Your credit card company wants to sell you ads.

American Express just launched Amex Ads, a platform targeting its 34 million U.S. cardholders. The move positions a financial services giant as a direct competitor to traditional ad platforms.

But Amex isn't alone.

Financial media networks are growing at 107% annually, expected to hit $1.5 billion by 2026. Chase and Mastercard are already in the game. Capital One is testing similar plays.

The reason? Financial institutions have something Google and Meta are losing: comprehensive first-party data tied directly to purchase behavior.

What Makes Financial Data Different

Retail media networks like Amazon or Walmart see transactions within their ecosystems. Financial institutions see everything.

Every swipe. Every purchase. Every merchant. Every category.

That visibility creates targeting capabilities most platforms can't match. When 32% of marketers still rely heavily on third-party cookies despite phase-out plans, first-party transaction data becomes increasingly valuable.

The attribution story gets even more compelling.

Marriott Bonvoy achieved results 3x higher than target benchmarks using Amex's transaction and travel booking data. TUMI delivered 30% above target through ads on AmexTravel.com.

Those numbers represent closed-loop attribution. Campaign exposure linked directly to actual purchases, measured in real transactions, not estimated conversions.

The Strategic Shift

Financial media networks solve attribution's biggest problem: proving ROI.

Most digital channels rely on probabilistic matching or last-click models. Financial platforms track the complete path from ad exposure to purchase, across any merchant that accepts their cards.

For SaaS companies focused on CAC and pipeline metrics, that level of measurement precision matters. You can see exactly which campaigns drive actual customer acquisition, not just form fills or demo requests.

The challenge? Financial media networks are still early. Inventory is limited. Targeting options are developing. Creative formats are basic compared to established platforms.

But the trajectory is clear. When financial institutions control transaction data for millions of affluent consumers, they hold advertising assets that only grow more valuable as privacy regulations tighten.

What This Means For Marketers

Watch how financial media networks develop targeting capabilities over the next 12 months.

If they can match the creative flexibility and audience scale of established platforms while maintaining attribution superiority, they become serious alternatives for performance marketers.

The question isn't whether financial companies will succeed in advertising. The Amex Offers program already drove $15 billion in merchant spend last year.

The question is whether their ad platforms can deliver performance that justifies shifting budget from channels you already know work.

That answer is still being written.