Comperemedia’s Chief Insights Officer, Andrew Davidson is well known for sharing the latest insights on financial services products and marketing strategies/innovations on his LinkedIn, as an event speaker and as a host on Mintel’s Little Conversation podcast. In this bi-weekly recap, he will provide you with the latest news and insights happening in the financial services industry.
Here are the 5 things you need to know:
1. The Credit Card City Hall of Fame
Certain U.S. cities have played pivotal roles in the credit card industry’s evolution. A recent tour of our inspiring clients got me thinking, so I put it to a vote.
- New York: Birthplace of Diners Club (1950), the first general-purpose charge card. Global HQ for Amex and Citi.
- Salt Lake City: Back-office hub for Amex, Goldman and others. Home to Industrial Loan Companies (ILCs), giving fintechs a bank-like path.
- Sioux Falls: Citi moved credit ops here in 1981 after interest rate caps were lifted. Became a subprime hub.
- Wilmington: MBNA’s 1980s HQ. DE’s usury law reforms helped it become the credit card capital.
- Honorable mentions: Fresno: Site of 1958 “Fresno Drop,” BankAmericard’s mass card mailing. San Rafael: Birthplace of the FICO Score (1989), transforming credit underwriting.
Source: Mintel
💡Wilmington, DE: The credit card capital of the world:
- Wilmington wears the crown. In a LinkedIn poll of 160 votes, Wilmington, DE, came out on top, earning the title of “Credit Card Capital of the World” with 61% of the vote. New York followed at 21%, then Sioux Falls (13%) and Salt Lake City (5%). It’s no surprise Wilmington won the vote. The city was transformed in the 1980s when MBNA made it its headquarters, unleashing a wave of innovation in credit card marketing and operations. Delaware’s early and bold moves to reform usury laws created a regulatory environment that attracted issuers and helped modern credit products take root. While other cities made key contributions, like the invention of Diners Club in NYC or the operational muscle of Salt Lake, Wilmington shaped the blueprint for the credit card industry we know today.
- Why geography still matters. Wilmington’s rise wasn’t just about legal reforms, it fostered a dense ecosystem of financial services talent, institutional knowledge, and infrastructure. That legacy persists. Today, Wilmington is a magnet for product managers, marketers, risk analysts, and compliance pros who know the ins and outs of credit. The same is true in other hubs like New York, Salt Lake, and Sioux Falls. As fintechs and neobanks scale, they’re tapping into these geographies for the human capital that’s already fluent in credit.
2. Venmo promotes “Pay with Venmo” at JetBlue.com
From 🍕 to ✈️. You can now pay for flights on JetBlue.com with Venmo.
In January, JetBlue announced that it would be the first airline to accept Venmo, for booking flights on JetBlue.com (app to follow) using a Venmo balance, linked bank account, debit or credit card.
In May, Venmo began actively promoting the feature, sending millions of marketing emails. Just a few days into the month, the platform had already sent over 16 million emails.
Email Subject: Venmo and jetblue.com, cleared for takeoff
Source: Comperemedia Omni [ 05/01/2025 – 05/10/2025] as of 05/14/2025
💡Venmo rising:
- Growing threat. 19% of Gen Z would prefer to use a non-bank payment app like Venmo or Cash App for the majority of their purchases according to Mintel and “Pay with Venmo” is growing rapidly expanding to major brands like JetBlue, Domino’s, Instacart and TikTok Shop. Venmo’s payment volume increased more than 50%, and monthly active accounts grew 30%, driven by expanded merchant availability, according to comments made at PayPal’s Q1 2025 earnings call.
- Venmo’s appeal. Users love Venmo for its social features, seamless digital UX, and the ability to easily split payments between friends – epitomized for years by what was its most-shared emoji: 🍕. Whether that turns into a ✈️ remains to be seen, but Venmo is betting that the added flexibility will fuel further usage.
- So what does this mean for Barclays (issuer of the JetBlue credit card) and other travel co-brand credit card issuers? Younger consumers tend to be less tied to loyalty programs and more open to alternative payment methods. American Express responded back in 2020 with “Send & Split” to incorporate one of Venmo’s core features. It’s a clear call to action: now is the time to rethink value propositions and retool messaging for digitally native, mobile-first travelers.
Source: Mintel Reports, Payment Preferences – US – 2024, PayPal Q1 2025 Earnings
3. Email fuels Affirm Card growth
Affirm reported 1.9 million active Affirm Card users in its latest earnings (FY Q3’25), nearly double from a year ago.
