Top Performing Issuers Turn Data Into Their Biggest Competitive Advantage

What separates top card issuers from everyone else often comes down to one capability: the ability to use analytics to see the full value of a customer relationship.

Research from PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa DPS shows that the issuers with the highest customer lifetime values are the ones whose issuing platforms can turn raw transaction data into clear, actionable insight about profitability over time.

How Visa DPS and Visa Intelligence Identified Top Performers

The study draws on a survey of 451 heads of payments at U.S. card issuers, fielded between December 2024 and January 2025, to identify the factors that correlate with high customer lifetime value. The joint PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa DPS research team evaluated how issuers define best-in-class performance and how they use analytics within their issuing platforms.

The analysis used customer lifetime value (CLTV) as the primary indicator of issuer performance. Issuers were grouped into high, medium and low CLTV categories based on the lifetime revenue they earn per cardholder. High CLTV issuers exceed $2,500 per customer, medium CLTV issuers fall between $1,000 and $2,500 and low CLTV issuers generate less than $1,000. That measure allowed researchers to directly correlate platform capabilities with long-term profitability.

Across all issuer types, one theme stood out. Sixty-seven percent of issuers said that enhanced performance tracking and profitability metrics define a best-in-class issuing platform. Consumer segmentation, forecasting and real-time risk monitoring were valued, but issuers made it clear that those tools matter most when they illuminate financial outcomes. The study highlights that analytics only create competitive advantage when they help issuers understand how their portfolios are performing and what to expect next.

The Value of Analytics in Issuing Platforms

The research shows that high CLTV issuers are more advanced in their use of predictive analytics. They are twice as likely as other groups to rely on forecasting tools that connect customer behavior to future profitability.

The report also underscores the importance of consumer analytics. Fifty-four percent of high CLTV issuers say consumer analytics are important to their choice of issuer processor, compared to 48% of medium CLTV issuers and 47% of low CLTV issuers. Higher performers tend to treat consumer analytics not as a technical add-on but as a core strategic input.

Enhanced performance and profitability tracking
Issuers rank this as the most important capability because it provides a clear view of financial outcomes across cardholder segments. Top issuers use these tools to optimize portfolio strategy, track revenue drivers and quickly identify areas where engagement or profitability is shifting.

Predictive analytics and forecasting
High CLTV issuers lean heavily on forecasting to anticipate future performance. These features support better decisions about pricing, credit strategies, rewards design and marketing investments because they quantify the long-term effects of customer behavior.

Consumer and transaction analytics
Understanding real-time behavior remains essential. Segmentation and behavioral analytics enable issuers to tailor offers, reduce churn and strengthen engagement, which are all core drivers of CLTV. High CLTV issuers signal that these insights are increasingly important in selecting an issuer processor.

Who the Top Performers Are

The research reveals important differences across issuer categories. Seventy-five percent of high CLTV large national banks already have advanced analytics built into their issuing platforms. All high CLTV digital-only banks report the same. Yet only 33% of credit unions and 41% of local and regional banks say they have advanced analytics capabilities today. FinTech issuers fall in the middle, with 43% having advanced analytics.

These gaps suggest that while large institutions and digital-first issuers have pulled ahead, many smaller banks and credit unions remain early in the analytics adoption cycle. At the same time, FinTech issuers show strong momentum. Twenty-nine percent of high CLTV FinTechs say data analytics is the most important upgrade they intend to make in the next year.

The institutions that thrive will be those that can connect data, strategy and customer behavior in ways that lift lifetime value and long-term profitability.

Read the report: Best-In-Class Modern Card Issuer: Why Data Analytics Features Distinguish Best-In-Class Platforms