OnePay Launches (Credit) Builder Card
Plus Lending Club’s $2.67B in Originations, Aven's Bitcoin-Backed Card, Bright Money’s AI Loan Assistant, and Amex’s Agentic Commerce Push.
Hey Toaster Readers,
This week is sponsored by our friends at Fintel Connect.
OnePay is bridging the credit gap for thin-file consumers with its new no-deposit, no-fee Builder Card. Meanwhile, LendingClub had a strong quarter where originations climbed 31%. Capital One’s net income hit $2.2B as the Discover acquisition takes full effect, while American Express continues to dominate the premium market with an 18% jump in membership fees. Additionally, Aven launched a Bitcoin-backed Visa Card and Cash App is capturing Gen Alpha with new accounts for kids as young as six.
Lots to break down. Let’s get toasting!
Carlos Caro, Founder at NMG, Co-Founder of The Free Toaster
Nick Madrid, Co-Founder of The Free Toaster and Uncovered Media
PS: To support us, please forward this email to 1 of your colleagues!
OnePay Launches Builder Card: No Deposit, No Credit Check, No Fees
The OnePay Credit Builder card enters a crowded space. With similar existing products from Chime, Current, Kikoff, Arro, Upgrade, and more! It runs on Mastercard rails, connects directly to the customer’s Cash account, and reports positive payment activity to all three major bureaus each month. Customers spend from their available balance, the app sets funds aside automatically, and payments run on autopilot. No revolving debt, no way to overspend.
The card is only available to existing Cash account holders, a choice that deepens the app’s value for users already in the ecosystem. OnePay doesn't need to underwrite it. The Builder Card spends from a balance the customer already holds, so there's no default risk to price for. It can serve the consumer that Chase and Capital One walked away from, and it costs OnePay almost nothing to do it. OnePay's distribution comes from Walmart, where 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a store.
The timing also lines up with a bigger distribution push. Three weeks ago, OnePay became a Workday Wellness partner, putting its financial tools inside employer HR and payroll systems. Workers switching direct deposit through Workday can now access banking, investing, and credit building in one app. For context on where the company stands: back in January, we shared that OnePay hit a $4B valuation, up from $2.5B in 2024. It has 3 million monthly active users and is built almost entirely on the Walmart partnership. The Workday deal suggests they are ready to grow beyond it. (OnePay)
Sponsored by Fintel Connect
Is Your Marketing ROI Falling Behind Other Banks and Credit Unions?
Cornerstone Advisors‘ latest report, commissioned by Fintel Connect, The Marketing ROI Gap in Banking uncovers a growing disconnect between where financial institutions invest and where they actually see results. Based on insights from 126 senior executives at large U.S. banks and credit unions, the data points to a persistent gap between spend, performance, and measurable ROI.
Inside the report, you’ll find:
ROI measurement is still broken: 20% of banking executives can’t reliably attribute marketing outcomes, and nearly 60% say their core or CRM limits ROI measurement.
Affiliate is a major missed opportunity: Only one-third of financial institutions use it, yet it ranks among the top channels for customer lead quality and remains one of the most underleveraged channels in the mix.
Budgets aren’t performance-driven: 60% of institutions still set marketing budgets based on last year’s spend rather than ROI.
Written for marketing, growth, lending, and finance leaders, this report highlights where performance is breaking down - and where smarter investment decisions can unlock stronger returns.
Rethinking your growth strategy?
