NEW: Citi to acquire Kard, boosting personalized card rewards

Citi’s U.S. Consumer Cards business has agreed to acquire Kard Financial, Inc., a commerce media and rewards platform that helps banks and fintechs deliver personalized offers to customers.

The deal aims to combine Citi’s scale and payments expertise with Kard’s technology, talent and merchant relationships. Citi said the acquisition will strengthen its commerce ecosystem, enabling more personalized credit card rewards and offers while creating new engagement opportunities for merchants and brands.

Kard operates a platform that connects financial institutions and merchants through verified transaction data and merchant-funded rewards. Powered by machine learning, its personalization and matching tools help issuers simplify rewards programs, give customers more relevant value, and allow brands to reach high-intent consumers with measurable results. The company works with a network of banks, fintechs and neobanks and processes billions of transactions.

Abhinav Anand, Citi’s Head of Value Cards, Lending and Commerce, said the move supports the bank’s focus on helping customers get more value from everyday spending.

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“Kard has built advanced capabilities that complement our vision for the future of commerce and loyalty. With this acquisition, we believe we can work with Kard to accelerate innovation and deliver more personalized experiences for customers while creating new opportunities for brands and merchants to reach, engage and reward consumers in more meaningful ways.”

Ben Mackinnon, Kard’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, described the deal as a major step forward. “Joining forces with Citi marks an exciting new chapter for Kard, our team and our customers. I started Kard with the goal of building more rewarding experiences for consumers. Now being able to do that for Citi’s 70 million cardmembers, on top of the millions we support today, accelerates that original vision towards building the future of commerce.”

Citi said the acquisition advances priorities outlined at its Investor Day and further strengthens its broader commerce strategy. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and are not material to Citi’s financial results. The deal remains subject to customary closing conditions. Until it closes, the two companies will continue to operate independently.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Kard. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP advised Citi, while Latham & Watkins LLP advised Kard.