Imprint

What Imprint does

Imprint Payments, Inc. is a US-incorporated, Irish-founded fintech founded in 2020 that builds, configures, and operates co-branded financial products — primarily credit cards, with planned expansion into deposit accounts and installment loans — for large consumer brands. The company sells bespoke co-branded card programs to enterprise customers such as Shell, Booking.com, Rakuten, H-E-B, Turkish Airlines, Brooks Brothers, Fetch, Westgate Resorts, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Crate & Barrel, CB2, Eddie Bauer, and Fanatics; it then operates the full program lifecycle (underwriting, processing, rewards, servicing, marketing) on behalf of the brand partner under the partner bank's issuer license (First Electronic Bank or First Bank & Trust) across Visa, Mastercard, and American Express networks. Imprint reports 100+ brand clients over the platform's lifetime and over $2 billion in annual loans processed across its programs.

Imprint's core technology is Imprint Core, a proprietary full-stack platform built from scratch around an immutable ledger and microservices architecture, organized into four functional layers: Predict (customizable credit underwriting with soft-pull pre-approval and 1-second application decisions), Insights (real-time cardholder data, dashboards, and behavioral segmentation), Marketing (ML-driven personalized offers and automated audience segmentation), and Rewards (SKU-level, real-time-adjustable rewards with multi-currency and loyalty-platform integration). Cardholder application and servicing experiences are embeddable within partner brands' apps and websites via SDK or API, with integration into Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, and the company holds SOC 2 Type 2 and PCI DSS certifications and is a member of the PCI Standards Council.

Imprint's revenue model is transaction- and balance-sheet-based: it earns interchange on the co-branded credit cards operating on its platform and lending economics on the credit balances it funds and services, supported by approximately $1 billion in total lending capacity assembled from credit facilities with Mizuho, Truist, HSBC, Citibank, SVB, and Atalaya, plus a $300 million securitization rated AAA by Fitch. Equity backers include Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Thrive Capital, and Ribbit Capital; cumulative equity raised exceeds $200 million and the company reached a $1.2 billion valuation at its December 2025 Series D, achieving unicorn status.

Name

Imprint

Legal name

Imprint Payments, Inc.

Website

https://imprint.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Imprint Payments, Inc. is a US fintech that designs, configures, and operates co-branded credit cards (and expanding deposit accounts and installment loans) for enterprise consumer brands, powered by its proprietary Imprint Core full-stack platform and issued via partner banks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Co-branded Financial Services Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Processor-Agnostic / White-Label Acquiring Platforms (Acquiring-as-a-Service) (FSAMABAI)

Keywords

• Co-branded credit cards
• Embedded financial products
• Card issuer platform
• Credit underwriting platform
• Loyalty program infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Co-branded credit card program revenue: Imprint earns revenue from co-branded credit card programs operated on its Imprint Core platform. Revenue is generated through transaction-based economics (interchange) and lending economics on the credit balances it underwrites and funds, with credit facilities (e.g., $500M+ from Mizuho/Truist/HSBC, Citibank, SVB/Atalaya) supporting its lending capacity. Imprint is not a bank; cards are issued by partner banks (First Electronic Bank, First Bank & Trust) and operate on Visa, Mastercard, and American Express networks.
2. Co-branded deposit accounts and installment loans: Beyond credit cards, Imprint's product suite includes co-branded deposit accounts with debit cards and installment-plan financing. These products are not yet at scale but the company has stated plans to expand into debit, secured cards, and broader financial products.
3. Securitization and balance sheet financing economics: Imprint issued its first $300 million securitization (rated AAA by Fitch) and operates multiple credit facilities, indicating capital markets and balance sheet financing activities support its lending revenue model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Imprint designs, builds, and operates bespoke co-branded financial products — primarily credit cards, plus deposit accounts and installment loans — for enterprise consumer brands. The company runs the full program lifecycle (underwriting, processing, ledgering, rewards, marketing, servicing) on its proprietary Imprint Core technology platform, with native application and servicing experiences embeddable within partner brand apps and websites via SDK or API.

