CardsFTW #147: Credit Card Program Manager Report

2025 Totavi Credit Card Program Manager Report

Writing CardsFTW doesn’t pay the bills. (There are a lot of credit card bills.) My day job, as many of you know, is leading the exceptional team at Totavi. We specialize in helping companies of all sizes implement innovative new payment card products. We also have a growing research business in developing public and proprietary reports on various fintech topics.

Our first report was the Credit-Cards-as-a-Service Report, released at the end of 2023. I am excited to share our first report of 2025, an updated and expanded report on Credit Card Program Management Platforms (FKA credit-cards-as-a-service).

Subscribers to Totavi’s research subscription will already have a copy in their inboxes. You can purchase yours today (or subscribe) at www.totavi.com/research

Fintech Meetup 2025

Me: I’m going to Fintech Meetup
Them: Where’s your meetup?
Me: Vegas
Them: You’re going all the way to Vegas for a meetup?

Fintech Meetup (FTMU) is, well, not exactly a meetup. My first trip to this conference was great. With thousands of folks attending, I had an opportunity to meet with clients and partners, be introduced to new folks via the conference's matching platform, and had a generally good time.

The conference was more intimate than the Money20/20 crowds (if ~4,000 people is intimate), and I appreciated easier access to various restaurants. The crowd was also different. I felt that folks at FTMU were more focused on getting something done, especially on a business-to-business basis than at other conferences. 

There was a lot of talk about the changes in regulations and stablecoins (of course). I’ve also noticed a shift away from big booths (no one’s booth was truly humungous here) to spending more time together.

Hotel Reward Debit Cards Land in the New World

Hilton launched a loyalty program debit card in the UK last October (see CardsFTW #125). Wyndham, another global hotel chain, launched a debit card in the U.S. this week, powered by Sunrise Bank and Galileo.

I don’t understand this product. It’s being pitched as a credit card substitute for Gen Z who doesn’t want cards. We’ve been down this road before: young folks don’t use credit like their parents. We heard this with millennials (of which I am a member), and it turned out not to be true. It’s just that younger consumers don’t have as many credit cards as they used to, especially when it’s illegal to market them on college campuses for the most part.

In addition to my skepticism about the consumer demand for debit cards, the business-side economics of U.S. debit cards are very challenging. Not only is debit interchange always substantially (e.g., 25% or more) lower than credit interchange, but the situation is deteriorating due to secondary network routing. Beyond interchange revenue, charging for a debit card is very hard today, when many large fintech providers (e.g., Chime) offer a no monthly fee product.

Not only is this card expensive ($6 per month), but you also earn just 0.5 Wyndham points (worth 0.6 cents per NerdWallet) on most purchases. You do get an upgrade to Wyndham Gold and can earn 7,500 points each year just for being a cardmember.

I’ll grant that something is better than nothing. If you really despise credit or don’t qualify for a traditional rewards credit card, this option will enable you to earn something. I don’t know if it’s better than using a fee-free card like Chime, however.

I am also concerned about how challenging it is to use debit cards at hotels. When you check into a hotel they will put a hold on your card for the amount of money they know you’ll spend (e.g., your nightly rate, say $200, times the number of nights) plus some amount you might spend by charging things to your room (or causing damage), say another $300. Very quickly you might have a $700 charge for two nights at $400 each. If you have a credit card with a $5,000 line, no problem. You’re not responsible for paying this authorization hold; just the final amount. Yes, the hold reduces your ability to spend, but you still have the money (somewhere else, like your checking account).

With a debit card, the hotel will effectively take your money during that time because the hold reduces your debit card's available balance. In addition, holds don’t always clear instantly, like we wish they would. It certainly won’t close when you check-out, but likely will take anywhere from one to seven days depending on the day of the week, the individual hotel’s policies (they are franchised), and other factors.

This is a bad experience for consumers and probably for hotels, as well, which have to deal with the customer service challenges. This is why you often need a credit card for rental cars, hotels, and other similar charges.

I think this will be a huge hurdle for Wyndham debit cardholders.

New U.S. Bank Shield Card

The U.S. Bank launched its new Shield Card, a low introductory APR card with 0% on purchases and balances transfers for 24 months. At a time of 4.3% federal funds rate this is a good deal. The card has no annual fee and includes a weird $20 bonus if you make 11 months of consecutive purchases. You can also earn 4% cashback on prepaid travel booked with U.S. Bank.

We continue to see a lot of innovation from U.S. Bank on cards, although it doesn’t all work out well…

End of U.S. Bank Smartly?

Announced last September (See CardsFTW #122), the U.S. Bank Smartly Card earns a whopping 4% cashback when cardholders reach certain asset thresholds with U.S. Bank. It seemed unsustainable (and perhaps it is).

Rumors are running rampant on reddit that the bank is planning to discontinue or rework the program. Time will tell.

CardsFTW

CardsFTW, released weekly on Wednesdays, offers insights and analysis on new credit and debit card industry products for consumers and providers. CardsFTW is authored and published by Matthew Goldman and the team at Totavi, a boutique consulting firm specializing in fintech product management & marketing. We bring real operational experience that varies from the earliest days of a startup to high-growth phases and public company leadership. Visit www.totavi.com to learn more.

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