The hidden roadblock to innovation
In Fortune 500 boardrooms across industries, the conversation is remarkably consistent. Leadership demands faster innovation, rapid market expansion, seamless customer experiences. But too often, ambitious strategies hit the same wall: 'Our systems can't support that.'"
What many executives don't realize is that their biggest growth opportunity may be hiding in plain sight, their payment infrastructure. While most view payments as back-office plumbing, forward-thinking companies are discovering it's actually an untapped lever for competitive advantage.
When we examine tech debt and system complexity, one area in particular stands out as both the biggest barrier and the greatest opportunity, payment systems. Many Fortune 500 companies face a common behind-the-scenes challenge: outdated payment infrastructure that was designed decades ago for a completely different business environment.
Business expectations have transformed alongside the evolving world. In today’s fast-paced market, customers expect instant payments, flexible checkout options, and effortless digital experiences, all delivered in real time. As businesses focus on global expansion, navigate ever-evolving regulations, and seek to embrace the rise of embedded finance, payments have evolved from a simple back-office function into a pivotal driver of competitive advantage.
Behind modern digital interfaces, many Fortune 500 companies remain dependent on outdated legacy systems for one of their most critical operations. Instead of driving innovation and growth, their payment systems have become a barrier, limiting the potential of enterprises to stay competitive.
Modernization: a critical opportunity
Modernizing payment infrastructure offers businesses transformative benefits, from faster money movement to embedding financial services and streamlining operations. Today, payment systems are no longer just tools for processing transactions. Instead, they can be leveraged as strategic assets to drive innovation and fuel growth.
By upgrading your payment systems, your business can unlock key advantages, including:
- Real-time financial insights for quicker decision-making
- Seamless global financial operations
- Increased customer loyalty through innovative reward programs
Enterprise-ready payment platforms for ambitious growth
As a leading modern card issuer (MCI), Marqeta is built to drive the next wave of enterprise innovation. We specialize in seamlessly modernizing payment systems for companies of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies, while preserving and integrating with their existing core infrastructure.
Our advanced platform provides a unified, scalable solution that helps organizations streamline operations and achieve sustainable growth through four key pillars:
- Flexibility: Issue any type of card—physical, virtual, or tokenized.
- Control: Gain real-time oversight with advanced programmatic tools to monitor and manage spending.
- Connectivity: Seamlessly embed financial services into your digital products.
- Scalability: Expand globally with speed, security, and confidence.
Enterprise organizations can drive growth, foster large-scale innovation, and enhance operational efficiency, all while maintaining stability and reliability.
Unlock your enterprise’s true potential with the right partner
1. Building the foundation: Turn enterprise spend into a competitive advantage
Picture this: Your procurement team needs to onboard a new vendor in Singapore. Instead of weeks of paperwork and payment setup, they issue a virtual card in minutes with built-in spending controls, project-specific limits, and real-time expense tracking. What used to take your finance team days now happens instantly, with full visibility and compliance built in.These tools enable faster execution, eliminate unwelcome surprises for finance teams, and foster seamless alignment across the organization. With these solutions, you don’t just track spending, you take control, steering it with intention and strategy.
Static tools are no longer sufficient for managing enterprise spend. With teams spread across regions, business units relying on disparate systems, and vendors operating in diverse financial environments, traditional approaches are rife with inefficiencies and blind spots.
Strategic business leaders understand that how a company spends is as vital as what it spends on. Real-time control over spending doesn’t just ensure compliance, it delivers agility, enabling organizations to adapt quickly and strategically.
By leveraging modern card issuance, enterprises can turn spend management into a powerful strategic advantage. Dynamic, programmatic cards tailored to specific use cases, such as projects, roles, or partnerships, embed controls directly into transactions. This approach empowers teams with autonomy, gives finance departments full visibility, and allows the entire organization to move faster and smarter, all while operating within robust guardrails.
Modern payment solutions are more than tools, they are catalysts for growth, efficiency, and alignment. Unleash the potential of enterprise spend and drive your business forward.
Strategic benefits:
- Agility: Issue cards dynamically, tailored to custom rules and policies.
- Visibility: Gain real-time insights into every spending touchpoint.
- Compliance: Streamline policy enforcement and budget tracking through automation.
The result? Enhanced control, fewer surprises, and a quicker transition from decision to execution.
2. Building the foundation: Global, but localized
For modern enterprises, growth knows no borders. Yet, expanding into new markets often exposes the challenges of fragmented payment systems—unstable issuer partnerships, compliance gaps, and disjointed user experiences that can undermine your brand.
The goal isn't just to operate globally; it's to deliver a consistent, local experience wherever you go. That's where Marqeta comes in. Designed for global scale with local precision, our platform supports expansion across Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and beyond. With issuing infrastructure in over 40 countries, built-in compliance capabilities, and consistent APIs, we simplify the complexity of scaling internationally.
