Cardlytics operates a financial media network — an advertising platform embedded inside banks' digital banking apps and websites. Banks share anonymized transaction data with Cardlytics, which uses that data to serve targeted cash-back offers to bank customers when they log in. When a customer activates and redeems an offer, the advertiser pays Cardlytics, and the customer receives a cash reward deposited into their account. Key FI partners include Chase, Wells Fargo, and American Express; Bank of America ended its relationship in early 2026. Cardlytics' core value proposition to advertisers rests on three pillars: targeting based on actual purchase behavior, reach across roughly $5.7T in annual U.S. purchases (covering approximately one in two debit and credit card transactions), and closed-loop measurement that directly attributes sales lift to a campaign using real transaction data. Cardlytics charges advertisers for running campaigns, then pays out consumer cash-back rewards and a negotiated partner share to FI partners, retaining the remainder as adjusted contribution. Newer FI partners carry more favorable economics, which has been improving margins even as billings have faced pressure. Cardlytics also operates Bridg, a smaller customer data platform serving grocers and CPG brands, which it agreed to sell to a PAR Technology affiliate in January 2026. To reduce dependence on a small number of large FI partners, Cardlytics is developing the Cardlytics Rewards Platform, which expands its publisher network beyond banks to non-bank digital properties.