Managing Cards as a Service

Companies that provide card-as-a-service (CaaS) offerings are flourishing under a range of descriptions. The overlaps among CaaS providers, banking-as-a-service (BaaS) providers, and payment processors can be considerable, as each acts as an intermediary between financial institutions and non-financial companies and their customers. CaaS platforms, however, narrow their focus to solutions that help banks with critical services associated with card programs, such as issuing, processing, risk management, and liquidity management. The immediate benefits of employing these platforms lie in cost control and, for smaller institutions, rising to the technological challenges of offering a card program. 

This Javelin Strategy & Research report further delineates these offerings, assessing what FIs should consider as they look into partnerships with providers, the critical functions CaaS vendors should offer, and how those services are integrated into FIs’ customer-facing offerings.

Key questions discussed in this report: 

• What services and features does a card-as-a-service provider offer? 
• What are the overlaps and differences among card-as-a-service providers, banking-as-a-service providers, and payment processors? 
• What questions must a financial institution resolve as it choose a card-as-a-service provider?

Companies Mentioned: 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mastercard, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), PCI Security Standards Council, Visa