Say goodbye to patchwork solutions. With Marqeta, you have one unified platform built to power enterprise-level globalization.
Strategic benefits:
- Speed: Issuing capabilities in over 40 countries help accelerate market entry
- Compliance: Regulatory frameworks and partner integrations help reduce risk
- Consistency: A unified API supports global scale with local nuance
You bring the strategy. We bring the infrastructure to support it.
3. Driving growth: Embed loyalty into every transaction
Outdated rewards systems no longer make the cut. Customers today expect more—they demand seamless, personalized loyalty programs that fit naturally into their shopping journeys. Imagine this: Your customer and immediately receive cashback from your favorite brand. Or you're checking out, and instead of a generic offer, you're presented with a reward tailored perfectly to your shopping habits.
Modern customers don’t just appreciate rewards, they expect them to be timely, relevant, and effortless. Unfortunately, traditional loyalty systems often fall short. They're slow, disconnected, and lack flexibility. Rewards arrive too late, redemption processes are cumbersome, and personalization is often an afterthought.
Enter modern card issuing, which revolutionizes loyalty by embedding it directly into the payment process. This approach enables businesses to deliver instant, dynamic, and highly contextual rewards that resonate with customers in real time.
Picture real-time cashback at checkout, automatic tier-based incentives, or merchant-specific offers tailored to individual shopping behaviors. By making rewards a core part of the transaction itself, businesses foster emotional connections, enhance customer satisfaction, and increase share of wallet.
For enterprise brands, this isn’t just about retaining customers—it’s about turning every transaction into a meaningful relationship.
Strategic benefits:
- Boost customer lifetime value: Offer real-time, personalized rewards based on individual behaviors.
- Lower customer acquisition costs: Target incentives by geography, product, or customer segment to maximize retention and engagement.
Whether you’re a retailer, bank, or lifestyle brand, modern loyalty programs transform rewards from a disconnected add-on into an integral, impactful part of every customer interaction.
4. Driving growth: Embedded finance: driving growth and redefining customer experiences
Today's customers expect financial services to seamlessly integrate into the tools they use every day. From paying contractors and managing vendor credit to offering Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options, embedded finance has evolved from a convenience to a must-have.
Traditionally, financial services existed outside the customer journey, forcing users to navigate banks, external portals, or payment processors. But companies are changing their go-to market motions by embedding financial solutions directly into their workflows. The result? Instant payouts, accessible credit, and precise spend controls delivered exactly when and where they’re needed.
This is embedded finance when it’s implemented strategically. It represents a transformative shift that’s redefining how customers interact with brands. Picture a contractor receiving immediate payment upon job completion, a vendor issued a virtual card as soon as approval is granted, or a business user accessing credit directly within their platform. These aren’t just added perks anymore—they’re critical to meeting modern customer expectations.
Delivering this kind of frictionless functionality, however, requires robust infrastructure that is fast, agile, and highly programmable. By embedding financial capabilities directly into their ecosystems, businesses eliminate unnecessary detours and delays, creating value in the moments that matter most.
Strategic benefits for card issuers
- Unlock revenue growth: Instantly issue virtual cards to drive new revenue streams by integrating financial services into existing platforms.
- Expand market reach: Offer embedded payouts and spend management tools to attract new customer segments.
- Gain a competitive edge: Build financial services that keep customers engaged within your ecosystem, fostering loyalty and long-term relationships.
Embedded finance is how leading companies remain relevant—and indispensable—in their customers' lives. By meeting users where they are and delivering financial solutions seamlessly, businesses position themselves not just as providers but as integral partners in their customers' success.
A strategic imperative, not just a line item
Payment infrastructure has evolved beyond being a mere technical issue or IT upgrade. It now sits at the heart of customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, risk management, and innovation. In essence, how money flows through your organization impacts everything, from employee morale to your position in the market.
This shift makes payments a strategic priority that demands attention at the C-suite level. Forward-thinking leaders recognize that payments are no longer just "plumbing." They are the structural backbone that enables businesses to:
- Scale seamlessly across global markets
- Respond to customer and operational needs in real time
- Stay ahead of competitors with faster time-to-market capabilities
- The cost of delaying
Companies that delay investment into their payment systems risk being held back by outdated, rigid infrastructures that fail to meet the demands of today’s dynamic business environment. Meanwhile, competitors equipped with newer payment platform technologies will seize market share by delivering superior customer experiences and unmatched operational agility.
The price of procrastination is steep
The businesses that thrive in the decade ahead will be those that take decisive action today to modernize how payments are issued, managed, and delivered.
The question is: will your organization lead the way, or risk being left behind?
Let’s build a future fueled by modern payments
Ready to transform your payment infrastructure? Contact Marqeta to schedule a strategic consultation and discover how our cutting-edge card issuing platform can help revolutionize your business operations.