Visa Backs Credit-Card-As-A-Service Startup Deserve

Credit-card-as-a-service company Deserve got a fresh infusion of capital from strategic investor Visa, joining other brand name backers like Mission Holdings, Mastercard, Ally Ventures, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Sallie Mae.

Visa made the investment to help advance Deserve’s expansion of its services to more banks, FinTechs, and providers of financial services, according to a press release on Wednesday (Oct. 27).

Launched in 2013 in Silicon Valley, Deserve turns credit cards into mobile-centric software and has a mobile-first approach that enables people to apply and activate their cards in their digital wallets in just a few minutes.

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“This investment validates the industry’s embrace of a digital-first, embedded approach driven by APIs and SDKs,” said Kalpesh Kapadia, Deserve co-founder and CEO. “We’re transforming credit cards into software that lives on mobile devices not in wallets.”

Deserve was chosen as a launch partner for Visa’s FinTech Fast Track program in 2020. As part of the program, Deserve teamed up with BlockFi and, in collaboration with Visa, introduced the first credit card with Crypto rewards.

“Visa’s Crypto team collaborated with BlockFi and Deserve to launch a crypto rewards credit card that would appeal to crypto enthusiasts and introduce crypto to the masses,” said AJ Shanley, vice president of crypto at Visa.

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Shanley added that the card was enthusiastically received, and backing Deserve will help both companies work together to advance the “adoption of crypto-powered card programs.”

Deserve was among the initial credit-card-as-a-service software platforms to tap Visa’s instant issuance, which offers tight security and ease of use, according to the press release. Deserve’s mobile-first platform fuels mobile cards for banks and FinTechs, offering a unique loyalty program that moves beyond cashback, points and miles.

The FinTech uses machine learning and alternative data to provide its partners with “state of the art underwriting solutions that expand financial access.” Deserve offers white-label and co-branded credit card programs to financial institutions, banks, universities, associations and brands.