How 13 Fintechs Make Money—and Which Customer Actions Drive It

Before you spend money getting customers to use your fintech, understand how their use pays for the business. A campaign can increase activity and still cost more than it earns.

Your business model explains who pays you and what they pay for. Some fintechs earn a fee when money moves. Others earn over time, while customers keep a subscription or hold eligible balances. Those differences change which customer actions deserve your attention.

Knowing the model helps you choose a useful campaign and set a sensible reward budget. It also tells you how long to wait before judging the result. A first purchase can generate revenue quickly. The value of a savings or insurance relationship takes longer to establish.

These 13 fintechs show how those connections work. We'll look at the customer actions behind their revenue, then consider campaigns that could support them. The business models come from company disclosures; the campaign ideas are proposals you can adapt to your own product.

Compare fintech business models and revenue drivers

Start with the paying relationship. The person using an app may pay directly, or another business may pay for reaching or serving them.

Several companies below have more than one revenue source. The table highlights the model worth learning from in each case.

Calculate customer contribution after costs

An action can be useful without generating revenue immediately. Setting up direct deposit can make future card spending possible. Connecting an investment account can help a customer understand their finances before they decide to move assets.

Keep those early steps in your measurement, then follow what happens next. You need to know whether the customer reached the part of the product that creates value for them and earns money for you.

Contribution is the revenue left after the costs of serving that activity. For a payment, those costs might include processing and fraud losses. For a loan, funding costs and later repayment losses matter too. Contribution helps pay the business's wider operating costs; it doesn't equal company profit.

Use the same cost boundaries when comparing campaigns. If a revenue figure already has discounts deducted, subtracting them again understates the result. If you've ignored the cost of a reward, your campaign may look much better than it is.

1. Chime: earn interchange when customers use their cards

A free everyday account can earn revenue when its card becomes useful for ordinary spending. When a customer pays a merchant, part of the card-payment economics goes to the issuer. A fintech can receive a contracted share of that interchange.

Chime earns payments revenue through its card arrangements. Debit and credit interchange together accounted for about 69% of its revenue in 2025. It also earns from other services, so interchange doesn't explain the whole business.

This makes direct deposit an important earlier step. Pay arriving gives the customer funds they can spend with the card. The deposit doesn't itself create card interchange; the later purchases do.

For a card-led fintech, a useful activation campaign could help an already funded customer add the card to their phone and use it for their next planned purchase. The customer profile helps you explain the relevant benefit. A traveller and someone organizing household bills need different introductions to the same card.

Follow settled purchases and repeat use. Subtract the reward alongside processing and other variable costs. A campaign that pays more than the first purchase earns needs a credible path to later value. Count that later value as it develops rather than assuming every first-time spender will become a primary-account customer.

2. Wise: charge for completed international transfers

A transfer service can charge for moving money between countries or converting currencies. The amount sent determines part of the opportunity, but only a small fraction becomes the provider's revenue.

Wise earns cross-border transaction fees that vary with the route and payment details. Its average cross-border take rate was 0.52% in FY2026. Take rate means revenue divided by the amount moved. It describes the revenue relationship before considering the costs of providing the service.

A low take rate leaves limited room for indiscriminate rewards. It also makes a naturally recurring need valuable: a customer who pays the same overseas bill each month has another reason to use the service without being persuaded to spend more.

A campaign could help that customer prepare the next transfer at a time they chose. Carry the saved recipient into a fresh quote, with the current fee and expected arrival visible. Suppress the message if the transfer is already complete.

Measure the additional completed transfers and their actual route-specific contribution. Some customers would have sent anyway, and a reminder may simply bring next week's transfer forward. Follow at least a full normal sending cycle before calling the extra activity a gain.

3. Greenlight: charge parents for a family subscription

With a fixed subscription, the customer pays for continued access to a useful service. Doing more inside the app doesn't necessarily create another charge.

Greenlight sells parents a family plan with children's cards and money-management tools. Its Core plan starts at $5.99 per month and includes up to five children. The public subscription price gives you a clear paying relationship; it doesn't reveal the company's margin per family.

For a family product, activation involves the people who use it as well as the person who pays. A parent can finish registration while their child has yet to receive any money or understand what the card is for.

