What Cornèrcard does

Cornèrcard is the card-issuing division of Cornèr Bank Ltd., an independent Swiss banking institution founded in 1952 and headquartered in Lugano. The company issues Visa, Mastercard and Diners Club credit and prepaid cards to private and corporate clients in Switzerland, with a tiered product line spanning Classic (CHF 100/year), Gold (CHF 190/year), Platinum (CHF 500/year), Miles & More co-branded variants (CHF 140-220/year) and prepaid cards including Reload, easyTravel and Zoom Reload. B2B offerings encompass company credit cards, the Virtual Corporate Solution, Visa Commercial Pay (delivered as the first European banking group in 2022) and Cornèrcard SAP Taulia Visa Virtual Cards launched in October 2025; the Globalcard platform additionally serves financial intermediaries with white-label card programmes.

The technology stack is built on proprietary customer-facing tooling, notably the iCornèr App and iCornèr Web Portal, which handle virtual card issuance, instalment payments, biometric 3-D Secure authentication and cashback redemption, supplemented by an API for partner integration and integrations with SAP Concur, SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network, Abacus, Arcanite, Rydoo, Yokoy and other ERP and expense platforms. Distribution combines digital self-service on cornercard.ch, the iCornèr App, and physical channels via a Swiss Post partnership covering 154 branches for prepaid cards and 20 branches for credit cards.

Revenue is generated through annual and membership fees across card tiers, interchange on domestic and foreign-currency transactions (with FX transactions earning higher rates via the 0.9-1.7% cashback economics), buy-now-pay-later interest at 10.9% APR on 3/6/12-month instalments, and partner programmes anchored by the Miles & More, Diners Club, WWF, Greenhope, Hertz and Priority Pass relationships. The business serves three primary segments — private/retail, business/corporate and financial intermediaries — with go-to-market split between direct-to-consumer digital acquisition and dedicated enterprise sales for Business Solutions. Recent strategic priorities emphasise B2B virtual cards (SAP Taulia), industry-wide P2P infrastructure (PayInit AG joint venture with Viseca, March 2026) and geographic expansion of the Miles & More product line beyond Switzerland in 2026.

Name

Cornèrcard

Legal name

Cornèr Bank Ltd.

Website

https://cornercard.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Cornèrcard is the card-issuing division of Cornèr Bank Ltd., issuing Visa, Mastercard and Diners Club credit and prepaid cards to private and corporate clients in Switzerland, with growing B2B virtual card and P2P payment infrastructure capabilities across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Card Issuing Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

General Purpose Credit Cards (FSAKABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business / Corporate Credit Cards (FSAKABAF), Card Issuing Platforms (Issuer Processing) (FSAGABAD), Private-Label & Store Card Schemes (FSAMAAAE)

Keywords

• Credit card services
• Prepaid card services
• Payment cards
• Card issuing
• Consumer banking cards

Headquarters

HQ city

Lugano

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Annual/Membership Fees: Recurring annual fees from credit and prepaid cards. Different tiers command different price points: Classic (CHF 100), Gold (CHF 190), Platinum (CHF 500), Miles & More variants (CHF 140-220), Reload prepaid (CHF 50). First-year promotional pricing available.
2. Transaction Processing: Interchange revenue from processing card transactions both domestic and international. Foreign currency transactions generate higher revenue with 1.7% cashback rates.
3. Installment Interest (Buy Now Pay Later): Interest revenue from installment payment option at 10.9% annual interest rate for 3, 6, or 12-month payment plans on purchases of CHF 100 or more.
4. Partner/Co-brand Programs: Revenue from co-branded cards including Miles & More loyalty program partnerships with airline miles accumulation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

No substantive source data was provided to characterize Cornèrcard's core offerings. Based on limited unverified context, Cornèrcard may issue credit and prepaid cards under card network brands, but no sourced evidence supports this claim.

Product overview

Cornèrcard is a division of Cornèr Bank offering a comprehensive portfolio of Visa, Mastercard, and Diners Club credit and prepaid cards for private and business clients in Switzerland. The product portfolio includes tiered credit cards (Classic, Gold, Platinum, and Miles & More variants), prepaid cards (Reload, easyTravel, Zoom Reload), and business solutions (Virtual Corporate Solution, Visa Commercial Pay, Cornèrcard Taulia Visa). Key platform services include the iCornèr App and Web Portal for card management, mobile payment integration (Apple Pay, Google Pay, SwatchPAY!), comprehensive insurance packages, travel benefits (Priority Pass, Hertz discounts, Concierge Service), and the Cashback rewards program. Business solutions offer expense management integrations with major ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics), automated accounting through Abacus and Arcanite, and customizable branded card programs for financial intermediaries. The company also maintains charitable partnerships including WWF and South Pole for environmental initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cornèrcard Platinum: Premium metal credit card offering up to 1.7% cashback, Priority Pass airport lounge access, and comprehensive travel insurance.
• Cornèrcard Gold
• Cornèrcard Classic
• Cornèrcard Miles & More
• Cornèrcard Reload
• Cornèrcard easyTravel
• Cornèrcard Zoom Reload
• Virtual Corporate Solution
• Visa Commercial Pay
• Cornèrcard Taulia Visa
• iCornèr App
• Globalcard

