Mercantile

What Mercantile does

Mercantile is a New York-based financial technology company that builds and operates industry-specific business credit card programs for small businesses, with a focus on credentialed professionals and the trade associations that represent them. The company operates a white-label card platform that enables organizations — including professional associations, brands, and fintechs — to launch custom business credit card programs in approximately 90 days, with the bank and network infrastructure (Mastercard via Hatch Bank; American Express via Celtic Bank) handled by Mercantile. Notable product capabilities include a frictionless application flow, flexible underwriting for varied credit profiles, real-time fraud prevention, a flexible API for partner integration, a QuickBooks integration, and a proprietary self-selected payment threshold feature called Credit LimitShield. The company also bundles turnkey marketing services covering campaign strategy, creative production, media buying, and lifecycle engagement.

Mercantile's core customers are professional associations, brands, and fintechs that distribute co-branded cards to their members and end users, with the 25+ live programs including associations such as the American Optometric Association, American Bar Association, American Society of Interior Designers, Academy of General Dentistry, American Association of Orthodontists, American College of Physicians, and the National Funeral Directors Association. Grasshopper is a notable fintech distribution partner. The company monetizes primarily through interchange and transaction fees on card spend, supplemented by program management services and marketing services revenue. Mercantile was founded in 2021, raised a $15M Series A led by Index Ventures in October 2022 (on a $47M pre-money valuation, totaling $22M in funding), and was acquired by Onboard Partners LLC (formerly The Kessler Group), a Stone Point Capital-backed affinity card operator with 40 years of industry experience, in December 2024. Mercantile continues to operate as a division of Onboard Partners.

Name

Mercantile

Legal name

Mercantile Financial Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://getmercantile.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mercantile is a fintech that builds and operates white-label, industry-specific business credit card programs for professional associations, brands, and fintechs, serving credentialed small businesses and professionals via co-branded cards on Mastercard and American Express networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Card Issuance Platform

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Credit Card Issuing (522210)

akta.pro primary industry

Co-Branded Credit Cards (FSAKABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Credit Cards & Revolving Credit (FSABAAAC), Merchant Acquiring & Processing Platforms (BPAMAFAB)

Keywords

• White-label credit cards
• Affinity card programs
• Business credit cards
• Card issuance platform
• Small business lending

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Interchange and Transaction Fees: Mercantile earns revenue from interchange fees on credit card transactions processed through its branded card programs. As program managers for associations and brands, the company takes a percentage of card spend as transactions occur.
2. Program Management Services: Revenue from managing card programs for professional associations and brands, including platform fees, compliance handling, and operational support services.
3. Marketing Services: Turnkey marketing solutions including campaign strategy, media buying, creative agency services, and reporting/analysis on campaign and portfolio management provided to card program partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mercantile provides a white-labeled card platform that enables brands, trade associations, and fintechs to launch custom business credit card programs for their members or customers within approximately 90 days. The platform delivers the regulatory, compliance, and banking infrastructure, card issuance on Mastercard and American Express networks via partner banks (Hatch Bank, Celtic Bank), tailored underwriting, real-time fraud prevention, frictionless application flows, a flexible API, and turnkey marketing services. Mercantile also operates individual co-branded business credit cards with specific professional associations.

