Marqeta

Marqeta is a card issuing platform that provides the infrastructure for enterprises to offer physical and digital payment cards through its open application programming interface (API). It entered the card-issuing market in 2010 and was the first startup to do so in around two decades in the US. In addition to its API and infrastructure, Marqeta also enables its enterprise customers to issue cards, authorize transactions, and manage payment operations. Marqeta also introduced a “RiskControl” solution in April 2022, to help its card issuing customers with risk, compliance, and fraud management.  

The company launched a new credit card-issuing solution in October 2023 that allows users to offer consumer and commercial credit card programs. It allows FinTechs and non-financial services companies to issue credit cards with personalized rewards, Just-in-Time Funding functionality, instant card tokenization features, and support card management services.

Marqeta noted that its platform is a scalable platform with built-in redundancy, failover, and 99.99% uptime. Moreover, the company has a global presence, with more than 800 employees based across the globe as of June 2023. However, in May 2023, the company announced plans to lay off around 15% of its workforce, in order to drive profitability. The platform was available in over 40 countries as of July 2023, when it partnered with Brazilian BaaS infrastructure provider Fitbank to expand its offering to Brazil.

The company launched “Marqeta for Banking” in October 2022, which comprises several banking infrastructure solutions, including demand deposit accounts, direct deposits, ACH ( with Plaid integration ), cash loads and fee-free ATMs, Bill Pay, and instant funding. Marqeta also introduced an external-facing generative AI tool - “Marqeta Docs AI” (powered by OpenAI’s LLMs) in August 2023, to enable users to navigate through Martqeta’s Docs and reduce their overall time to value. 

Marqeta subsequently acquired Power Finance, Inc ., a credit card program management platform, for USD 275 million in January 2023 (completed in February 2023). Through the acquisition, Marqeta plans to improve its credit products offering for its customers, by combining its rewards innovations with that of Power’s and leveraging the latter’s data science toolbox and solutions to embed experiences within mobile and web apps. 

Key customers and partnerships

In December 2023, Marqeta partnered with SDK Finance , to grow its customer base by expanding the reach of its stack of payment APIs. In November 2023, Marqeta announced extending multiple partnerships , namely with Block , by extending the terms of the Square Debit Card program and Cash App program until June 30, 2028. The company also partnered with Credit2 , a platform offering loan originations, account management, and related services, to offer installment payments with European banks. In October 2023, Marqeta partnered with Scalapay , an Italian buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider, to expand  its product reach by allowing Scalapay to leverage its platform to issue virtual cards, which allow users to make flexible payments for online and in-store transactions. In March 2023, Marqeta partnered with WorkWhile , a labor technology company, to offer a new debit card solution for the latter’s hourly workers enabling them to access their wages as soon as their shift hours are approved. Additionally, WorkWhile workers will be able to tokenize the card into a mobile wallet, while the company takes care of know-your-customer (KYC) onboarding and disputes. The company stated that the card will be made available in Q3 2023. 

In March 2020, upon earning the certification to process payments in 10 Asia-Pacific nations, Marqeta expanded its operations to Australia in partnership with Klarna (a buy now and pay later platform) as the first step of its Asia-Pacific expansion. The two companies expanded on this partnership to provide their joint offering to 13 European countries in December 2021. Subsequently, in July 2022, Marqeta partnered with Canopy Servicing to offer buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and lending solutions to banks, credit unions, and enterprise fintechs.

Marqeta was chosen by Google in July 2021, to power the virtual “Google Play” balance card. Moreover, in June 2022, cross-border money movement giant, Western Union adopted Marqeta’s infrastructure to launch physical and virtual cards (for fund disbursements).

Funding and financials

Marqeta had issued around 320 million cards as of March 2021. The company reportedly processed transactions worth around USD 166 billion through its platform, in 2022. Accordingly, the company’s revenue reached USD 748.2 million in 2022 ; however, it was yet to turn profitable (adjusted EBITDA was a negative USD 41.8 million). 

Marqeta raised an undisclosed sum as an investment from MasterCard in October 2020. Along with the investment, MasterCard intended to extend its partnership with Marqeta, which commenced in 2014, to expedite Marqeta’s international expansion, launch additional card programs, and launch new products. 

In June 2021, the company was listed on the Nasdaq and raised USD 1.2 billion through its IPO, at a valuation of USD 15.2 billion.