Marqeta to focus on growing product suite in 2020

If 2019 was the year of the challenger bank, 2020 will be the year payments companies move closer to bank territory.

Marqeta, the card issuing and processing startup supporting the capabilities of large companies like Kabbage and Square, sees 2020 as a big year for payments companies branching out into banking. Marqeta sees major opportunities in helping these companies grow their customer bases through its API-based tools.

Marqeta, which this month announced it’s issued 140 million cards through its clients, sees owning the checking account as the natural next step in payments’ companies efforts to build relationships with clients. According to Peters, becoming a full-service bank, or bank-type entity, will help these companies create long-term customers. 

While Marqeta is quickly expanding its product offerings, it has no plans to become a bank for now. Instead, it’s focusing on card issuing and processing, which it says is an $80 trillion industry. 

Concerning Marqeta’s future plans, Peters said Marqeta is looking to add new products and capabilities to help clients make use of customer data. A company like DoorDash, for example, could notice what millennials are spending most of their money on and form relevant partnerships to make the most out of those trends.

“What I love about tools like this is it’s not survey data,” Peters said. “You’re not asking customers what they would do. You’re watching what they have done and using that actual spend data to make more targeted, more tailored solutions for them.”

See also: Marqeta adds CMO and new tools to help clients expand

This year, Marqeta has released a series of new products. For example, its Push to Card function helps lenders put loans on tailored cards. In addition, its Reserve Financing function helps companies with capital needed to launch prepaid or debit card programs. The company launched functions specific for digital-only banks in Europe, and has partnered with Visa to help companies expand into the Asia-Pacific market.

According to the company, Marqeta is worth nearly $2 billion. The company closed a $260 million Series E funding round in May, and added 175 new positions to hit 400 employees this year.

Bank Innovation Ignite, which will take place on March 2-3 in Seattle, is a must-attend industry event for professionals overseeing financial technologies, product experiences and services. This is an exclusive, invitation-only event for executives eager to learn about the latest innovations. Request your invitation.