Goldman Sachs Weighing Purchase of Card Tech Firms

Goldman Sachs has explored purchasing a payments technology company to enhance its credit card offerings.

That’s according to a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday (Nov. 8), in which people with knowledge of the matter say the bank discussed acquiring credit card platforms Deserve and Cardless, and payments company CoreCard.

The sources say Goldman executives reached out to Deserve last year and continued their offer last month, although official discussions between the bank and all the companies in question appear to be on hold.

A Goldman spokesperson said that the bank was not looking for acquisitions in that arena, as the company already has platforms that help its card partners.

Last year, the bank explored taking over Jet Blue’s credit card program.

Goldman Sachs has an ongoing relationship with Deserve, investing in a $50 million funding round in 2019 and another $250 million round this year.

In April, the company launched what it says was a first-of-its-kind platform that lets banks and B2B companies introduce their own corporate credit and charge cards.

The platform is designed for companies of all sizes, allowing them to create cards for business customers and provide services such as instant issuance and digital wallet provisioning. Deserve also offers enterprise-level controls, helping finance teams track, manage and understand expenses.

Last month, Goldman Sachs announced it had created a new division dealing with transaction banking as well as the credit cards the bank has launched with Apple and General Motors.

It was part of what was called one of the most extensive reorganizations in the bank’s 153-year existence and its fourth restructuring in three years. In addition to the transaction banking and credit card unit, Goldman reportedly also planned to streamline itself into two other divisions: investment banking and trading, and asset and wealth management.

In its earnings report last month, Goldman said that its loans tied to credit cards were at $14 billion, up from $12 billion in the second quarter and $6 billion a year ago.