Over that same period, the company ramped from sending virtually zero marketing emails to more than 160 million, according to Comperemedia.
Affirm has highlighted the growth of its Card Attach Rate (Affirm Card Active Consumers divided by Total Affirm Active Consumers) as a positive sign of user engagement and product adoption.
This growth indicates that the Affirm Card is becoming a more integral part of consumers’ payment choices, aligning with the company’s goal to be a primary payment method for users.
💡Marketing expands with the mission:
- Growth engine. Affirm now has 21.9 million active consumers and partners with 358K merchants. It leads with 0% interest financing offers at checkout and in-app as a powerful on-ramp for acquiring credit card users. In year one, the Affirm Card grew from zero to one million users largely through product pull and organic adoption. Year two saw email marketing become a key growth lever, helping double the cardholder base to 1.9 million.
- What’s next? With 21.9M users, Affirm has plenty of room to grow. But competition is heating up and Klarna and Cash App continue to innovate and roll out marketing campaigns. For year three, email and in-app may still deliver, but expect a broader omnichannel push to accelerate awareness and adoption. This will be a big year for BNPL marketing with flexible financing options now very much part of the credit landscape. Traditional credit card issuers need to pay close attention to these developments.
4. PNC launches the Spend Wise Visa
PNC has launched the Spend Wise Visa, “designed to reward clients’ responsible and healthy financial habits.”
Key feature: A Purchase APR Reduction Program through which cardholders can earn a 2-percentage point reduction to their purchase APR each year when they pay on time and have at least $3,000 a year in net purchases, dropping the APR to a minimum of Prime + 8.74% (currently 16.24%).
Other details:
- $25 in annual digital subscription credits
- Protections: Price Protection, Porch Piracy Protection, Cell Phone Protection
- 0% intro APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers
- No annual fee
- APR: 20.24% – 30.24%
💡 Smart design, smarter timing:
- Designing for debt management. As many consumers struggle to pay more than the minimum on their cards, this program rewards behavioral responsibility, not just spending. Research for an upcoming Mintel Report on credit cards found that almost a third of consumers would prioritize earning extra rewards for responsible financial behaviors when choosing a new credit card. The PNC Spend Wise Visa is a smart combination of product design and messaging that offers a pathway to lower rates through consistent habits. We will be following the marketing rollout closely at Comperemedia.
- Smart timing. With the Federal Reserve holding rates high and credit card debt at record levels, a card that offers APR relief feels especially timely. Chase Slate Edge launched a similar program in 2021, and several fintech and subprime players offer comparable incentives. But Spend Wise arrives at a moment when the need is especially pressing. The positioning is well-timed.
Source: Upcoming Mintel Report, Credit Cards – US – 2025 (stay tuned)
5. Mesa and PRMG launch a co-branded credit card
Mesa and mortgage lender Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG) have announced a new take on co-brand credit cards where PRMG clients have access to a customized version of the Mesa Homeowners Card.
Earlier this year, I spoke with Mesa co-founder Kelley Halpin on the Mintel Little Conversation podcast about the opportunity for Mesa’s unique credit card value proposition that rewards members for their mortgage payments.
The challenge was always going to be about bringing a great message to market and now we are seeing part of that strategy in play.
💡Rethinking credit card distribution:
- Timing aligned to consumer need. The card will be offered immediately AFTER a mortgage closes. The sequencing is critical not only because consumers shouldn’t apply for credit cards during the mortgage application process, but also because after closing, homeowners encounter significant new expenses related to moving, furnishing, and home improvement. Introducing a credit card at that moment increases its utility and relevance. It also improves the likelihood of early engagement and spend.
- A distribution model that cuts through the noise. While major issuers compete with mega marketing budgets, Mesa has taken a more targeted approach. By leveraging PRMG’s loan officers as introducers, the card is positioned within an existing advisory relationship. This strategy bypasses advertising clutter and connects with the consumer through a high-trust interaction.
- A new kind of brand signal. The card prominently features the PRMG logo. This is not a typical co-brand scenario built on broad consumer awareness. PRMG is not trying to win in the open market. Instead, its presence on the card signals continuity and trust to the homeowner. It validates the offer as an extension of a recent, highly personalized financial experience. This type of embedded brand presence reflects a broader shift toward contextual credibility over mass recognition.
