FAQ

1. What is CardPartner?

CardPartner is an online company, based in New York, which enables U.S.-based membership organizations of and non-profits of all sizes to create custom affinity credit card programs. Thanks to our innovative technology, these groups can now create unique card designs, receive $50 per active account opened by their members and get a percentage of every purchase made.

2. Who’s behind CardPartner?

CardPartner is part of privately held Serverside Group, a technology provider to the world’s leading banks. CardPartner and publicly traded UMB, a multi-bank, multi-billion dollar holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, have joined forces to create the CardPartner custom Visa card program.

3. What’s the catch?

There is NO cost to any organization that creates a CardPartner Visa affinity credit card program. However, we do require your organization to commit to CardPartner for a 3-year period. A successful program will involve some marketing effort on your behalf, with our easy-to-use online tools. Please see our full Terms and Conditions.

4. Why is CardPartner interested in working with membership organizations?

Marketing credit cards through affinity organizations is a business model with a proven track record of success. Our technology allows us to extend that concept to organizations of all sizes whose members/supporters have a particularly strong affinity for those groups.

5. How do we know we can trust CardPartner?

It’s important to point out that there is no financial relationship between your organization and CardPartner. The financial relationship you have is with Kansas City-based UMB. Your supporters will receive credit cards from UMB, not CardPartner. CardPartner does not receive financial or personal information about any card applicants, this information is collected by UMB and is not passed to CardPartner.

Similarly, the revenue which your card program generates will be paid to you directly by UMB and is not passed through CardPartner.

CardPartner facilitates the financial relationship between your organization and UMB and you do have a legal relationship with CardPartner. For more information, please see our terms and conditions.

6. Do we need to share our lists with CardPartner?

There is no reason for you to release your lists (snail mail or email) to CardPartner or UMB. You will be doing all the marketing for your affinity program directly (using our online marketing toolkit and your existing channels).

7. Why should we choose CardPartner.com?

CardPartner.com, together with UMB, is specifically focused on creating FREE affinity credit card programs for smaller organizations. No one else offers this level of customization to any but the biggest players.

8. What’s the commitment on our behalf?

By creating a FREE custom Visa affinity credit card program through CardPartner you are agreeing to the conditions laid out in the Terms and Conditions, which you should read carefully. However, the two main commitments you will be making are:

Not to apply to a similar service through another provider for a period of 3 years.
Make commercially reasonable efforts to notify your supporters that you have created a Visa affinity card program.

9. We already have an affinity card program. Should we switch to CardPartner?

You clearly have to abide by your current provider’s Terms and Conditions. However, when your program is up for renewal, we suggest that you consider how much support you are getting from your current provider, how easy they are to work with and particularly the level of customization and choice they offer.

10. What are the benefits of launching our own FREE affinity credit card program?

In addition to increased visibility, one of the key benefits is the additional money your Visa program can raise, at no cost and with little additional effort.

Not only do you receive a bonus of $50 for each account, you'll also earn 30 basis points (.3%) of every purchase made on the card on an ongoing basis.

Your funds will be directly deposited into the account you designate on a quarterly basis.

To get a rough idea of the income you could generate, try our Revenue Calculator.

11. What types of organizations can start a FREE CardPartner Visa affinity card program?

Local, regional and national professional groups, charities, schools, research groups, and sports clubs are just some of the eligible organizations. Very simply, if you represent a membership organization or charity, there’s a good chance you’ll be eligible to create your own credit card program through CardPartner.com. Please note that every request will be subject to approval by CardPartner, UMB and Visa. Email customerservice@cardpartner.com if you have any questions about your group’s eligibility.

12. How will our supporter base feel about us promoting a credit card program?

Launching a Visa affinity credit card program through CardPartner is a simple but effective way to raise funds for your organization and awareness of your mission. Your supporters will enjoy all the benefits and security that Visa provides, while using a card that reflects their passion and pride.

13. How long does it take to complete our request?

The process takes place online and shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes.

14. Do I have to fill in any forms?

Yes, you will need to complete some simple forms online.

15. Do I have to complete the entire process in one session?

It is very easy to save your form and log back in at another time. You will not even need a password. Simply provide your email address.

16. How long will it take to get my FREE affinity Visa program up and running?

Your Visa program could be up-and-running in as little as 2 weeks. Once you have designed you cards and completed your request, the review process starts. This process, which involves CardPartner, UMB and Visa, can take as little as 2 weeks. If your request is incomplete, or there is a need for clarification, the review may take a little longer.

17. Is a CardPartner affinity credit card just like any other credit card?

Although the card comes with the benefits and protection you would expect with a platinum Visa card, it is in all other respects unique.

You can create up to 5 custom card designs that will promote awareness of your group and its mission. Plus, your organization shares in the revenue.

18. Designing our own cards sounds complicated. Is it?

You’ll be amazed at how easy it is, thanks to our very user-friendly online card “designer.” Start by uploading the images you would like to use (with your logo) and then rotate, flip or zoom in to create cards that showcase your organization. It really is very straightforward — and what’s more, it’s fun! If you prefer, you can place your logo on images from our online gallery.

