The Issuers Pulling Ahead Are Building Into Customers’ Money Flows

The competition among card issuers is no longer centered only on rewards rates or promotional offers. Increasingly, it is about whether an issuer can become embedded deeply enough in a customer’s daily financial activity that the relationship becomes difficult to displace.

That is one of the clearest conclusions from “The Issuer’s Customer Lifetime Value Report,” from PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa, which found that the share of issuers generating high customer lifetime value declined to 17% in 2025 from 21% a year earlier, despite heavier spending across digital capabilities, artificial intelligence and embedded finance programs.

The report defines customer lifetime value as the total revenue a cardholder generates over the life of the relationship after accounting for acquisition, rewards and servicing costs. The findings were based on a survey of 500 executives in payment leadership roles at U.S. bank and nonbank card issuers.

The issuers that maintained stronger customer value metrics were generally the ones that approached the relationship with a longer horizon and a more deliberate strategy.

That proactive posture appeared most clearly in how those issuers handled onboarding, embedded features and customer engagement.

Moving Beyond Convenience

The research also pointed to embedded financial features as a differentiator between stronger and weaker performers.

Among high-value issuers, 22% offered embedded payroll or gig-worker card issuance programs, compared with 12% to 13% among lower-value peers. Payroll-linked cards create a more durable relationship because they connect the card directly to income flows and routine spending behavior.

In practical terms, that means the card is not simply a payment credential. It becomes part of how customers receive income, pay bills and manage everyday finances.

The report described this as competition for “default status,” meaning the card already tied to subscriptions, already stored in digital wallets and already linked to a paycheck. Once those connections are established, customers are less likely to shift spending elsewhere.

Eighty-two percent of high-value issuers pursued both acquisition and cross-selling strategies simultaneously, compared with lower-value issuers that were twice as likely to focus primarily on acquisition alone.

The distinction matters because acquisition without deeper engagement can produce portfolios that generate initial activity but weaker long-term retention.

Relationship Tools

The report also found that issuers view AI and embedded analytics as relationship management tools.

Sixty-two percent of issuers said they plan to adopt or expand AI-powered real-time transaction categorization and enrichment over the next 12 months, making it the most widely cited AI capability in the study. Other frequently cited priorities included customer service automation, marketing segmentation and personalized rewards recommendations.

The broader implication in the report is that embedded features and AI tools matter most when they reinforce trust and continuity in the customer relationship. Faster onboarding, payroll-linked cards, transaction insights and real-time alerts all serve different functions operationally. Yet they share a common purpose: keeping the issuer connected to the customer’s daily financial life over a longer period of time.

Card issuers are using embedded onboarding, payroll-linked cards and AI-driven personalization to extend customer relationships beyond the initial transaction. PYMNTS Intelligence data indicates that issuers generating stronger customer lifetime value are focusing less on pure acquisition. The newer, tech-driven capabilities can help issuers maintain visibility into customer behavior while reducing reliance on one-time promotional campaigns.

At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.