A first-allowance campaign could help both sides experience the service. Invite the parent to choose an amount and a schedule, then make it easy for the child to see the allowance arrive. The business hypothesis is that a useful routine gives the family a reason to keep the subscription.

Evaluate that hypothesis across later billing periods:

Deduct the cost of serving the additional paid months, including benefits and rewards. More card activity alone doesn't prove subscription growth.

4. Betterment: charge for managing investments

An investment-management service can charge a percentage of the assets it manages. Revenue then depends on how much is billable and how long it stays, as well as the fee schedule.

Betterment primarily earns advisory fees. Its Digital pricing includes a 0.25% annual fee for qualifying customers and a flat monthly fee for some smaller accounts. It also earns through cash-management arrangements, which have different economics from managed investments.

For an account on the 0.25% schedule, an additional $1,000 held for a full year produces $2.50 in advisory fees before costs, assuming the balance and rate stay unchanged. That arithmetic matters when choosing a deposit bonus.

This makes the distinction between a deposit and a retained balance important. Money that arrives for a promotion and leaves soon afterward produces less fee revenue than money that remains. Market gains can also increase asset values without a campaign bringing in any new funds.

Consider a customer whose chosen recurring contribution failed. A useful message can explain the issue and let them update the funding source or pick a new date. Respect an intentional pause; a missed contribution may reflect a changed budget.

To judge the result, follow contributions and withdrawals separately from market movement. Apply the actual fee schedule to the resulting billable balances. If an account pays a flat monthly fee, another deposit may support retention without increasing that month's fee. The same action can have different economics across pricing tiers.

5. Robinhood: earn from executed orders, cash and membership

A brokerage can offer commission-free trading while receiving revenue from firms that execute its customers' orders. In that arrangement, the paying relationship sits behind the trade the customer sees.

Robinhood earns transaction-based revenue from routed orders, with the mechanism varying by asset and product. It also earns net interest revenue and subscription revenue from Robinhood Gold. A submitted order, an executed trade and a paid membership each represent a different event.

That creates several possible growth choices. A campaign could help someone understand a relevant paid benefit, or resolve a funding problem that interrupted a plan they chose. It doesn't need to encourage more frequent trading.

For example, a membership campaign could explain a benefit an eligible customer has asked about, with the plan cost alongside it. For existing subscribers, repairing a failed payment may preserve a service they already value.

Measure the whole change in contribution. A membership can bring subscription revenue while also costing money through its included benefits. Cash-related earnings vary with balances and rates. Adding every revenue line without its corresponding costs overstates what the relationship is worth. Transaction revenue also needs to be evaluated alongside the customer's experience, rather than making trade count the growth target.

6. Coinbase: earn from stablecoin balances as well as trades

Crypto trading fees and stablecoin economics work differently. Trading can create a fee when an order executes. Stablecoin reserves can earn income over time, with the proceeds shared under commercial agreements.

Coinbase earns both transaction revenue and revenue linked to USDC. Its stablecoin revenue depends on reserve and distribution arrangements with Circle, including balances held on Coinbase and elsewhere. Interest rates matter because they affect what the reserves earn.

A larger transfer count doesn't automatically mean more stablecoin revenue. The relevant change might instead be a higher average eligible balance, or a shift in where balances are held. The provider's agreement determines the value of that change.

For a fintech with a verified share of those economics, a campaign could help a customer complete setup for a stablecoin payment they already intend to make. Explain the supported transfer route and its costs. The customer needs a practical reason to use the balance; promising investment returns would introduce a different proposition.

Track average eligible balances over time and apply the provider's actual revenue share. Subtract any customer rewards and service costs that haven't already been deducted. Run a lower-rate scenario before committing to a recurring incentive: a reward that fits today's reserve income may become too expensive when rates fall.

7. Affirm: combine merchant fees with purchase financing

A merchant may pay a financing provider to let customers spread the cost of a purchase. The customer gets a payment plan, while the provider takes on a financial relationship that continues after checkout.

Affirm earns merchant network fees and interest income, among other revenue sources. It can also sell loans and earn servicing income. Its FY2026 revenue less transaction costs measure deducts costs including funding and credit-loss provisions. Only part of the purchase amount becomes Affirm's revenue.

The economic outcome depends on repayment as well as conversion. A campaign can bring more completed purchases while attracting a mix of loans that costs more to fund or produces greater losses.

