What Affina does

Affina is a Boston-based loyalty and engagement platform company formed in December 2024 through the merger of CrowdPlay and Rethink Loyalty, two fan engagement technology firms. The company operates a unified platform that combines card-linking technology, transaction data intelligence, and merchant-funded rewards into an embedded infrastructure that gives brands visibility into customer wallet share and the ability to monetize it. The platform consists of two core product lines: CrowdPlay, a 365-day sports loyalty and fan engagement product rewarding behaviors such as attendance, TV viewership, social media engagement, and surveys; and Rethink Loyalty, a merchant-funded rewards engine combining card-linked and affiliate offers across 250,000+ merchants, enabling brands to reward customers without bearing the cost.

The underlying technology stack is anchored in card-linking infrastructure that tracks purchases in-store and online, an AI layer ("Wallet AI") that converts transaction data into precision campaigns, and a Merchant Activation Network that creates incremental revenue by connecting brands with merchants paying to reach high-intent audiences. The platform deploys via white-label SDK, WebView, or API into existing client apps and integrates with major payment networks (Mastercard, Visa, American Express), payment processors (Shift4), card-linked offer providers (Cardlytics), and ticketing systems (Ticketmaster). Reported performance metrics include a 4.3x increase in average spend per customer, 3x average orders per year, 29% increase in average spend per order, 77% daily engagement, 96% monthly engagement, and a 65% repeat redemption rate.

Affina's business model combines managed services for sports properties with merchant-funded revenue share and subscription/recurring transaction intelligence access. The company employs a sales-led, enterprise field sales motion targeting professional sports teams and leagues, with named customers including Fanatics, the Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers, NJ Devils, multiple NBA and NHL teams, and a first NFL team. The company closed a seven-figure Series A led by PagsGroup in December 2024 and a $2.3 million exempt offering in March 2025, reporting 307% revenue growth over the trailing 12 months as of June 2025.

Name

Affina

Legal name

Affina Inc.

Website

https://affinaloyalty.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Affina is a Boston-based loyalty and engagement platform that combines card-linking, transaction data, and merchant-funded rewards into an embedded infrastructure, serving professional sports teams and brands with wallet intelligence and fan engagement programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Loyalty & Fan Engagement Platform Software

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Wallets (Platforms & Marketplaces) (FSAMAEAM)

Keywords

• Loyalty platform software
• Fan engagement technology
• Card-linking rewards
• Merchant-funded rewards
• Sports loyalty programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Managed Services for Sports Properties: Operates loyalty programs for sports teams and properties on a managed services basis. Has helped double client roster annually since 2021.
2. Merchant-Funded Rewards and Revenue Share: Combines card-linked and affiliate offers. Merchants pay for rewards, and brands earn a revenue share on every transaction. Merchant Activation Network creates incremental revenue from merchants paying to reach high-intent audiences.
3. Transaction Intelligence Licensing: Provides transaction data and analytics to brands, unlocking up to 24 months of historical spend data and wallet share intelligence.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Affina operates a unified wallet intelligence platform that combines card-linking, transaction data, and merchant-funded revenue into a single embedded infrastructure, delivered through two products: CrowdPlay (365-day sports loyalty and fan engagement for professional sports teams) and Rethink Loyalty (white-label merchant-funded rewards for consumer brands across 250,000+ merchants). The platform is sold on a managed services and licensing basis to sports properties, leagues, and brands.

Product overview

Affina is a loyalty and engagement platform company formed in December 2024 through the merger of CrowdPlay and Rethink Loyalty. The company operates a unified platform architecture consisting of the core Affina Platform combined with two distinct product lines: CrowdPlay (sports loyalty and fan engagement) and Rethink Loyalty (merchant-funded rewards). The Affina Platform unifies card-linking, transaction data, and merchant-funded revenue into a single embedded infrastructure, while CrowdPlay provides 365-day sports fan loyalty programs and Rethink Loyalty delivers card-linked and affiliate-based merchant rewards. Together, these products enable brands to reward customer behaviors across sports, retail, and everyday spending while generating revenue through merchant-funded offers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CrowdPlay: 365-day sports loyalty and fan engagement platform that drives engagement and revenue, designed to reward fan behaviors. Covers attendance, TV viewership, social media, surveys, and special initiatives.
• Rethink Loyalty

