specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Lithic
providerId: lithic-com
created: '2026-07-02'
modified: '2026-07-02'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Card Issuing
- Fintech
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Lithic spend. Lithic's economics are not a simple per-call API
  bill - a program's cost/revenue is dominated by card-network interchange
  (Lithic shares a portion of interchange revenue back to the program) net of
  negotiated per-card, per-transaction, ACH origination, and enterprise
  add-on fees (Disputes, Settlement). Exact rates and revenue-share splits are
  negotiated per program (Processing vs. Program Managed) and are not publicly
  disclosed, so this artifact models the cost dimensions rather than reconciled
  unit rates.
notes: >-
  Verify current interchange revenue share, per-card, and per-transaction
  rates directly with a Lithic account executive; they are not published and
  vary by program model, card network, and volume commitments.
sources:
- https://www.lithic.com/
- https://www.lithic.com/blog/interchange
- https://www.lithic.com/blog/maximizing-interchange
- https://docs.lithic.com/docs/po-vs-pm
- https://docs.lithic.com/docs/settlement-reporting
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Lithic
serviceCategory: Fintech and Payments
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Lithic Card Issuing
  ServiceCategory: Fintech and Payments
  ProviderName: Lithic
  PublisherName: Lithic
  InvoiceIssuerName: Lithic
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Usage-Based
meters:
- name: interchange_revenue_share
  description: Portion of card-network interchange revenue shared back to the program per settled transaction, net of Lithic's take.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - card_program
  - network
- name: active_cards
  description: Per-card fees, typically assessed per active/issued card per period.
  unit: cards
  aggregation: count
  dimensions:
  - account
  - card_program
- name: authorization_transactions
  description: Authorization and clearing transaction volume processed through the issuer-processing platform.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - card_program
- name: ach_originations
  description: ACH payment originations and returns via the Payments API and external bank accounts.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - financial_account
- name: disputes_processed
  description: Chargebacks and v2 managed disputes processed under the Enterprise Disputes API add-on.
  unit: disputes
  aggregation: count
  dimensions:
  - account
  - card_program
- name: settlement_reporting
  description: Enterprise, production-only Settlement API usage - settlement detail, summary, and network total reports reconciled.
  unit: reports
  aggregation: count
  dimensions:
  - account
- name: sandbox_usage
  description: Sandbox environment usage during development; free, but tracked for FinOps visibility into pre-production testing volume.
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Reconcile daily settlement reports and funding events against transaction and interchange volume per card program.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag financial accounts, card programs, and API keys per product/team so interchange revenue and fees map to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Route card programs to the interchange category (debit, prepaid, commercial, credit) and network that maximizes revenue share for the transaction mix; consolidate ACH batches to reduce origination fees.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign a program owner responsible for the Processing vs. Program Managed commercial agreement and monthly review of interchange, fee, and dispute economics against forecast.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com