Product overview

Imprint offers a platform-plus-modules architecture for modern co-branded financial products, centered on its proprietary Imprint Core technology platform that the company "built from scratch." Imprint Core powers four product layers—Predict (underwriting and credit decisions), Insights (analytics and reporting), Marketing (ML-driven personalization), and Rewards (SKU-level rewards and loyalty integration)—and supports three core financial product lines: Co-branded Credit Cards, Deposit Accounts, and Installment Plans. On top of this platform, Imprint delivers a portfolio of named co-branded card programs for partner brands, including the Shell Performance Elite World Mastercard, Booking.com Genius Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card, Rakuten American Express Card, Brooks Brothers World Mastercard, H-E-B Visa Signature Credit Card, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature Card, Fetch American Express Card, Central Market Visa Signature Credit Card, World of Westgate Mastercard, Holiday Inn Club Vacations World Mastercard, Horizon Hobby Visa Credit Card, Crate & Barrel Visa Signature Card, and CB2 Visa Signature Card. The company is also expanding into the Imprint Rewards Network and announced the upcoming Fanatics American Express Card. Programs are issued by First Electronic Bank (and First Bank & Trust for Shell) under Visa, Mastercard, or American Express licenses. Native application and servicing experiences are embeddable within partner brand websites and apps via SDK or API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Imprint Core: Proprietary full-scale technology platform built from scratch for modern co-branded financial programs, powering operations, products, technologies, and talent across Imprint's offerings.
• Imprint Rewards Network

Products and services

• Imprint Core Proprietary full-stack technology platform purpose-built for modern co-branded financial programs, comprising an immutable ledger, microservices architecture, and four functional layers: Predict (customizable ML-driven underwriting), Insights (real-time cardholder data, customized dashboards, behavioral segmentation), Marketing (ML-driven personalized offers and automated audience segmentation), and Rewards (SKU-level rewards customization, multiple loyalty currencies, rewards affiliate support). Powers every sign-up, swipe, and rewards redemption.
• Co-branded Credit Cards Configurable co-branded credit card programs that reward cardholders and drive engagement back to the partner brand. Features include instant application decisions with no credit-score impact on decline, customizable underwriting, tailored rewards, and embeddable application and servicing via SDK or API. Programs operate under Visa, Mastercard, or American Express licenses via partner issuing banks.
• Co-branded Deposit Accounts Co-branded deposit accounts with debit cards that reward cardholders on every swipe, supporting partner brands' debit and secured card products within the Imprint Core platform.
• Installment Plans Embedded financing products that let customers pay for purchases over time, enabling brands to approve more of their customers at the point of sale within their own digital properties.
• Imprint Rewards Network Loyalty/rewards network connecting multiple loyalty currencies and rewards affiliates to broaden the value of partner brands' rewards programs. Identified by Imprint as a planned area of expansion following the Series D funding round.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~200% cardholder growth year-over-year (reported at Series D)
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability10 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and major.

