U.S. Bank’s investment in payments technology contributed to growth and higher payments revenue in the first quarter. 

“We are maintaining our through-the-cycle underwriting discipline and seeing the benefits of our multiyear investments in [the] digital, technology and payments ecosystem in the form of strong fee growth across our business lines,” Chief Executive Andrew Cecere said today during the $651 billion bank’s Q1 earnings call.  

The bank invested in payments technology, including e-commerce and technology-led payments, which is expected to drive growth, according to the bank’s earnings presentation. 

In fact, the bank’s noninterest income increased 8% year over year to $2.7 billion, “driven by higher payments revenue,” Chief Financial Officer John Stern said during the call.  

BIGGER PICTURE: U.S. Bank joins JPMorgan Chase in investing in payments technology.  

In Q1, JPMorgan invested in its wholesale payments operations to support the growing need for global payments, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said during the bank’s April 12 earnings call. 

BY THE NUMBERS: U.S. Bank reported in Q1: 

• Efficiency ratio of 66.4%, up from 63.2% in Q1 2023; 
• Noninterest expense of $4.5 billion, which remained flat YoY; and 
• Technology spend increase of 1% YoY to $507 million. 

NOTEWORTHY: U.S. Bank incurred its final costs related to the acquisition of Union Bank during Q1, according to the bank’s earnings presentation. 

The bank’s merger and acquisition charges for the quarter clocked in at $155 million, according to the earnings presentation. The bank planned to spend $900 million total on the acquisition.  

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