Credit One Bank and Bright Money Partner to Launch Embedded Credit Card Tools
Credit One Bank integrated its credit card products into the Bright Money app, granting more than 1 million users direct access to three Visa products. This partnership marks the bank's second fintech integration using its proprietary API, following a 2025 deal with MoneyLion. Users link bank accounts to the Bright Money’s Money Science algorithm to receive personalized offers for the Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit or two Platinum Rewards Visa options. All three cards provide 1% cash back on gas, groceries, and telecommunications. The system uses AI to analyze income and spending before facilitating the application process within the native app environment. This move targets digital-first consumers by bypassing traditional external application sites. (PR Newswire)
Aven Launches Bitcoin-Backed Visa Card With Up To $1M Credit Limit
Aven launched a Bitcoin-backed Visa card that provides a line of credit up to $1 million without requiring the sale of the underlying bitcoin asset. The Aven Bitcoin Visa Card functions as a secured loan where users deposit bitcoin with an OCC-regulated custodian to access liquidity for everyday purchases or major expenses. This structure allows long-term investors to avoid costly tax consequences associated with capital gains while maintaining their original BTC positions. The product features fixed-rate terms lasting up to 10 years and includes a 5-year interest-only payment period. Users receive unlimited 2% cash back on purchases and pay no annual fee for the account. A 1% fee applies to cash outs and the card carries risk of liquidation if market volatility impacts collateral value. Aven originally focused on home equity products and is now applying the secured lending model to digital assets. (Aven)
LendingClub’s $2.67B Originations and the Rebrand
LendingClub closed Q1 2026 ahead of guidance on every major metric and announced it is rebranding to Happen Bank this summer. Total net revenue reached $252.3M, up 16% year-over-year. Originations hit $2.67B, up 31% from $2.03B in Q1 2025, driven by product and marketing initiatives. Net interest income grew 18% to $176.2M, with net interest margin expanding to 6.28% from 5.97% a year ago. Deposit funding costs came down, with the average rate on interest-bearing deposits dropping to 3.60% from 3.91% in Q1 2025. The rebrand reflects a deliberate repositioning away from its marketplace lending roots toward a full-service digital bank, one that combines deposits, lending, and a capital-light marketplace model under a single consumer brand.
The credit story is where lending teams should pay close attention. LendingClub's personal loan book is priced at an average APR of around 15%, against the national credit card average of 22%, a 700 basis point gap that the company is actively using as a customer acquisition argument. Net charge-offs on loans held for investment dropped to $42.5M from $76.1M in Q1 2025, a 44% improvement. For credit and lending teams, their NIM expansion signals that LendingClub is growing volume while actually improving book quality, not trading one for the other.
The Happen Bank rebrand could also help with distribution. Moving from a lending-first identity to a full banking brand gives the company more surface area to cross-sell deposits, checking, and eventually home improvement loans into its existing base of 5 million members. (LendingClub)
News Pod #15 - OpenAI Acquires Hiro Finance
In the latest The Free Toaster News Pod, we deconstruct OpenAI’s power move into the financial sector with their acquisition of Hiro Finance. Building on our recent coverage, we look at how this integration could reshape consumer lending distribution. It’s a quick breakdown of what changes when a major AI player moves deeper into fintech infrastructure.
Catch us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack, or your favorite player.
Please support our Newsletter by sharing this edition with a colleague!
And, consider checking out our sponsors:
Need an affiliate marketing platform/network? Chat with Fintel Connect
Need to improve application page conversions? Chat with Spinwheel
Need help with performance marketing? Chat with Bulldog Media Group
Need to grow in big marketplaces like Credit Karma? Chat with New Market Growth
Need to hire top-tier talent in fintech or lending? Chat with CTB1
TransUnion Q1 2026: 14% Growth Fueled by U.S. Lending Surge
TransUnion reported $1,246 million in total revenue for Q1 2026, up 14% year-over-year (11% on an organic constant currency basis), beating its own guidance across revenue. U.S. Financial Services drove the quarter, growing 24% organically to $501 million. Within that, auto was up 11%, consumer lending up 21%, and card/banking up 5%. Full-year 2026 revenue guidance was raised to $5.10–$5.14 billion, primarily reflecting the completed acquisition of TransUnion de Mexico, with organic constant currency growth assumptions held steady at 8–9%.
The number that matters most for lending and fintech operators: U.S. Financial Services revenue grew 24% year-over-year to $501 million. That segment covers the credit data and analytics products lenders rely on for underwriting, marketing, and customer acquisition. Growth was broad-based across lending verticals, which signals that lenders are pulling more data, running more decisioning, and actively growing their books.
