Cardless Raises $30 Million to Continue Developing Co-Branded Credit Cards

Cardless has raised $30 million in a funding round to support its continued development of co-branded credit card and loyalty products.

The company will also use the new funding to hire talent in engineering and operations and expand in the major retail, eCommerce and small and medium-sized business (SMB) markets, Cardless said in a Tuesday (Nov. 26) press release.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve been able to design products for some of the best brands in the world, including Qatar Airways and Alibaba,” Cardless Co-founder and President Michael Spelfogel said in the release. “These brands chose us because of our differentiated approach to the entire co-branded card experience.”

Cardless offers co-branded cards on the Visa, Mastercard and American Express global payment networks, including the Visa Infinite premium card variant, according to the release.

The company also offers embedded servicing and the ability to leverage a brand’s data for personalized sign-up offers, the release said.

Cardless provides a customer experience that meets the standards of the largest brands in the world, Andrew Steele, co-founder of Activant Capital, which led the company’s latest funding round, said in the release.

“Cardless has been able to take the industry head on and launch cards with some of the most sought-after brands on the market,” Steele said. “Cardless has built the only embedded platform capable of serving both consumers and SMBs and we’re excited to double down as they continue to scale large programs for some of the best companies in the world.”

Cardless announced its partnership with Alibaba in September, saying the launch of a co-branded credit card with the Chinese eCommerce giant is designed to offer SMBs financial products and rewards that are designed to improve their financial stability.

Spelfogel said at the time in a press release that this offering will allow Cardless to “tap into a growing market and address the specific needs that traditional financial services often overlook.”

“Our experience across the airline sector has shown us how to tailor solutions effectively, and we’re now applying that expertise to help small and medium-sized businesses overcome their unique challenges,” Spelfogel said.