Frequently Asked Questions

• Why would I want to launch an Affinity Credit Card Program?
  • Your members love you, right? Well then you should give them the ability to show their pride while receiving benefits and supporting your organization.
  • Credit Cards are often used daily and your members will see your brand and think about you each time they use the card. In traditional marketing parlance, that is called increasing Top of Mind Branding. And that is a good thing because it has been shown to increase brand interaction and loyalty. Which in turn often leads to increased group involvement, which leads to more and higher donations. (A virtuous cycle.)
  • If you are offering a student card, it is a great way to help set students up for financial success in the future. Responsible use of a credit card, (and Deserve puts some guardrails in place to nudge the student to do the right things,) establishes a better history and FICO score. Longer histories and higher scores allow individuals to often receive lower interest rates and more financial opportunities throughout their life. You are setting them up to succeed academically, why not financially too? (And while you are at it, health would be another area to consider setting them up for life success, but you would have to find another partner for that.)
  • Incremental income from the program can be used to fund your organization, expand services, support student life activities, or establish scholarships. What could you use some extra budget to accomplish?
• You can’t market credit cards to students, right?
  • Deserve complies with the CARD Act of 2009 and other federal financial regulations as well as various state regulations and university policies regarding student credit card marketing. It outlines acceptable marketing methods and requires underwriters to meet a higher criteria for income verification of applicants 18-21 years old.
• Why should I help our International Students gain access to a credit card?
  • International Students often do not have a credit card when they arrive in the US. They also do not have a Social Security Number which makes obtaining credit extremely difficult.
  • Some people who grow up in the US take access to credit cards for granted. Rental cars, hotel reservations, zero fraud liability, rewards, insurance, etc. are only available with a credit card. Most of the International Students are paying full tuition. As an organization, it is in your best interest to help them have the ideal experience while they are studying here. Ideally they will refer friends and family to apply for a credit card when they are considering education in the US.
  • Deserve reports all cardholder accounts to the credit bureaus monthly. If a student decides to stay in the US and work after graduation they will receive a Social Security Number. We then match that to the reported history and the International Student now has a credit history and a credit score. Now it is possible to lease a car without a cosigner, or rent an apartment without prepaying rent, or even pass a background check for some Finance Industry positions.
• Why choose Deserve?
  • Deserve specializes in Alumni and Student Credit Cards. We have been a category leader for several years and we have cardholders who are attending or have attended more than 3,500 educational institutions.
  • Our cloud-based, modern technology stack runs in real time and helps us offer programs that have features and experiences that meets Gen Z and Millennials needs and digital first expectations.
  • We have a business model that is simple and transparent. There are no setup costs or ongoing program maintenance fees. We work with you to reach your audiences through your existing marketing channels and pay you for each new account and purchase transactions.
  • Our technology and business model allow the ability to support much smaller programs than the big banks would even consider.
• But what about upfront licensing fees and annual guarantees?
  • Wow, flashback to the ‘80s and ‘90s when overpriced licensing fees and annual guarantees were all the rage. In retrospect, it turns out that they were also highly unprofitable. The world has changed.
  • We have a business model that is simple and transparent. There are no setup costs or ongoing program maintenance fees. We work with you to reach your audiences through your existing marketing channels and pay you for each new account and an ongoing percentage of transactions.