A useful intervention might help a customer who has selected an eligible plan understand its payment dates and complete a missing checkout step. Once a purchase is funded, a reminder that helps repair a failed repayment method addresses another problem with a direct economic consequence.

Compare the additional purchases after their associated costs, using the provider's underwriting assumptions and later repayment evidence. Keep the initial estimate separate from the outcome as loans mature. A checkout conversion report arrives much sooner than a reliable view of loan performance.

8. Credit Karma: get paid for financial-product referrals

A financial comparison service can be free to consumers because product providers pay to reach relevant customers. The contract determines exactly what the provider is buying.

Credit Karma's revenue includes arrangements that pay for an approved action, a click or a delivered lead. An approved action can include a card issuance or a funded loan. These are different payment conditions, even when the customer-facing experience looks similar.

That difference should shape campaign measurement. If your partner pays when a loan funds, a started application is an intermediate result. If the agreement pays for an accepted lead, you need confirmation that the lead met its requirements.

A campaign could help a customer finish an insurance quote they requested, then send the completed request to the chosen provider with permission. Explain what happens next so the customer understands who will contact them.

Tie the result to the partner's confirmed payable event. Deduct acquisition costs and any rejected or duplicate leads according to the agreement. Don't assign the same value to every outbound click. And don't rank an offer solely by its referral payment: a poor product match can damage the customer's trust and reduce the quality of the referrals you send.

9. Upside: fund cashback through merchant partnerships

A merchant can help fund a reward when it brings in business worth more than the cost of the offer. That creates a different budget from a fintech paying cashback entirely out of card revenue.

Upside connects consumers with cashback offers from participating merchants. Customers claim an offer and complete a qualifying purchase that is then validated. Its merchant proposition centers on additional profitable business. The exact fee and reward split are private.

The difficult part is establishing what the offer changed. Paying an existing regular to make their usual purchase can produce a redemption without an additional visit. A newly attracted customer may be more valuable, but their purchase still needs to cover the merchant's costs.

For a similar product, test an offer at a relevant merchant for something the customer already needs. Compare eligible customers receiving the offer with a group that doesn't. Where possible, use purchase data beyond redemptions to see whether visits or spending changed.

The merchant's additional gross profit has to support the reward and provider fees. Gross sales alone won't answer that question. Keep attribution quality visible too: a missed transaction or duplicate claim can distort both the customer's reward and the commercial result.

10. DailyPay: charge for eligible earned-pay transfers

Earned-pay access lets an eligible employee use part of their earned wages before normal payday. Payroll integration determines who can use the service and how the funds are reconciled.

DailyPay offers a free standard transfer route and an optional instant route with fees that depend on the arrangement. The employer contract can determine whether the employee or employer pays usage fees. The wages moved are the employee's earnings; they aren't the provider's revenue.

The provider must account for advancing funds until payroll, as well as payment processing and operational costs. More money moved can therefore increase costs without a matching increase in fees.

A useful activation campaign could introduce the benefit after an eligible worker's employer connection is ready. Show the available routes together, including the free choice and the expected arrival times. Let the employee decide whether speed is worth a fee in their situation.

Measure completed access and the actual revenue under that employer's agreement, after funding and service costs. If both routes are subsidized, use the contracted employer economics. Don't invent urgency to move people from a free option into paid withdrawals; the value of the service is helping them choose when they need access.

11. Lemonade: earn premiums while providing insurance cover

Insurance customers pay for protection over a period of time. Premium becomes earned revenue as coverage is provided, while claims create costs that may be known much later.

Lemonade earns insurance premium and other revenue, including commissions. It also uses reinsurance, paying other insurers to take on part of the risk. That shares the exposure but leaves Lemonade with less of the premium. Commissions received from reinsurers can help cover acquisition and underwriting expenses.

A new policy brings both revenue and an obligation. Counting signups without considering expected claims can make an acquisition campaign look attractive while weakening its economics.

Keep appropriate cover in place

A renewal campaign could help an existing customer review their coverage and fix a failed payment before an unintended lapse. The immediate outcome is continued appropriate cover. The business outcome develops over the months that policy stays in force.

Assess the retained premium after reinsurance, expected retained claims and service costs. If you start with premium already net of reinsurance, don't deduct the ceded premium again. Group results by product and relevant risk characteristics; combining very different policies into one average can hide a costly change in the customers your campaign attracts.

