Cards FTW

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The payments world was abuzz last week with the news that Amazon announced it would no longer accept direct payments via Venmo. I was always a bit puzzled as to why direct merchant acceptance of Venmo was gaining traction. Venmo is a wonderful peer-to-peer tool, as transfers are free between users. Everyone loves free instant money movement! High-speed money movement is normally expensive (think wire transfers or direct debit card transfers like Visa Direct or Mastercard Send).

'Tis the season when the fintech news cycle tends to calm, banks take their well-deserved holidays, and the networks experience a momentary pause. CardsFTW will take a holiday break at the end of the month, and barring some excitement, you can expect some shorter editions this month. Clothing retailer J.Crew announced that it would be moving its private label credit card business from Bread (Alliance Data / Comenity Bank) to a new program with Synchrony Financial.

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting story on Tuesday about the decline in the use of retail cards, also known as closed-loop cards. What exactly is a closed-loop card? It’s a card that can only be used at a specific retailer (e.g., your Target REDCard can only be used at Target). In contrast, an open-loop card features a network logo like Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express and can be used across various merchants. These networks are also known as open merchant networks.

Last week saw two high-profile consumer fintech products leave the landscape: Ness and HMBradley. Fintech card issuing is a small world; I have known both founders for years (about 10 for Zach Bruhnke at HMBradley!). My heart hurts with the disappointment and loss each of them must be experiencing as they say goodbye to their products. The Ness card was delightfully designed. It’s not quite the same story for the two companies.

Last week, our team from Totavi enjoyed attending CardCon in Nashville. We learned a lot from the insightful panels, saw old friends, and enjoyed a spirited interchange debate. Networking remains a cornerstone of these events. I noticed at least three or four panels explicitly focusing on it. In the fintech and card sectors, which are relatively tight-knit, the importance of maintaining connections is paramount.

I am excited to announce that the Totavi team has published the first in what we expect to be a series of in-depth, comprehensive market analyses in the world of cards. Our first market report covers the emerging Credit-Cards-as-a-Service (CCaaS) market with information on leading providers and insight into how to save time and money and prepare to build your credit card program. The report is 16 detailed pages with more than 13 charts.

Discover more from CardsFTW A weekly newsletter, released most Wednesdays, that offers insights and analysis on new products in the credit and debit card industry for both consumers and providers. Over 1,000 subscribers Thank you for reading CardsFTW — your support allows me to keep doing this work. If you enjoy CardsFTW, it would mean the world to me if you invited friends to subscribe and read with us. If you refer friends, you will receive benefits that give you special access to CardsFTW.

Immediately following fintech’s largest show, at which NerdWallet has no presence, the company launched one of the most significant fintech card products in 2023: NerdUp by NerdWallet, a secured charge card. I found this announcement intriguing on several levels. The card brings NerdWallet into direct competition with its major customers.

We’re wrapping up our Money20/20 visit this morning. The conference seemed smaller than last year, with fewer late-night parties (or perhaps I didn’t hear about them). The conference remains one of the best places to meet people in person, and I was thrilled to say hello to so many, including readers. One big announcement that caught my eye was Highnote’s entry into consumer credit. More analysis of the news will be in an upcoming issue.