What makes these numbers hold up over time is the data underneath them. At its March Investor Day, TransUnion management noted that 95% of revenue comes from a proprietary data moat: 84% core credit, 11% alternative data. The Neustar acquisition added identity resolution data; the Argus acquisition brought over 450 billion credit card transactions. Management has been leaning into alternative data, including utility payments and rental furnishing tradelines, to supplement core credit files, deepen penetration, and build new products. (TransUnion)
Amex Reports 11% Revenue Increase and Record Card Member Spend
American Express posted a strong Q1 2026, with total revenues of $18.9 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Card member spend accelerated to 10% growth, the highest quarterly rate in three years. Net card fees hit $2.8 billion, up 18%, compounding at 17% annually since 2019. Net interest income grew 13% to $4.7 billion, driven by revolving balance growth. Despite revenue coming in at or above the high end of full-year guidance, management held its 2026 outlook at 9-10% revenue growth, citing a forthcoming drag from two commercial card partnership exits: Lowe’s moving to Synchrony and Amazon transitioning to U.S. Bank in Q3.
Net card fees growing at a 17% CAGR since 2019 reflects a durable premium card model still pulling in annual fee customers. 73% of all new accounts acquired globally were on annual fee products.
On the lending side, net interest income has grown 12% year-over-year for four consecutive quarters. The bigger strategic story is Amex’s push into agentic AI commerce. The company launched its Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer kit and introduced Amex Agent Purchase Protection, an industry-first commitment to cover registered agentic purchases by cardholders.
Amex also recently acquired Hypercard. Management was clear on the earnings call that this is a long-term play. The thesis centers on Amex’s closed-loop network: its ability to match declared purchase intent with actual transaction data gives it fraud detection and authorization capabilities that open networks cannot replicate. They noted this could ultimately produce stronger fraud protection than what exists today in both online and brick-and-mortar commerce, where purchase intent data is simply unavailable. (American Express)
Capital One Reports $2.2B Net Income Amid Discover Acquisition Gains
Capital One posted $15.2 billion in total net revenue for Q1 2026, up 52% year-over-year. The growth is largely attributable to the Discover acquisition closing in May 2025. Quarter-over-quarter, revenue fell 2%, driven by lower net interest income as the company carried higher average cash balances and saw lower average credit card loans. The credit card segment generated $11.4 billion in net revenue, up 59% year-over-year. Domestic card purchase volume reached $216.5 billion, up 40% year-over-year but down 8% from Q4 2025, consistent with seasonal patterns. Pre-provision earnings grew 8% quarter-over-quarter to $6.8 billion.
On the credit side, the trend is improving. The domestic card 30-plus day performing delinquency rate fell to 3.70%, down 55 basis points year-over-year. The domestic card net charge-off rate came in at 5.10%, down 109 basis points from Q1 2025. Morgan Stanley noted that Capital One management described the consumer as remaining robust, with unemployment improving and card purchase volumes accelerating, while delinquencies outperformed seasonal expectations. On expenses, Morgan Stanley flagged that adjusted non-interest expense came in about 3% better than forecast, with the adjusted efficiency ratio at 49.7% versus an estimated 50.6%. That said, marketing spend is expected to increase through the rest of 2026, as Q1 reflects both a seasonal low and a deliberate timing shift of some marketing investment into later quarters. (Capital One)
The Toaster team is on the ground in NYC for Fintech Week.
We kicked things off with a hosted dinner, The Free Toaster Presents: Eliminating Friction In Your Marketing Funnel, sponsored by Spinwheel. The room brought together operators and growth leaders across lending and fintech.
In the photo: Amanda Braslow, Carlos Caro, and Nick Madrid from The Free Toaster with attendees from the dinner.
Upcoming Toaster Events:
Affiliate Marketing Summit for Decision Makers (San Francisco | Sept 23–24)
Step away from the daily grind for a two-day, senior-level industry event in San Francisco. On day one, we’ll spend the day at the Exploratorium, a killer indoor/outdoor space where we’ll have a mix of keynotes, panels, structured networking, and great food & drink overlooking the water. On day two (optional, for anyone interested), we’ll head out to wine country so you can continue the conversations you initiated the day prior. Our goal is to make this Summit the ONE event per year you can’t miss if you’re a lender who’s serious about affiliate marketing.
Missed the Direct Mail Curated Table event on March 5th? Check out what I learned here.
