This payments transformation was one of the bank’s three strategic priorities in 2025, along with organic growth and expense management, according to a presentation released in conjunction with its fourth-quarter earnings call.
U.S. Bancorp CEO Gunjan Kedia said Tuesday during the earnings call that “more focused execution on our three key priorities resulted in us operating within all of our medium-term target ranges.”
Speaking of one of those priorities, Kedia said: “Our payments transformation is a strategic and long-term priority for the company. Today, a payments product is oftentimes the first and the most frequent engagement with clients, especially with Gen Z. Embedded, interconnected payments capabilities are fundamental to retaining, deepening and growing our future client base.”
One of the latest additions to U.S. Bank’s payment services is a suite of cobranded checking and credit card products called “Edward Jones Everyday Solutions powered by U.S. Bank,” according to the presentation. The bank said in November that this offering helps clients manage everyday spending and investments in a single digital platform.
U.S. Bank also partnered with Kyriba to introduce an artificial intelligence-driven cash forecasting tool, the presentation said. When announcing this tool in November, the bank said it helps mid-sized and large firms with cash forecasting, scenario planning and operational efficiency.
In a third addition to its payment services, U.S. Bank introduced a customized embedded financing offering through its Avvance developer portal, per the presentation. In October, the bank said the portal enables financial institutions and FinTechs to offer their customers embedded financing options that are tailored to their brand and experience.
Kedia credited the payments transformation for strengthening the growth rates for the bank’s payments businesses. According to the presentation, those included year-over-year growth of 5.0% in merchant processing fee revenue, 5.3% in credit card only fee revenue, and 5.7% growth in consumer credit card balance. A year earlier, in the fourth quarter of 2024, those growth rates were 2.4%, 4.7% and 6.1%, respectively.
“In 2026, we expect to sustain momentum on our transformation and add additional focus on the small business segment for both card and merchant,” Kedia said.