing layer, that is exactly what a technology vendor is built to provide.

Strong Asia presence and ecosystem reach

Headquartered in Singapore, ChainUp has a strong footprint across Asian markets and a broad partner and liquidity ecosystem in that region. If your primary market is APAC and you value local presence, regional relationships and an exchange-centric ecosystem alongside a card product, ChainUp's geographic positioning is a legitimate edge. Codego's licensed issuing strength is anchored in the EU with multi-region reach, but for a deeply Asia-first, exchange-led build, ChainUp's regional ecosystem may align more closely with the go-to-market.

04
Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Q1.Is ChainUp a licensed card issuer or a technology vendor?
ChainUp is fundamentally a blockchain technology and infrastructure provider — exchange systems, MPC custody, tokenization, KYT analytics and a white-label crypto card solution delivered through an aggregated third-party issuer network. It is not itself a licensed card issuer. Codego, by contrast, is a licensed European issuer operating with its own BIN sponsorship and partner EMIs, PCI DSS Level 1 certified, issuing across seven regions. With ChainUp you typically assemble the issuing and licensing layer yourself or rely on its aggregated network; with Codego the licensed issuing relationship is the product.
Q2.Why does owning the BIN matter when launching a crypto card programme?
A BIN sponsor is the licensed principal member of Visa or Mastercard that grants a programme access to the network. Codego holds BIN sponsorship on both Visa and Mastercard and issues across seven regions through locally licensed issuers, so your programme has a defined institution on its authorisation messages, direct dispute-resolution standing and a path to negotiate interchange as volume grows. A technology vendor that routes issuance through an aggregated network gives you less control and visibility over that foundational relationship.
Q3.Does Codego offer a self-service sandbox and API to test before launch?
Yes. Codego is developer-first. You can read the crypto card API documentation at developers.codegotech.com, generate a sandbox key at apikey-visacard-sandbox.codegotech.com, and call the live sandbox base URL https://vcc-sandbox.codegotech.com/api/v1 using an X-Api-Key header in the form vcck_sbx_…. There is also a no-code console for teams that want to configure a programme without writing code. You can evaluate the full issuing flow before committing.
Q4.How fast can Codego launch a crypto card programme compared with assembling one through a vendor?
Codego delivers virtual cards on day one and a turnkey programme live in roughly 15 days, because the licensed issuing, BIN sponsorship, IBAN and PCI DSS Level 1 layers are already in place. Building a programme through a technology vendor where you source the issuer, licensing and banking rails separately typically takes considerably longer, since each regulated component has its own onboarding, contracting and integration cycle that you coordinate yourself.
Q5.Does Codego provide native EU IBANs and real-time crypto-to-fiat at point of sale?
Yes. Codego issues native EU IBANs with SEPA and SEPA Instant connectivity through its partner EMIs, so a programme can hold client funds and receive credits directly rather than depending on an external banking layer. At point of sale Codego performs real-time crypto-to-fiat conversion at authorisation: the cardholder spends in fiat while the programme settles from a stablecoin or crypto balance, with Apple Pay and Google Pay provisioning supported. Conversion parameters are configurable at programme level.
Q6.When is ChainUp the better choice over Codego?
If your priority is broad crypto infrastructure beyond cards — a white-label exchange, MPC custody wallet, tokenization, staking or KYT analytics — ChainUp's engineering breadth and large product catalogue are a genuine strength, particularly across Asian markets where it has a strong presence. Teams that already operate a regulated entity and simply want a development partner to build a wide Web3 stack may find ChainUp's scope a good fit. Codego's edge is the licensed, turnkey, EU-regulated crypto card and IBAN issuing layer specifically.