Equifax Posts 14% Revenue Growth in Q1; Maintains Conservative 2026 Outlook
Equifax posted Q1 2026 revenue of $1.649 billion, up 14% year-over-year and $37 million above its February guidance midpoint. The beat was driven primarily by a strong U.S. mortgage market in January and February before rates rose following the Iran conflict. Equifax maintained its full-year 2026 constant currency revenue guidance of 10-12% growth, citing continued uncertainty around interest rates and mortgage activity, while raising its reported revenue guidance by $25 million for favorable FX impact.
USIS, the segment most directly relevant to consumer lenders, delivered 21% revenue growth in Q1. Within that, Diversified Markets, which covers financial institutions, auto, and consumer lending, grew only 3%, with core FI and core auto each up mid-single digits. Consumer Lending under Workforce Solutions Verification Services grew 14% year-over-year. Notably, Morgan Stanley flagged that volumes softened later in the quarter, not just in mortgage but also to a lesser extent in auto and card. On the credit scoring side, Equifax is actively pushing VantageScore 4.0 adoption at a $1 price point, with 240+ mortgage lenders currently testing it alongside paid FICO scores. A full conversion to VantageScore would reduce USIS mortgage scoring revenue by approximately $385 million, but increase Equifax’s adjusted EBITDA by roughly $35 million at current volumes. Morgan Stanley maintained its Overweight rating on the stock, noting that credit bureaus are starting from a muted base and should enter a multi-year upcycle trend, with the potential to grow revenue at low-double-digit to mid-teens rates. The firm also pushed back on AI disruption concerns, arguing that the bureaus’ data and regulatory moats should insulate them from competition. (Equifax)
Cash App Targets Gen Alpha With Parent-Managed Accounts for Kids 6-12
Cash App launched managed accounts for children aged 6 to 12 to capture the Gen Alpha demographic. The financial platform owned by Block provides mobile payments, debit cards, and investing services. Parents control these accounts through their own Cash App profile. Kids receive a debit card and earn 3.25% interest on savings balances. The service allows automated allowance transfers and P2P payments from up to five parent-approved contacts. Cash App currently has 5 million monthly active teen users. Users transition to a sponsored account with stock and Bitcoin trading capabilities at age 13. PwC data shows 89% of Gen Alpha teens already have their own smartphone, while 72% regularly spend on categories like food and drinks and over half purchase digital goods like apps and in-game items. (Cash App)
American Express Integrates Resy into Anthropic’s Claude for Real-Time Reservations
American Express integrated its Resy digital dining platform into Anthropic’s Claude AI to provide real-time table availability for U.S. restaurants. Resy operates software that manages reservations and connects restaurants to a network of diners. Users can now search for restaurants within Claude and receive prompts to connect to the Resy app. The integration displays restaurant recommendations based on chat context. It allows users to view venue pages, check available tables, and set Notify alerts. Claude then redirects users to Resy.com or the mobile app to finalize bookings. This partnership surfaces inventory to diners to help restaurants drive demand. (American Express)
Looking for a new role?
The Free Toaster Jobs Edition tracks where fintech teams are actually investing across marketing, product, data, credit, risk, and partnerships.
Other News We’re Reading and Listening to
(Auto) America’s Pandemic Car Bubble Is Now Trapping Buyers in Debt (WSJ)
(Lending) Affirm: Agentic Credit Rewrites the Rules of Consumer Lending (PYMNTS)
(Cards) AT&T and Citi Enhance the AT&T Points Plus Card (Citigroup)
(Payments) Uber and Block Expand Global Partnership to Transform Restaurant Operations and Launch Cash App Pay (Uber)
(Cards) Alaska Air Group and Bank of America Expand Long-Standing Credit Partnership (Bank of America)
(Lending) Total Expert Launches Customer IQ to Power Agentic Era in Mortgage Banking and Consumer Lending (Business Wire)
Spot something worth sharing with your team? Drop this week’s edition in their inbox:
https://www.thefreetoaster.com/p/onepay-launches-credit-builder-card
Catch you next week,
The Free Toaster Team
P.S.: If you’d like to sponsor or host an event in the consumer lending community in 2026, we’d like to hear from you. The Free Toaster will be organizing & hosting curated events this year, and we’d love to work with you as a sponsor.