• Fanatics (in partnership with American Express)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026Imprint is managing the upcoming Fanatics American Express co-branded credit card, issued by First Electronic Bank, which will earn FanCash rewards redeemable for merchandise, tickets, trading cards, and collectibles. American Express is targeting its ~80% US cardholder base that identifies as sports fans.
• ShellflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Shell partnered with Imprint to launch the Shell Performance Elite World Mastercard, a no-annual-fee co-branded credit card offering 4% cashback on fuel and in-store purchases, 3% on dining and groceries, and 2% elsewhere. Imprint provides the digital infrastructure and cardholder experience, the card is issued by First Bank & Trust under a Mastercard license, and the program consolidated five legacy Shell credit programs into one modern card experience.
• RakutenflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRakuten partnered with Imprint to launch the Rakuten American Express Card, designed to drive shopper engagement from day one with elevated Cash Back across Rakuten purchases, dining, and everyday spending.
• Booking.comflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBooking.com collaborated with Imprint to launch the Booking.com Genius Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card, which offers boosted earnings on stays, in-trip purchases, and everyday spending. Cardholders receive instant Genius Level 3 status upon signup.
• Brooks BrothersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint converted Brooks Brothers' legacy card portfolio to the new Brooks Brothers World Mastercard in just 6 months; 83% of active legacy cardholders engaged within the first month and 30% of inactive cardholders were re-activated.
• H-E-BflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint built a hyper-customized loyalty program for H-E-B, including SKU-level rewards (e.g., 5% cash back on H-E-B branded items) supported by its proprietary rewards ledger, with real-time promotional adjustment.
• Turkish AirlinesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurkish Airlines launched the Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature Card with Imprint, embedding application and card-to-account linking within Turkish Airlines' own website and app to drive US loyalty program engagement.
• FetchmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint partnered with Fetch to launch the Fetch American Express Card, deepening loyalty by giving Fetch's most engaged users more ways to earn points on everyday spending.
• Central MarketmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint built a bespoke card program for Central Market (H-E-B's gourmet grocery brand) — Central Market Visa Signature Credit Card — that drives higher rewards on Central Market purchases and cross-H-E-B ecosystem spend.
• Westgate ResortsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint built the World of Westgate Mastercard program enabling instant digital rewards redemption across maintenance fees, mortgages, resort dining, and excursions. Cardholders spend 41% more on resort spend than non-cardholders.
• Holiday Inn Club VacationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint launched the Holiday Inn Club Vacations World Mastercard in just 9 weeks, providing rewards and a sleek card management experience tailored to the brand.
• Horizon HobbymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint built the Horizon Hobby Visa Credit Card to re-energize the brand's loyalty program and give hobbyist customers more ways to earn points.
• Crate & BarrelmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint partnered with Crate & Barrel to launch a fully integrated credit card experience embedded across app, ecommerce, and in-store channels with seamless rewards and flexible financing.
• CB2majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint partnered with CB2 to launch a fully integrated credit card program embedded across mobile, ecommerce, and in-store touchpoints with rewards and flexible financing.
• Eddie BauermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImprint and Eddie Bauer announced the new Eddie Bauer World Mastercard to accelerate cardholder rewards and increase customer engagement.
• American Express (network)majorTechnology or IntegrationAmerican Express provides the payment network for the Fanatics AmEx card (managed by Imprint) and supports the Rakuten American Express Card, Fetch American Express Card, and Simon American Express Card issued by First Electronic Bank.
• First Electronic Bank (issuer)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Electronic Bank, based in Salt Lake City, issues a portfolio of co-branded credit cards through Imprint including Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, World of Westgate, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Booking.com Genius Rewards, Crate & Barrel, Horizon Hobby, H-E-B, Central Market, Rakuten AmEx, Fetch AmEx, and the upcoming Fanatics AmEx — across Visa, Mastercard, and American Express licenses.
• First Bank & Trust (issuer)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Bank & Trust issues the Shell Performance Elite World Mastercard under a license from Mastercard, with Imprint providing the digital infrastructure and cardholder experience.
• Visa (network)majorTechnology or IntegrationVisa provides the payment network for many Imprint-powered co-branded programs including Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Visa Signature, H-E-B Visa Signature, Booking.com Genius Rewards Visa Signature, Horizon Hobby Visa, Central Market Visa Signature, Crate & Barrel Visa Signature, and CB2 Visa Signature, all issued by First Electronic Bank under a Visa USA Inc. license.
• Mastercard (network)majorTechnology or IntegrationMastercard provides the payment network for Imprint-powered programs including Holiday Inn Club Vacations World Mastercard, World of Westgate World Mastercard, Brooks Brothers World Mastercard, and the Shell Performance Elite World Mastercard (via First Bank & Trust).
• Nova CreditmajorTechnology or IntegrationImprint partners with Nova Credit to add cash flow analytics to Imprint's suite of underwriting capabilities, supporting more informed credit decisions for co-branded programs.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stripe Issuing: Stripe Issuing lets businesses create and manage card programs via API. It overlaps with Imprint in the embedded card-program space and is increasingly used by brands launching co-branded cards, making it a horizontal competitor for some Imprint deals.
• Marqeta: Marqeta is a public, modern card-issuing processor that powers consumer and commercial card programs globally. While broader and more infrastructure-focused than Imprint, it competes for the same brand-sponsored card program RFPs and operates as a horizontal alternative.
• Galileo Financial Technologies: Galileo (a SoFi company) provides card-issuing, transaction processing, and program management APIs to fintechs and brands. It is a broader incumbent in the same product category as Imprint Core, though typically positioned as horizontal infrastructure rather than full-stack co-brand management.

Emerging players

• Treasury Prime: Treasury Prime is a banking-as-a-service platform that connects fintechs and brands to partner banks for deposit, card, and ledger products. It overlaps with Imprint's issuer-bridging and embedded financial product capabilities, particularly on the deposit and debit side.
• Lithic: Lithic is a developer-focused card-issuing API used by fintechs and brands to launch card programs. It is comparable to the issuing/processing layer of Imprint Core but does not own underwriting, servicing, or rewards in the same integrated way.
• Unit: Unit is an embedded banking and card-issuing platform that lets brands and tech companies launch financial products including co-branded cards. It is a younger, emerging competitor in the same end market as Imprint's brand-partner offering.
• Synctera: Synctera is an embedded finance platform pairing fintechs and brands with sponsor banks for card, account, and lending products. It is a younger, emerging alternative in the brand-anchored co-branded financial product space that Imprint competes in.
• Highnote: Highnote is an embedded finance platform providing card issuing, ledgering, and account infrastructure for brands and fintechs. It competes with Imprint for modern, API-driven co-branded card program mandates.

Direct peers

• Cardless: Cardless builds and operates co-branded credit card programs for consumer brands (e.g., Qatar Airways, Amazon, BILT), serving as a direct competitor to Imprint's brand-partner GTM and full-stack program management offering.
• Deserve: Deserve is a cloud-based credit card platform that builds co-branded and private-label card programs for brands and fintechs, including underwriting, issuing, and servicing. It is the closest direct competitor to Imprint in the brand-anchored co-branded card program space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imprint-payments
• Xx.com/ImprintPayments

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors24 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Imprint