My team studies card direct mail. So this line from my colleague Andrew Davidson’s podcast made me laugh.
“It doesn’t make sense to send someone a letter in the mail if they’re opening up the app every day.”
That’s Scott Kazmierowicz, CEO of Cardless, which builds the credit cards inside Bilt, Coinbase, and Avelo Airlines. Lierin Melvin’s new Business Banking Go-To-Market Strategic Playbook shows the same pattern with business owners.
The best location in banking is a notification on a screen your customer already opens. Banks already own those screens.
Cardless builds each card inside the brand’s own app. Coinbase customers apply, pay the bill, and reach customer service all inside Coinbase. They can even close the account there, though Scott would rather they kept it.
Bilt moved its card to Cardless this year. Scott says spending on the new card came in at 2.1 times the old one.
Andrew and Scott also cover crypto-backed secured cards and the card an AI agent will shop with. Follow Behind the Playbook on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Customers stay loyal to the screen they open every day.
National banks, still the biggest spenders, pulled back business banking ad spend 23% in the first half of 2026 as owners grew cautious. Fintechs went the other way.
The pitches differ. Banks lead with cash, up to $1,500 for owners who bring $100,000. Fintechs sell the tool the owner opens every day.
What does our business account do for an owner on an ordinary Tuesday?
Banks already own the location. Chase has 64.9 million active mobile customers. Most fintechs would trade a funding round for either number.
Owners also want a person.
That is the notification to build. When a customer’s first Etsy or Shopify payout comes into personal checking, offer the business account right there, with a banker one tap away.
Cardless shows customers stay with the screen they open every day. Lierin’s playbook shows business owners still want a person on the other side of it. Banks already have both.
The best location in banking is a notification, with a banker one tap away.
Which of our customers were paid by Etsy, Shopify, or DoorDash last month, and did we notify them?
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