Pick Stripe Issuing (direct) when
- You're building a platform that issues cards to your end users.
- You want Stripe Connect / multi-account architecture.
- You can absorb the issuer-of-record compliance and operational load.
Pick CardForAgent when
- You're an individual or small team who needs a card today.
- You don't want to onboard with Stripe Issuing yourself.
- You want MCP access without writing the integration.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Stripe Issuing (direct) | CardForAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer of record | You | Us |
| Funding flow | You build it | Top up via Stripe Checkout |
| Webhooks | You handle | We handle |
| MCP | You build | Hosted at mcp.cardforagent.com |
| Time to first card | Weeks | 60 seconds |
Honest take
CardForAgent literally is Stripe Issuing — wrapped in a hosted MCP server. If you have the team and reasons to integrate Stripe directly, you should. Otherwise this just removes the infrastructure layer.