19. How many designs can we provide for our affinity card program?

You can create up to 5 different design choices for your affinity credit card program.

20. Can anyone within our organization initiate our affinity card program?

Yes, as long as they have the authority to act on the organization’s behalf.

21. Who markets our affinity card? CardPartner?

CardPartner will provide you with a FREE and comprehensive online marketing kit which will make it easy for you to market your affinity card yourself. The kit, which will be updated regularly, will include: a fully branded web page, where your supporters can apply for a card; a PDF of a flyer, which can be placed in the mail, handed out at events or made into a poster; an image of one of your card designs that can be used in online media, such as blogs, social networking sites and banners; an email template and more.

22. Can we market our affinity credit card program in any way we like?

Please note that, since the card program extends a financial offer, you cannot adjust the language of the offer, supplied in documents from CardPartner, in any way. The way in which you promote your affinity card program is at your discretion but should be relevant to your community. The use of unsolicited email (spam) and other inappropriate channels may not be used. In the event that inappropriate methods are used, CardPartner will have to terminate the agreement.

Keep in mind that we will provide you with a FREE and comprehensive marketing kit. Click here for details.

23. Does CardPartner offer debit or business affinity card programs, too?

Currently, CardPartner is only offering consumer affinity credit card programs. If you are interested in a business card program for your organization we can facilitate an introduction to UMB on your behalf.

24. How often does the revenue generated by our supporters get paid into our account?

Your activated account bonuses and your percentage of retail spend will be paid into your account on a quarterly basis.

25. What kind of information do we need to supply?

You’ll need to provide some basic information about your organization, including contact details, the type of organization you are, your profit status (e.g. not-for-profit, for-profit) and your date of incorporation. You’ll also need to tell us what you intend to call your affinity card program and how many supporters you estimate will apply for a card. All in all, nothing too complex and nothing sensitive.

26. Do we have to hand over any sensitive financial information or bank details? If so, at what point?

When your request is approved, you will be asked for the details of the bank account where you would like the revenue your affinity card program generates deposited.

27. How do we know our affinity credit card program has been approved?

We will inform you by email, typically within 2—3 weeks.

28. We’ve got supporters all around the world, not just in the US. Can they apply for a card, too?

At this time, only U.S. residents can apply for your organization’s affinity card

29. Do our supporters have to earn a specific amount to be eligible for the card?

The application process for your supporters is just like that for any other credit card. Eligibility will depend on a number of factors, not just income.

30. How do our supporters apply for our new affinity credit card?

They simply go to the web page we will provide you with once your request has been approved. Once there, they can apply through our secure online application process. Mail in applications will also be available for you to distribute in your online marketing toolkit.

31. Are there different types of card, e.g. Platinum, Gold, etc?

At present, we are only offering the CardPartner Platinum Visa card. We do plan to introduce other affinity card types in the future.

32. What interest rate does the card come with?

The interest rate for the CardPartner credit card is not fixed. Rates on credit cards typically vary over time. The current full financial offer will be prominently disclosed to your supporters when they apply.

33. How much income will the card program provide us with?

This depends on how many of your supporters use the card and their spending habits. The more supporters who use your affinity card, the greater the income you’ll receive. It’s worth emphasizing that transaction volume, not revolving debt, is the determining factor. To get a rough idea of what your income could be, check out our Revenue Calculator.

34. What happens if one of our supporters can’t repay their debt? Are we liable?

There is no need to be concerned, as this would strictly be an issue between the individual cardholder and UMB, the bank issuing the card.

35. Our request was successful. What next?

Congratulations. Your affinity card program is now up-and-running and ready to be promoted to your supporters using the online marketing kit we provided you. Follow the instructions in your approval email to find out more about how this works. We’ll also need your bank details, which we will pass on to UMB, so that they can deposit all the revenue generated by the card program directly into your account.

36. Our request was denied. What now?

Unfortunately, your organization did not satisfy one or more of our approval criteria and we therefore are unable to offer you a CardPartner credit card program at this time.

37. We were told our request was incomplete. What now?

Without all the requested information, we are unable to verify that your organization meets one or more of our approval criteria. Please check your email to see which information is outstanding and supply it to us as soon as possible so that we can reprocess your request.

38. I’ve got a question that’s not answered here. Who can I ask?

Please email your question to customerservice@cardpartner.com.

39. Can we contact CardPartner at any time with a question or query?

Yes, of course. Please feel free to email us at customerservice@cardpartner.com.

40. What terms and conditions apply to a CardPartner affinity credit card program?

To see our Terms and Conditions of the credit card in full, please click here.

41. Do you have an affiliate program? Will we get compensation for referring another group?

Yes. We do have an affiliate program and yes, groups that refer other groups will receive compensation. For details on our affiliate program, please email doug.davis@cardpartner.com

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