Citi announced on Thursday an agreement to acquire Kard, a rewards and engagement platform, aiming to expand personalized offers for customers and create new opportunities for connection among consumers, merchants, and brands.
According to Citi's statement, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and the companies will continue to operate independently until completion.
The acquisition will combine Citi's scale and experience in payments with Kard's technology, talent, and relationships with merchants. Abhinav Anand, Citi's head of value cards, lending, and commerce, said the move will accelerate innovation and deliver more personalized experiences while creating opportunities for brands and merchants to reach, engage, and reward consumers.
On LinkedIn, Kard announced the transaction and said Citi's scale will help bring new merchants and brands to the ecosystem, in addition to enabling investments in products and accelerating features on the platform.
Kard's trajectory
In October, Kard received US$ 15 million in growth capital from Trinity Capital. At the time, the platform said it processed more than US$ 10 billion in monthly transactions and reached tens of millions of consumers in the United States.
Ben Mackinnon, Kard's CEO, said that aggregated spending data from debit, credit, receipts, and other sources makes it possible to see how consumers spend and what motivates them to change, generating incremental value for financial institutions and merchants.
The PYMNTS website reported in May that, during Citi's Investor Day, executives highlighted expanded partnerships and the goal of bringing more spending to the travel, dining, and rewards ecosystem. Pam Habner, head of U.S. consumer cards, described the strategy as a "virtuous growth cycle" driven by partnerships, loyalty, and digital engagement.
