Retail Banking Bundles Turn Subscriptions Into FinTech Battleground

The subscription economy has reshaped how consumers pay for entertainment, software and even groceries.

Now a similar model is making inroads into retail banking, as FinTech platforms package financial services into tiered memberships designed to consolidate accounts, payments and rewards inside a single ecosystem.

The readiness is there, at least for some digitally inclined consumers. Netflix, Walmart and Amazon subscriptions are ubiquitous, and the familiarity with those economic models, and with tiers, sets the stage for a wider embrace within financial services.

Many consumers manage spending through apps, store payment credentials in digital wallets and move funds across platforms with little friction. Research from PYMNTS Intelligence shows that 13.8% of consumers now name a digital bank as their primary financial institution, placing them nearly on par with local banks and only slightly behind regional banks and credit unions.

These customers also display payment habits that favor app-based experiences. Digital bank users are between two and 2½ times more likely than the average consumer to prefer digital wallets across purchase categories and three times more likely to use them for bill payments.

The demographic profile skews younger and more mobile-centric, traits that make subscription-based banking offerings easier to adopt.

For FinTech companies competing for those customers, bundling services together can become, and in some cases already is, a strategic lever. Rather than offering isolated products such as checking accounts or brokerage services, platforms increasingly present integrated financial stacks that include spending tools, lending, investing and rewards tied to subscriptions.

Bundles Become Strategy

The logic is straightforward. If customers maintain deposits, payments activity and credit products inside the same platform, switching away becomes less attractive.

That model has become visible across several of the largest FinTech platforms. Revolut, for example, has combined global banking expansion with subscription tiers that unlock additional financial tools and services. The company recently launched a licensed bank in Mexico as part of a broader effort to scale internationally while continuing to offer subscription-based product tiers to its users.

SoFi has taken its own approach, combining lending, deposits and investing products within its platform and encouraging members to adopt multiple services. During its most recent earnings report, the company emphasized how cross-selling drives growth across the ecosystem. Chief Executive Anthony Noto told analysts that SoFi added 1 million new members in the fourth quarter, bringing membership to 13.7 million, while total products exceeded 20 million.

Product adoption among existing customers has become a central measure of success. According to Noto, roughly 40% of new products opened on the platform came from existing members, illustrating how integrated financial offerings can deepen relationships once customers enter the ecosystem.

SoFi has also layered subscription-style benefits on top of its financial products. The company introduced an “all-in-one” account card for its SoFi Plus members that blends debit and credit features, provides rewards and integrates spending, savings and credit-building tools within a single account.

Robinhood Pushes Toward Super App

Robinhood has been pursuing a strategy that expands beyond its origins in retail trading. The firm recently introduced family-oriented financial services that include shared account visibility, custodial investment accounts for children and trust accounts aimed at estate planning.

The move reflects a broader effort to keep customers within the platform as their financial lives become more complex. If investors manage investments, credit cards and household finances inside the same ecosystem, the platform becomes more difficult to abandon.

The strategy also coincides with Robinhood’s introduction of a premium credit card with a $695 annual fee, an unusual offering for a company that built its early reputation on free trading and entry-level investors. As reported here late last year, a separate partnership with Gopuff would allow customers to request cash deliveries to their homes rather than visiting ATMs, a move designed to eliminate another reason to interact with traditional banking infrastructure.

Established banks also have their own bundled offerings. U.S. Bank’s Bank Smartly program pairs a credit card with a savings account so customers can increase rewards based on their combined balances across deposits, investments and other accounts.

Under the program, the Bank Smartly credit card can deliver up to 4% cash back on purchases when paired with eligible account balances.

For incumbents, these bundled products represent an attempt to maintain relevance as FinTech platforms compete for primary financial relationships.

The emerging competition around subscription tiers and bundled services suggests that retail banking may be entering a new phase, or least an adjunct to traditional models. Rather than competing solely on individual products such as checking accounts or loans,  the institutions that succeed may be those able to persuade customers to treat to set up access to those services and offerings, with a set monthly fee.