Block has chosen Marqeta as the issuing and processing platform for the Square Credit Card, which runs on the American Express network and is issued by Celtic Bank. With the move, Block consolidates its debit, prepaid and credit card programmes on Marqeta. Existing cardholders were migrated without any disruption in service, according to the companies.
What it means: Block is already Marqeta's largest customer, having powered the Cash App Card for years. Extending the partnership to credit cards matters in two ways. First, it confirms Marqeta can support credit programmes, a more complex product than debit cards, where it competes with traditional processors such as Fiserv and TSYS. Second, it eases the concentration risk that worries its investors by tying the relationship with its main client even more closely. For Block, putting all its cards with one provider means simpler operations, shared data and easier development of new products for Square merchants, who use the card for business spending. The migration without disruption matters, because moving existing cardholders to a new processor is one of the riskiest projects in payments. In Europe, Marqeta also operates as an issuing platform for fintechs, and the trend of consolidating programmes on a single platform is visible here too. For companies planning their own cards, the main lesson is that choosing a processor is a long-term strategic decision.
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