Products and services

• CrowdPlay 365-day sports loyalty and fan engagement platform that rewards fans year-round for behaviors including attendance, TV viewership, social media, surveys, and special initiatives. Includes seamless POS integrations supporting loaded value, discounts, and member passes. Used by professional sports teams (NJ Devils, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers) and Fanatics to drive ticket member retention and 97% fan 'must-have' ratings.
• Rethink Loyalty Merchant-funded rewards platform combining card-linked and affiliate offers in a white-labeled solution. Enables brands to reward customers across 250,000+ merchants without bearing the cost of rewards, generating revenue share on every transaction. Customers link any credit or debit card once and earn automatic rewards at in-store and online merchants.
• Affina Platform Unified embedded platform combining card-linking, transaction data intelligence, and merchant-funded offers, giving brands visibility into the customer wallet and infrastructure to monetize it. The parent platform that underlies both CrowdPlay and Rethink Loyalty, delivering Wallet AI, Transaction Intelligence (up to 24 months of historical spend data), and the Merchant Activation Network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.3x increase in average spend per customer
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Crypto SnackflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2026Crypto Snack's Snack Rewards is operational in the US through partnership with Affina Loyalty, offering cashback across more than 2,000 brands. UK and European expansion scheduled for Q3 2026. This represents Affina's entry into the broader consumer rewards market beyond sports.
• CardlyticscoreTechnology or IntegrationTrusted technology partner providing card-linked offer infrastructure. Listed on Affina's 'Trusted by' section alongside other technology partners.
• Shift4coreTechnology or IntegrationPayment technology integration partner. Listed on Affina's 'Trusted by' section as part of the technology ecosystem.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment network integration enabling card-linking functionality across Mastercard-issued cards. Listed as trusted partner.
• VisacoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment network integration enabling card-linking functionality across Visa-issued cards. Listed as trusted partner.
• American ExpresscoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment network integration enabling card-linking functionality across American Express-issued cards. Listed as trusted partner.
• TicketmastercoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Ticketmaster for fan authentication and ticketing within the CrowdPlay loyalty platform. Enables 'Sign in with Ticketmaster' functionality.
• DeloitteminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerListed as trusted partner, potentially providing consulting services for enterprise deployments.
• FanaticscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor sports merchandise and fan engagement platform operating as both customer and distribution partner. Fanatics uses Affina's Rethink Loyalty platform for loyalty solutions.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cardlytics: Cardlytics operates the largest bank-driven card-linked offer network, monetizing purchase data through merchant-funded rewards—directly overlapping with Affina's Rethink Loyalty card-linking infrastructure and competing for the same merchant-funding economics.
• Punchh: Punchh provides a mobile-first loyalty and engagement platform for restaurant and retail chains, with card-linking, AI-driven offers, and white-label deployment—directly competing with Affina's enterprise loyalty SaaS model for similar brand customers.
• Thanx: Thanx is a guest engagement platform combining card-linking, mobile order/pay, and AI marketing for restaurants and retailers—a direct peer in card-linked loyalty technology and merchant-funded rewards infrastructure.
• Annex Cloud: Annex Cloud provides an enterprise loyalty, referral, and customer engagement platform with card-linked offer capabilities, directly competing with Affina's enterprise loyalty and merchant-funded rewards offering for brand-side wallet spend.
• Yotpo: Yotpo is a commerce marketing platform combining loyalty, reviews, and SMS marketing with white-label deployments to enterprise brands—a broad competitor in the customer engagement platform category where Affina also competes.

Broad incumbents

• SessionM (Mastercard): SessionM, now owned by Mastercard, is a customer data and loyalty engagement platform serving large enterprise brands—a larger incumbent with deeper financial backing and payment-network data access that competes for similar enterprise loyalty wallet spend.
• Klaviyo: Klaviyo is a customer data platform and marketing automation provider increasingly adding loyalty and wallet capabilities, competing for enterprise marketing and engagement wallet share with materially deeper resources and a broader e-commerce footprint.

Emerging players

• Smile.io: Smile.io provides a points-based loyalty and rewards platform primarily for Shopify-based e-commerce merchants—overlapping with Affina's merchant-funded rewards mechanics but focused on SMB e-commerce rather than enterprise sports properties.
• LiveLike: LiveLike provides fan engagement, gamification, and second-screen experiences for sports and media organizations—overlapping with Affina's CrowdPlay sports loyalty offering in the sports fan engagement category, though with a more interactive-content focus.
• Zoomph: Zoomph provides sports sponsorship analytics and fan engagement measurement for teams, leagues, and brands—competing with Affina's sports properties vertical on the analytics and activation side, though with a more measurement-led approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Affina