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The Crypto Card Issuer Crisis: Why Your BaaS Partner Choice Can Kill Your Business 

  • Writer: Pavel Matveev
    Pavel Matveev
  • 1 day ago
  • 5 min read
crypto card issuer crisis

Across Europe, crypto and fintech companies are being reminded of a hard truth: your Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) or card issuer partner is a single point of failure. 


Recent regulatory actions involving Quicko (Poland) and UAB Monavate (Lithuania) show how quickly that failure can materialise — and how devastating the impact can be for fintechs that rely on card issuance and banking infrastructure. 


This is no longer an edge case. It’s a structural risk every builder needs to understand. 

 

What Happened in Poland: Quicko Loses Its Licence 


In early 2026, Quicko, a Poland-based card issuer that had become popular among crypto card programmes, lost its ability to provide payment services following a licence revocation. 


Quicko’s own statement says that as of February 3, 2026, it lost the ability to provide payment services due to a decision of Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) dated January 21, 2026.  Quicko statement: https://www.quicko.pl/ 


The consequences were immediate: 


  • Dozens of partner fintechs lost card and banking functionality 

  • Thousands of end users were affected 

  • Services stopped “overnight,” with no meaningful transition window 


For the fintechs built on top of Quicko, the loss of the issuer was not a setback — it was an operational shutdown. 

 

Just Weeks Earlier: Regulatory Action Against UAB Monavate (Lithuania) 


Only weeks before the Quicko decision, the Lithuanian central bank (Lietuvos bankas) issued a binding instruction to UAB Monavate, a Lithuania-based electronic money institution that had also become widely used by crypto-related card programmes. 


Monavate was ordered to stop providing financial services to six partners: 


  • KPTRS Investments Limited 

  • Amnis Europe AG 

  • ConnexPay Ireland Limited 

  • Brighty Digital UAB 

  • Kulipa SAS 

  • Immersve UK Ltd 



Again, the impact on partner fintechs was immediate and disruptive. 

 

The Pattern Emerging Across the EU 


These cases are not isolated incidents. They reflect a broader regulatory tightening across the European Union, particularly around: 


  • Electronic money institutions (EMIs) 

  • Card issuers serving crypto-adjacent businesses 

  • Cross-border embedded finance models 


Regulators are increasingly focused on ongoing compliance, not just initial authorisation. Issuers that expanded quickly by onboarding large numbers of programmes — often with minimal scrutiny — are being required to demonstrate sustained risk management, governance, and operational control. 


For some issuers, that scrutiny is exposing weaknesses that lead to enforcement action or loss of licence. 

 

Why This Is an Existential Risk for Fintech Builders 


If you’re building a fintech product that relies on: 


  • Card issuance 

  • Embedded banking 

  • Account infrastructure 


…your issuer choice is not a procurement decision. It’s an existential one. 


When an issuer loses its licence or is forced to halt services: 


  • Cards stop working immediately 

  • Accounts may be frozen or restricted 

  • Customer trust collapses 

  • Migration to a new issuer can take months 


Most fintechs cannot switch BaaS partners quickly, even if they have funding, legal support, and a replacement lined up. 

 

Why Some Issuers Are More Exposed Than Others 


Issuers most vulnerable to regulatory action often share common traits: 


  • Heavy exposure to crypto or high-risk programmes 

  • Volume-driven onboarding models 

  • Limited ongoing partner monitoring 

  • Under-resourced compliance and risk teams 


By contrast, more resilient issuers typically demonstrate: 


  • Conservative partner selection 

  • Clear regulatory alignment 

  • Transparent engagement with supervisors 

  • A compliance culture embedded into daily operations 


In the current environment, an issuer that says “no” more often is usually a safer long-term partner. 

 

The Wirex Perspective 


I’m not writing this as a neutral observer. 


I’m writing this as someone who’s been building in this space since 2014.  


Wirex is widely credited with launching one of the world’s first crypto-enabled payment cards in 2015 — a foundational moment for the “crypto card” category. We’ve issued cards at scale and operated through multiple market cycles and major regulatory shifts. 


We didn’t survive by cutting corners. We survived by treating compliance and risk management as product infrastructure, not an afterthought. 


And yes — I’m genuinely proud that Wirex has been recognised for that work, including: 


  • Best Digital Banking Platform at the 2025 FinTech Breakthrough Awards  

  • Winner at the ICA Compliance Awards Europe

  • 2025 (Compliance Culture category)  


These awards matter because they reflect what the issuer crisis is really about: operational maturity. 

 

What We've Built


Our Stablecoin BaaS platform is designed for builders who understand that infrastructure reliability matters as much as feature sets.


Partners get access to:


  • Stablecoin-linked card issuance

  • Virtual bank accounts

  • Yield products

  • All through one streamlined integration


Built on compliance infrastructure that doesn't disappear when regulators come knocking.


Contact Daniel Rowlands for a demo


What Fintech Teams Should Learn From Quicko and Monavate 


The lesson from Quicko and Monavate is not “avoid crypto.” It’s understand dependency risk. 


Founders and product leaders should treat issuer selection as a governance-level decision, assessing: 


  • Regulatory track record and jurisdiction 

  • Concentration risk across partners 

  • Depth of compliance infrastructure 

  • Contingency planning and exit scenarios 


Speed to market matters — but resilience matters more. 

 

Final Perspective on Crypto card Issuer Crisis


The crypto card issuer crisis is not a temporary disruption. It’s a structural correction in embedded finance. 


As EU regulators raise expectations, fintechs built on fragile BaaS foundations will continue to face sudden, severe disruptions. Those that choose resilient, conservative partners — and plan for issuer risk early — are far more likely to survive the next regulatory wave. 


In embedded finance, your issuer’s licence is your licence. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 


What happened to Quicko? 

Quicko lost its ability to provide payment services following a KNF decision revoking its licence, with Quicko stating the change took effect on February 3, 2026 (decision dated January 21, 2026).  

Why did Lietuvos bankas take action against UAB Monavate? 

Lietuvos bankas issued a binding instruction requiring UAB Monavate to stop providing financial services to six named partners as part of supervisory oversight. Official notice: https://www.lb.lt/en/news/uab-monavate-must-inform-its-customers  

Is this risk limited to crypto fintechs? 

No. Crypto-adjacent programmes are often more exposed, but any fintech relying on a single issuer or BaaS provider faces similar structural dependency risk. 

Can fintechs quickly replace a failed issuer? 

In most cases, no. Issuer migration is complex and regulated, and typically takes months even with strong legal and operational resources. 

How can fintechs reduce issuer dependency risk? 

By choosing issuers with strong regulatory alignment, assessing partner concentration risk, building contingency plans early, and diversifying infrastructure where possible. 


 

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