Product overview

Mercantile is a financial services platform (operating as a division of Onboard Partners) that enables organizations — fintechs, brands, and trade associations — to launch and operate custom affinity credit card programs. The core offering is the Mercantile Card Platform, a white-labeled solution encompassing the full card lifecycle: issuance on Mastercard or American Express networks (via partner banks Hatch Bank and Celtic Bank), regulatory and compliance infrastructure, flexible underwriting, real-time fraud prevention, customer support, and a Flexible API for partner integrations. This core platform is bundled with optional Marketing Solutions (turnkey creative and campaign services) and Flexible Funding modules. The company also operates individual co-branded card products — including the ABA American Express Business Card, the ASID American Express Business Card, and the AGD Business Credit Card — each targeting a specific professional vertical. All cards are issued by partner banks under license from Mastercard or American Express.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mercantile Card Platform White-labeled, cloud-based card platform that enables organizations (brands, trade associations, fintechs) to launch custom business credit card programs within approximately 90 days. Provides the regulatory, compliance, and banking infrastructure, card issuance on Mastercard and American Express networks via partner banks, frictionless application flows, real-time fraud prevention, dedicated customer support, insightful reporting, and a flexible API for partner integrations.
• Marketing Solutions Turnkey and bespoke marketing services for card program partners, including campaign strategy and media buying, full-service creative agency (banner ads, social posts, emails, direct mail), targeted direct mail and digital media campaigns, behavior-triggered lifecycle communications, and reporting/analysis on campaign and portfolio management.
• ABA American Express Business Card Co-branded American Express business credit card for the American Bar Association (ABA), targeting solo practitioners and small law firms. Offers up to 2% cash back on everyday business spending, up to 5% on ABA purchases, American Express Network benefits and protections, weekly autopay options, and tools to build a business credit profile. Issued by Celtic Bank on the American Express Network.
• ASID American Express Business Card Co-branded American Express business credit card for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), targeting independent designers and small design firms (19,500+ members in the U.S. and Canada). Features include flexible approval pathways (including for lower credit profiles), Credit LimitShield self-selected threshold feature, American Express Network benefits, and competitive rewards on business spending. Issued by Celtic Bank on the American Express Network.
• AGD Business Credit Card (AGD World Elite Business Credit Card) Co-branded business credit card for the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), targeting dental practice owners. Offers up to 5% cash back on Dental Health Products purchases, up to 3% on AGD purchases, up to 2% on all other eligible spending, free unlimited employee cards, Mastercard Easy Savings, virtual account numbers, and business credit-building tools. No annual fee. Operated on the Mastercard network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Programs can be launched within 90 days
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American ExpresscoreTechnology or Integration · 24 June 2026American Express partnered with Mercantile and ABA to launch co-branded business credit cards. Cards run on American Express Network and leverage the Agile Partner Platform (APP) for customized payment products.
• American Bar Association (ABA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026ABA selected Mercantile to launch ABA American Express Business Card for solo practitioners and small law firms. Program offers up to 2% cash back on business spending and up to 5% on ABA purchases.
• American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026ASID partnered with Mercantile to launch ASID American Express Business Card for design professionals. Targets 19,500+ members in US and Canada with Credit LimitShield feature and flexible approval pathways.
• Academy of General Dentistry (AGD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025AGD launched exclusive business credit card for practice owners as member benefit. Earn up to 5% cash back on DHP purchases, up to 3% on AGD purchases with no annual fee.
• Onboard PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 December 2024Onboard Partners acquired Mercantile Financial Technologies. Onboard Partners, formerly known as The Kessler Group, has been a leader in affinity credit cards for over 40 years. Expected to triple Mercantile's business within two years.
• Hatch BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHatch Bank issues Mastercard credit cards through Mercantile's platform. All Mastercard cards are issued by Hatch Bank pursuant to a license from Mastercard.
• Celtic BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCeltic Bank issues American Express credit cards on the American Express Network for Mercantile's co-branded programs including ABA and ASID cards.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationMastercard is the payment network for Mercantile's World Elite Business credit cards. Cards issued by Hatch Bank under Mastercard license.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Imprint: Imprint is a fintech platform that partners with brands to issue co-branded credit cards, providing a white-label card issuance and program management stack. Directly comparable to Mercantile in serving affinity/brand partners launching their own card programs.
• Deserve: Deserve offers a cloud-based credit card platform that enables businesses and brands to launch custom credit card programs with tailored underwriting. Directly comparable to Mercantile's white-label card-as-a-service model.
• Extend: Extend provides card-as-a-service infrastructure that lets businesses issue virtual and physical credit cards programmatically. Comparable to Mercantile's flexible API and partner-driven card issuance model.
• CardFlight: CardFlight offers payment solutions including card issuance and processing tools for small businesses. Overlaps with Mercantile's SMB-focused card programs and merchant enablement features.

Broad incumbents

• Marqeta: Marqeta is a modern card issuing platform powering many fintech and embedded card programs at scale. Provides underlying infrastructure comparable to Mercantile's platform, but operates as a broad card-issuance incumbent rather than a vertical affinity specialist.
• Stripe Issuing: Stripe Issuing enables platforms and businesses to create and manage card programs programmatically. Comparable infrastructure play to Mercantile, but as part of Stripe's broader payments platform rather than focused on affinity verticals.
• Synchrony Financial: Synchrony is a major private label and co-branded credit card issuer with deep relationships across retail and healthcare verticals. A broad incumbent competing for the same association-driven card programs Mercantile targets.
• Bread Financial: Bread Financial is a leading provider of private label and co-branded credit cards for retailers and brands. Comparable to Mercantile in the affinity/co-brand card space but as a much larger incumbent issuer.

Emerging players

• Highnote: Highnote is a modern card issuing platform enabling fintechs and brands to launch credit, debit, and commercial card programs with embedded finance features. Closely comparable to Mercantile's modular platform approach.
• Lithic: Lithic provides APIs for issuing physical and virtual cards, with infrastructure comparable to Mercantile's flexible API offering. Focused on developer-led issuance rather than affinity/association distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/getmercantile
• Facebookfacebook.com/getmercantile
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/getmercantile

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 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 Mercantile