Visa has followed Mastercard in investing in Deserve, a provider of bespoke white label mobile-centric API and SDK-based credit card technology.
Deserve hs developed a credit-card-as-a-service for financial institutions, fintechs and brands.
Visa's strategic investment comes after the payments giant selected Deserve last year as a launch partner for its Fintech Fast Track programme. As part of the programme, Deserve has already partnered with BlockFi and Visa to launch the world’s first credit card with crypto rewards.
Kalpesh Kapadia, CEO, Deserve, says: "This investment validates the industry’s embrace of a digital-first, embedded approach driven by APIs and SDKs. We’re transforming credit cards into software that lives on mobile devices not in wallets.”
In June, Mastercard co-led a $50 million Series D funding round for the startup with Mission Holdings and Ally Ventures.