FinTech News

FinTech Credit Card Platform Deserve Secures $250 Million Credit Facility

With the market for specialized rewards credit cards growing, one popular platform has closed a new deal to help fuel it into the future. This week, Deserve revealed that it had secured a $250 million credit facility from Goldman Sachs, Cross River, and Waterfall Asset Management. Previously, the company raised a $50 million Series D equity round in 2021 as well as a $50 million Series C in 2019. Goldman Sachs was a participant in both rounds. The credit facility also comes as Deserve has seen impressive growth, with transaction volume up a reported 650% in 2021 while receivables increased 800% during that same timeframe.

Deserve is a FinTech that focuses on offering new types of rewards credit cards. Some of the company’s recent partnerships include fellow FInTechs such as BlockFi and M1 Finance as well as KrowdFit. That lattermost partnership resulted in the the KrowdFit Wellness Rewards Mastercard, which launched last month and earns 4% cashback on qualifying health and wellness purchases among other perks.

Commenting on Deserve’s mission and what this latest deal will mean for the company, the FinTech’s co-founder and CEO Kalpesh Kapadiam said in a statement, “At Deserve, we’re committed to helping organizations quickly and securely launch any type of credit card product in the cloud, customized to their specific audience – a valuable touchpoint with customers and a must-have in today’s landscape of competitive brand loyalties.” Kapadiam continued. “Because our platform is digital-first and mobile-centric, customers can, in turn, begin using their Deserve-powered credit card minutes after application, no plastic required. We’re excited about what this new financing will enable us to do as we amplify our reach and help more FinTechs, financial institutions, SMB lenders, and brands connect with and grow their customer base.” Meanwhile, Cross River Bank’s Head of Strategic Direct Lending Rahul Jha said of Deserve, “We’re proud to support Deserve’s growth with our credit facility, and we’re excited to play a role in bringing a more modern and complete credit card experience to consumers nationwide through Deserve’s credit card as a service platform.”

Following a trend that saw an influx in FinTech debit cards, it’s been clear for a while that FinTech credit card offerings would be the new, hot trend. That’s proven true in the VC department as well, with Concerto closing a $21 million round earlier this month, Imprint announcing a $38 million round in November, and Cardless raising $40 million last summer. By those numbers, Deserve seems to have a bit of a headstart — not the mention the backing of some heavy hitters. With this latest deal now in place, expect to see more products coming from Deserve as the company continues to expand.

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