What Makes a New Card Win the Wallet?

A card can earn top billing in a customer’s wallet or disappear behind an expired gift card. The difference often starts with the first tap and grows with every experience that follows.

The Issuer Engagement Playbook, “Erasing Friction, Driving Engagement: How Top Issuers Remove Cardholder Friction to Grow Customer Lifetime Value,” draws on a survey of 500 payments executives at U.S. bank and nonbank card issuers. It examines the tools that help issuers create stronger and more profitable cardholder relationships. It also shows where lower-performing issuers are losing ground.

The stakes are rising. The share of issuers generating high customer lifetime value fell from 21% to 17% in one year, even as companies invested more in digital tools and artificial intelligence. Customers can activate a card faster than ever. They can also move on quickly when an app is confusing, a reward loses value or an issuer misses signs of frustration.

Leading issuers build value through a series of connected experiences. They make approval simple, help customers use the card right away and offer useful mobile tools and respond before a customer starts to leave. Each good experience gives the card another reason to stay in regular use.

In “Erasing Friction, Driving Engagement: How Top Issuers Remove Cardholder Friction to Grow Customer Lifetime Value,” learn how:

• High customer lifetime value issuers expand the role of the card. Ninety percent issue two or more card types, compared with 75% of low performers. They’re also more than twice as likely to offer co-branded cards.
• Strong mobile experiences can outperform broad engagement campaigns. Sixty percent of high customer lifetime value issuers improve their apps, while 47% use personalized rewards. These issuers rely less on generic messages sent to every cardholder.
• Leading issuers are directing AI toward practical customer needs. Sixty-nine percent plan to adopt or expand real-time transaction categorization. Forty-nine percent plan embedded AI experiences that can guide spending, budgeting or reward choices.

The report also explores sign-up incentives, card portfolio design and the growing role of customer data. It shows how issuers can connect these tools across the full cardholder journey.

Download the report to see which strategies can help card issuers remove friction, keep customers engaged and grow lifetime value.

About the Report

“Erasing Friction, Driving Engagement: How Top Issuers Remove Cardholder Friction to Grow Customer Lifetime Value,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced in collaboration with Visa DPS, examines how card issuers reduce friction across the cardholder lifecycle, from activation and onboarding, through embedding the card in daily financial life, to retention and the in-app experience. The analysis draws on insights from a survey of 500 executives who fill head of payment roles at U.S.-based bank and nonbank card issuers. The survey was fielded from December 16, 2025, to January 14, 2026.

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