Card Launch 101 (Live): Your ultimate guide to building and launching a successful card

We recently held a LinkedIn Live event, entitled “Card Launch 101,” where we dove deep into the strategies, insights, and best practices for launching and growing successful card products in the fintech and banking industries.

Featuring industry experts:

• Scott Johnson, Vice President of Revenue at Galileo Financial Technologies
• Marc Butterfield, SVP of Innovation and Disruption at FNBO 
• Jack Rubin, SVP of Consumer Financial Solutions at DailyPay

Listen/watch is as these professionals share their wealth of knowledge and experience in scaling partnerships, driving innovation, and navigating the complexities of launching card products in today’s dynamic landscape.

Here’s what we discussed:

• Understanding Card Launches: Gain insights into the key components of a successful card launch strategy, including strategic planning, market research, and product development.
• Identifying Your Audience: Learn how to identify and understand your target audience through effective market research and data analysis.
• Creating Your Card: Explore the process of designing and developing card products, from features and branding to user experience and regulatory compliance.
• Partnerships and Business Development: Discover the role of partnerships in scaling card programs and expanding market reach, with real-world examples of successful partnership strategies.
• Marketing and Promotion: Get insider tips on marketing and promoting your card product effectively, including targeted messaging, branding, and customer acquisition tactics.
• Case Studies and Success Stories: Hear real-world examples of successful card launches and gain valuable insights and lessons learned from industry leaders.

To download Tearsheet’s Card Guide 101, from ideating, partnering, building, launching and optimizing a card program, go to https://tearsheet.co/cardguide

Watch Card Guide 101

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The following excerpts were edited for clarity and brevity.

Introduction

Zack: Welcome everyone. This is Tear Sheet Live’s “Card Launch 101” – your ultimate guide to building and launching a successful card product. I’m joined by three industry experts:

• Scott Johnson, VP of Revenue at Galileo
• Marc Butterfield, SVP of Innovation & Disruption at FNBO
• Jack Rubin, SVP of Consumer Financial Solutions at DailyPay

We’ll discuss strategies, insights, and best practices for launching and growing successful card products.

Defining Innovation in Banking

Zack: Marc, how do you define innovation in the context of banking? What role does it play in driving business growth and competitive advantage?

Marc: At FNBO, innovation involves leveraging trends, emerging technologies, and consumer preferences. We explore near-term opportunities and provide tools/processes to assess customer desirability. Our team also focuses on longer-term “disruption” – exploring general trends that may not have a consumer market yet.

The Role of Defining Your Target Audience

Zack: Jack, can you provide insights into your ideation process behind a successful card program? How do you identify the need and translate it into an offering?

Jack: It starts with the narrow problem we’re trying to solve for our users. For DailyPay, it’s providing access to earned wages to help make ends meet. We focus obsessively on solving their problems over selling solutions. The card offering extends that by providing insight into earnings and spending to predict cash flow needs.

Evolving Payment Landscape and Trends

Zack: Scott, can you give a perspective on how the payment product landscape has evolved and what trends you’re seeing?

Scott: Mobile devices have enabled the electronification of payments via API-driven platforms like ours. A recent trend is the broad adoption of contactless payments driven by COVID. Looking ahead, AI/ML and “super app” concepts integrating services like banking/shopping could shape the landscape.

Key Factors for Successful Programs

Zack: Scott, what are some key factors that contribute to a successful card program?

Scott: Customer acquisition strategy is key – building a frictionless process with few clicks to get a product. Managing customer acquisition costs is also important, especially for new offerings. Other factors include fast activation times, incenting top-of-wallet usage for key spend categories, and using data/analytics to optimize the program.

Innovative Card Products and Overcoming Challenges

Zack: Mark, can you share examples of innovative card products FNBO has launched and key challenges/successes?

Marc: Successful examples include digitally provisioning cards for Greenlight, allowing physical card issuance for MGM, and an upcoming launch with Universal Studios enabling instant digital and physical cards. The key is enabling a smooth, embedded transaction experience tied to the use case.

Key Considerations in Creating a Card Program

Zack: Jack, what are some key considerations in creating and managing a card program? How do you navigate complexities effectively?

Jack: 1) Work with experienced partners to accelerate the learning curve on complexities like money movement and compliance. 2) Maintain laser focus on solving specific problems/use cases for your audience to narrow features. 3) Adopt a continuous innovation mindset to keep enhancing value.

Scaling Card Programs

Zack: Scott, how do you approach scaling card programs? What strategies or tactics are particularly effective?

Scott: Ensure there is a clear product need, e.g. earned wage access. Consider regulatory factors. Have a scalable technical platform and automation to reduce manual processes. Use analytics to optimize for different user segments. Focus both on new user acquisition and retention of existing users.

Role of Marketing in Promoting Card Programs

Zack: Jack, can you share insights on successfully marketing a card program to employers/employees? What messaging, tactics, channels are effective?

Jack: 1) Intimately understand your audience and their needs 2) Clearly define the value proposition worthy of time/money 3) Reach people when/where they are most receptive via low-friction, focused channels 4) Optimize lifetime value (LTV) to customer acquisition cost (CAC) ratio 5) Use full lifecycle marketing for adoption, usage, retention

Zack: It seems iterating the value proposition is key based on data.

Jack/Marc: Absolutely. Iteration is a feature, not a bug. You must adapt based on what aligns with goals and what the data shows.

Role of Physical Cards and Innovations

Zack: Scott, what role do you see for physical cards going forward? Any innovations on the horizon?

Scott: We believe in a hybrid physical/digital approach to get instant digital access but also have the physical credential. The physical card still provides value, whether for branding, exclusivity, or the tangible experience. But being digital/contactless-first is important.

Marc: The form factor depends on aligning with the use case – e.g. reinforcing a brand experience through imagery. Top programs issue both digital and physical seamlessly.

Fostering a Culture of Innovation

Zack: Marc, what advice do you have for traditional banks looking to foster a culture of innovation and adapt to customer needs?

Marc: 1) Define what innovation means and get full executive buy-in on the “why” 2) Be open with regulators about pilots; make customers whole if issues arise 3) Move fast and iterate, but repair anything that breaks customer trust

Priorities and Innovations on the Horizon

Zack: Jack, looking ahead, what are some top priorities and new innovations on DailyPay’s horizon that you’re excited about?

Jack: We’re excited to innovate around durable financial problems like:

• Helping people build consistent savings habits
• Facilitating cross-border money transfers more efficiently
• Continuing to enhance ways to make ends meet and smooth cash flow

Role of AI/ML in Driving Innovation

Zack: Scott, how do you see AI/ML technologies driving innovation in payments? What potential do they hold?

Scott: We see key use cases in cost savings like our machine learning-powered fraud prevention platform reducing losses substantially. There is also potential in using broader data sets with AI/ML for better credit scoring and underwriting.