12. Rocket Mortgage: originate, sell and service home loans

A mortgage provider can arrange a home loan, sell it to investors and continue handling payments afterward. Each part has its own source of revenue and costs.

Rocket earns through mortgage origination and loan sales, as well as servicing. Its gain-on-sale accounting includes origination-related amounts and valuation effects. Some estimated revenue can be recognized when a rate is locked, adjusted for the chance that the loan actually closes. Servicing can continue after a loan is sold.

An application, a rate lock and a completed mortgage therefore tell you different things. A campaign that produces more early applications may also create more processing work without enough additional closings.

For a customer already buying a home, help resolve a specific outstanding document request. Explain what is missing and take them directly to the place to provide it. That is a concrete obstacle a message can help with.

Follow the affected applications through closing, allowing enough time for the process. Use the resulting contribution after processing and funding costs, with appropriate treatment of later obligations. If you include the upfront value assigned to servicing rights, don't also add all future servicing receipts as though they were an entirely separate gain.

13. Revolut: combine several revenue streams in one account

A fintech offering several products can earn more from an established relationship by helping customers solve another relevant problem. The challenge is understanding what the new product adds after changes elsewhere in the account.

Revolut earns across card payments, subscriptions, interest and other services, including foreign exchange and wealth products. A paid plan can bundle benefits that change what customers pay for individual actions.

Consider someone who regularly pays exchange fees. A plan upgrade may lower those fees while introducing a subscription charge. The new subscription is additional revenue, but some previous transaction revenue may disappear. Included benefits can also add costs.

A useful campaign could show an eligible customer how the plan compares with their recent usage. Use real costs and explain what changes. The customer should be able to see whether the upgrade fits how they use the product.

Measure the difference across the relationship: the new plan revenue, changes in other fees and the cost of benefits actually used. Compare renewal over later periods as well. An upgrade that lasts one month because of a promotion has different value from a plan the customer chooses to keep.

Choose a campaign that fits the revenue model

Once you've identified how an action earns money, look for a customer need that naturally produces it. This gives the campaign a purpose beyond generating activity.

Then write the message around the customer's reason to act. “Set up your kid's first allowance” explains a use for the family product. “Start your parental-leave fund” connects saving to a chosen goal. Our 32 customer profiles show how those needs change the activation message.

A reward is one possible tool. If the customer is stuck because they don't understand the next step, clearer guidance may do more than a larger bonus. The psychology of fintech incentives helps you investigate those barriers.

Calculate an incentive budget from incremental contribution

The budget should depend on the additional contribution the campaign creates. Paying everyone who completes an action includes people who would have done it without the offer.

Consider a hypothetical campaign with 1,000 eligible customers randomly assigned to each group. Assume each completed action contributes $6 after ordinary service costs, before the campaign reward. The offer pays $2 to every qualifying customer in the campaign group.

Conversion rose, yet the estimated extra contribution didn't cover the rewards. Delivery and campaign work would add further costs. At the same response rate, roughly $1.71 per qualifying customer would use up the entire estimated gain. A smaller reward could also change how many people act, so that figure is a budget limit for this result, not a prediction for a new offer.

Later repeat use could change the result. Track it over a period that fits the product, and distinguish measured contribution from a forecast. The estimate also has uncertainty: a small difference between groups may not be enough to establish that the campaign caused a worthwhile gain.

Use everyone assigned to each group in the comparison, including people who never opened the message. Comparing only the customers who claimed a reward selects people who already completed the action and makes the offer look more effective than it may be.

Choose a customer action with measurable economic value

Choose a useful customer action with a clear connection to revenue or avoidable cost. Write down the event that confirms it happened and the period needed to see its value.

Before choosing a reward, ask your finance or product team for the relevant economics. A company-wide take rate won't tell you the margin on a specific transfer route. A subscription price won't tell you the cost of the benefits a particular audience will use.

When the exact margin is uncertain, calculate a conservative range and show which assumption changes the decision. If the campaign only works with unusually long retention or negligible losses, you have more to learn before committing a large budget.

Once the economics are clear, use the fintech campaign examples to choose an approach. Keep the first experiment focused enough that you can explain what changed for the customer and what that change earned after costs.