Strivve Accelerates Growth and Business Momentum in 2020

Distributed by Business Wire
14th January 2021

The Company experiences rapid growth with financial institutions, fueling critical leverage with strategic distribution partners

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Fintech—Strivve, Inc. today announced record growth in 2020 revenues resulting from the expansion of its business model related to partnerships with card issuers as well as card processing platforms and service providers. The issuers ranged from the largest tier-one banks in the U.S. and Canada to regional banks and credit unions. Additionally, Strivve executed agreements with financial partners to provide the Card on File service to millions of cardholders. The Company continues to execute on its growth opportunities as it leverages its partners to add several new issuers in Q1 2021.

“Our team at Strivve, side-by-side with our partners, achieved numerous milestones this past year, advancing innovations in both our business and the financial services market at-large,” said Chris Hopen, Strivve co-founder and CEO. “Despite the uncertainties of COVID-19, we were able to execute on our strategic platform and business relationships which allowed us to experience rapid growth in the face of the pandemic. Strivve and our partners are poised for even faster-paced record growth in this 2021 calendar year.”

Strivve surpassed 1 million card accounts being serviced. On top of that, Strivve is forecasting an increase in the number of cardholder accounts reaching into the tens of millions of card accounts in 2021, exclusively through contracts signed to date.

Channel Partnerships

Strivve’s market share within North America has grown due to direct sales to strategic Tier 1 card issuers in the U.S. and Canada, combined with partnerships servicing all levels and segments of financial services channels. Recently, Strivve announced a partnership with Alkami Technology, extending CardUpdatr’s reach to Alkami’s digital banking customers. Combining Alkami and Strivve technology, Alkami’s customers and their cardholders can now easily place their credit or debit cards at merchant sites from within Alkami’s platform. Cardholders update accounts during typical card experiences including card activation, card reissuance, and card use promotion initiatives, such as having a card placed as Top of Wallet® for key merchant sites such as Amazon and Walmart. This winning combination makes card issuers more competitive in the surging online payment ecosystem.

In addition to Alkami, Strivve partnered with Digital Onboarding, Inc., a fully automated customer and member digital engagement platform that is purpose-built for financial institutions to engage cardholders through online digital journeys.

“The vast majority of Americans have a credit or debit card on file with at least one merchant,” said Ted Brown, Digital Onboarding, Inc. CEO. “Our new Card on File feature enables cardholders to easily update their default payment method with multiple merchants through their financial institution. It dramatically simplifies the process and engenders trust and engagement between the cardholder and their bank or credit union.”

Direct Banking Customers

Despite the unprecedented year, Strivve closed out the year on a strong note seeing its platform being used by top issuers in both the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, the company achieved another major banking customer milestone with the launch of its technology embedded in a top 3 Neo/Challenger Bank in the U.S. and significant pipeline growth fueling production Neo/Challenger Banking launches in 2021.

Industry-Leading Innovation

Strivve made significant innovative improvements, leading to cutting-edge, industry-first technology experiences for consumer cardholders making purchases and payments online. Strivve’s platform grows daily by supporting not only the world’s top online merchants across the U.S. and Canada, but also smaller regional online destinations, providing the ability to place credit and debit cards as the default payment method.

In the second half of 2020, Strivve launched its partner developer portal and tools for integration partners and customers alike. The developer API site is designed to provide developers and product teams with the information, tools, and components needed to integrate card placement services capabilities into their existing consumer digital applications and solutions.

Strivve introduced TopWallet Tools and TopWallet Rewards for issuers seeking to maximize Card on File transaction volumes on their card offerings. TopWallet Tools is a portfolio of promotional assets personalized and customizable for every cardholder experience. Accompanying our TopWallet Tools assets is our TopWallet Rewards program which enabled, for the first time, the ability to create meaningful rewards incentives for placing cards on file at online payment sites by cardholders. Cardholders can get cash back, double points, or any other reward incentives for placing their issuer cards in the Top of Wallet position for friction-free checkout experiences, driving more loyalty and online use daily.

Additions to Advisory Board

Strivve welcomes Donald Kingsborough and Lou Morsberger to their advisory board.

Kingsborough is a non-executive Director of Westfield Corporation and was appointed to the newly created role of President, Westfield Retail Solutions in July 2016. Don has been involved in the technology and retail sectors for the past 40 years and has helped establish a number of successful businesses. Don has been Managing Director of Capital One Financial Corporation and Managing Director at Capital One Growth Ventures. He served as Executive-Vice President and General Manager of Retail, Corporate Development/Business Development and was part of the executive committee at PayPal. As Founder and CEO of Blackhawk Network, Don was instrumental in pioneering the gift card industry and built the company to a $3.5 billion valuation. He founded and served as CEO of toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder, where he created a multimillion-dollar new industry category and propelled this start-up business to one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies at the time. He served as the President of Consumer Products at Atari, and led the consumer products division growing sales from zero to more than $2 billion in four years. Don also has exclusive distribution rights to Nintendo and helped build Nintendo in the U.S.

Morsberger is the founder of LJM Associates, a consulting firm specializing in payments strategies for platform businesses. He was previously SVP, Strategy & Planning for Merchant Link, LLC, a JV of JPMorgan Chase and First Data that was the leading provider of credit card services to the hospitality and restaurant industries before its acquisition by Shift4 Payments. Prior to that, Lou was head of Payment Network Partnerships for Capital One Financial, overseeing the company’s relationships with Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Lou advises Strivve on product development and pricing strategies.

About Strivve, Inc.

Headquartered in Seattle, Strivve creates cardholder experiences that drive cards to Top of Wallet®. The company’s payment card solutions protect and increase card transaction volume for issuers. Strivve’s proprietary and patented autonomous browsing technology, CardSavr, helps cardholders update any card on any site. You can learn more about Strivve at strivve.com or follow the company on the Strivve Blog, LinkedIn and Twitter.