The Illusion of Premium Card Profitability
High-end cardholders (roughly equivalent to superprime and prime plus1) now account for 85% of U.S. credit card spending, up from 81% in 2019. This group has driven all of the growth in purchase volume since the pandemic; prime-and-below borrowers have been at or below zero growth since late 2023. Every major issuer wants these customers: […]
Podcast: TreviPay on Why B2B Commerce Is Reaching an Inflection Point?
A conversation with Allen Bonde, Chief Marketing Officer at TreviPay, and Inez Berkhof-Hollander, VP of EMEA at TreviPay, about why B2B commerce is reaching an inflection point and how pay-by-invoice is becoming a catalyst for order-to-cash automation. “Pay by invoice is the starting point, but it’s not the ending point.” If B2B payments are becoming […]
Podcast: How to Win Over Apple Pay In-Store & What Comes Next for Pan-European Interoperability
A conversation with Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps Mobilepay about their NFC wallet, and their role in a broader pan-european collaboration as part of the EuroPA alliance. “In payments, you’re choosing between water and water.” If wallets are commoditized, what creates a competitive advantage? In our latest podcast, Rune Garborg explains why the future of […]
6% and Counting: The State of Stablecoin Merchant Acceptance
A Wave Of Acceptance Interest 1. C2B Acceptance Stablecoins Activity Timeline in 2025 (selected; non-exhaustive)
Embedded Lending – A Key Growth Opportunity for Fintechs and Platforms
A panel discussion on embedded lending and its massive upside potential. Banks continue to underserve SMB demand, SaaS platforms are in a strong position to monetize, and fintechs are well-positioned to fill gaps in market supply.During the session, we defined the market, illustrated key growth opportunities and use cases, discussed operating model options, and explored […]
Q4 2025 SaaS and Fintech Earnings Observations
SaaS + fintech share prices have come under pressure in recent months due to rising fears of AI-led disruption. However, recent fundamentals paint a positive picture with continued top-line growth and margin expansion. Ultimately, we believe the AI opportunity for many leading SaaS companies outweighs the potential risks. See our Q4 2025 earnings observations below […]
Flagship Market Monitor: Credit Issuing Q4 2025
Credit products are adapting quickly as issuers and fintechs respond to shifting consumer preferences, competitive pressure from BNPL, and evolving digital commerce behavior. Experimentation with new credit products has accelerated in recent years, ranging from installment-first cards and ecosystem-driven co-brands, to AI-driven underwriting and embedded credit in everyday payment flows. While new products and redesigns […]
Credit Card Issuing Industry KPIs Q4’25
Underwriting Discipline Continues to Hold Credit Losses at Bay The fourth quarter of 2025 showed stabilization in the recent upward credit loss trend in bank credit performance, while portfolio growth remained intact despite mounting signs of consumer fragility. As non-credit card-focused banks demonstrated improving chargeoff stability and sustained risk appetite, credit card-focused banks continued to […]
Will AI Kill the B2B Software Industry?
The software industry is panicking as bears latch onto the theme of AI disrupting the software industry, assuming that AI will be able to develop custom code that is superior or lower cost. Investors are clearly spooked, the flight from software equities has been bloody as we illustrate in Figure 1 below. We agree that […]
Webinar: Stablecoins Go Mainstream
A panel discussion on the stablecoin landscape with Ben Brown (Partner, Flagship Advisory Partners), Nabil Manji (SVP, Head of Fintech Growth & Financial Partnerships, WorldPay), Ali Heiring (Director of Corporate Strategy, MoneyGram), and Ben Reynolds (SVP, Head of Big Business Banking, SoFi). Together, we explored how stablecoins are being applied across consumer and B2B payments, […]