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 1.7% cashback on purchases
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• SAP TauliacoreTechnology or Integration · 29 October 2025Partnership to launch Cornèrcard SAP Taulia Visa Virtual Cards in Switzerland and Europe. Provides integrated working capital management solutions fully embedded in SAP environment for supplier payments.
• PayInit AGstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2024Joint venture between Cornèr Bank AG and Viseca Payment Services SA to develop industry infrastructure for global P2P money transfers based on Mastercard and Visa payment cards. Open to all Swiss card issuers and mobile payment providers.
• VisacoreTechnology or Integration · 7 December 2022Launch of Visa Commercial Pay as first banking group in Europe, providing comprehensive B2B payment solution replacing manual processes. Cornèr Group was first in Europe to offer this solution.
• Swiss Post (Die Post)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 October 2022Partnership for physical distribution of Cornèrcard products. Swiss Post offers prepaid cards for purchase and loading at 154 branches across Switzerland, with credit card distribution planned for 20 branches.
• Swiss Alpen-Club (SAC)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCornèrcard is official partner of Swiss Alpen-Club, supporting sustainable mountain development and preservation. Partnership includes sponsorship and exclusive offers for SAC members.
• WWF SwitzerlandcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership since 2002. CHF 50 donated for each new WWF credit card issued, CHF 25 for prepaid cards and renewals. 0.25% of credit card spending and 0.1% of prepaid spending donated to WWF.
• South PoleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSince 2011, climate compensation partnership where CO2 emissions from all Cornèrcard transactions are offset through Gold Standard climate projects. Cardholders receive annual personal emission report and compensation certificate.
• Priority PasscoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides Cornèrcard Platinum cardholders with free unlimited access to over 1,800 Priority Pass airport lounges worldwide.
• HertzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCar rental discount partnership: minimum 15% discount on all rental rates in Switzerland, up to 10% discount abroad. Participation in Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program.
• Miles & MorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-branded credit card partnership offering airline miles accumulation. Available in Classic and Gold tiers with welcome bonuses and accelerated earning rates.
• Diners ClubcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership since 2014 for Diners Club card issuance. Provides access to Diners Club airport lounges (1,700+ globally) at preferential rate of CHF 30, with 5 free entries per year for cardholders spending CHF 7,500+ annually.
• GreenHope FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to support cancer-affected children and families, plus young talented athletes. Co-branded credit and prepaid cards issued.
• Heart for IndiaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Geneva-based foundation supporting nutrition, health, hygiene, safety and protection for children in India.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Marqeta, Inc. US-listed card-issuing processor/platform serving fintech and B2B programs. Not a direct competitor in Switzerland but a comparable business model in card-issuing infrastructure and a relevant benchmark for the Globalcard / white-label issuing segment Cornèrcard offers to financial intermediaries.

Emerging players

• Wise plc: Cross-border payments fintech offering multi-currency consumer cards with low FX margins. Comparable as a digital-first competitor in the FX and travel-spend card niche where Cornèrcard earns its foreign-currency cashback spread.
• Revolut Ltd: Global neo-bank with strong Swiss user growth, offering multi-currency cards, premium tiers and expense features. Comparable as a digital-first consumer and business card competitor actively targeting affluent Swiss clients.
• Pleo Technologies ApS: European fintech issuing corporate cards with built-in expense management and ERP integrations. Comparable to Cornèrcard's Virtual Corporate Solution and SAP integration play in the European mid-market B2B card space.

Direct peers

• Viseca Payment Services SA: One of Switzerland's largest card issuers, processing card transactions for many Swiss banks. Directly comparable to Cornèrcard as a domestic Swiss card issuer and even a partner (PayInit AG JV) serving overlapping customer bases.
• Swisscard AECB GmbH: Swiss issuer of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards, jointly owned by Credit Suisse (now UBS) and AMEX. Closest direct competitor in the Swiss premium and corporate card space, with overlapping affluent customer base.
• BonusCard.ch (swisscard – but separately BonusCard brand): Cornèr Group-affiliated Swiss credit card brand referenced alongside Cornèrcard in joint product offerings (e.g., SwatchPAY! with Visa). Directly comparable issuer of consumer credit cards in the Swiss market under the same corporate umbrella.

Broad incumbents

• UBS Switzerland AG: Switzerland's largest universal bank, offering UBS credit cards to a broad retail and corporate Swiss customer base. Competes with Cornèrcard across retail and wealth-management card segments but as part of a much larger portfolio of financial services.
• Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft: Swiss cooperative banking group issuing Visa/Mastercard credit cards to retail and SME members nationwide. Comparable as a domestic Swiss card issuer with broad retail reach, but card-issuing is one product among a full universal banking offering.
• PostFinance AG: Swiss state-owned postal bank offering credit cards, prepaid cards and corporate payment solutions. Direct overlap with Cornèrcard's retail and prepaid card business in Switzerland, but bundled with a much broader retail banking franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Cornèrcard