The Thredd team
Fintechs and modern banks building their own card-issuing stacks have redefined front-end innovation, from slick sign-up flows to embedded finance experiences. But for all the progress made at the front of the house, many still rely on manual or legacy back-office systems to reconcile, report and settle. When that layer lags, it’s not just an internal headache - customers and partners feel the impact too.
Owning your issuing stack means owning every step behind the scenes. Every transaction, payout and ledger entry is now your responsibility. That gives you enormous control - but also introduces growing complexity, especially when teams are lean and volumes are scaling fast.
While front-end experiences tend to dominate the roadmap, it’s the back-office operations - reconciliation, compliance, and settlement, that quietly power the entire business. When those systems fail or fall behind, the consequences are anything but quiet.
Just ask Citibank. In February this year (2025), a manual input mistake caused the bank to accidentally send nearly 81 trillion dollars to creditors instead of a routine interest payment. A back-office blunder that turned into a high-profile court case - and a reputational mess.
Even on a smaller scale, the lesson holds: small errors in high-volume environments create big risk. According to Accenture’s A New Legacy of Payments Growth report (2024), payments providers with low digital maturity are seeing negative profit margins - held back by technical debt and manual processes that can’t keep pace.
Manual back-office operations may work in the early days, but as a self-issuing Fintech grows, cracks begin to show:
As transaction volume and card programs grow, lack of automation means hiring more back-office staff just to keep up.
A single mismatch or data entry error can lead to a high risk of incorrect P&L (Profit and Loss) numbers, trigger support tickets, and red flags for auditors.
As volumes grow, so does regulatory exposure. Missed reporting deadlines or filing gaps can lead to scrutiny or fines.
Manual workflows delay anomaly detection, increasing the risk of undetected fraud.
These aren’t just internal operational challenges - they directly affect your customer experience. In an increasingly competitive market, experience drives loyalty.
Here’s the upside: Fintechs who self-issue are in a strong position to solve this. You’re not tied to legacy architecture or process flows. You can embed automation from day one, building smarter systems that scale with you.
Take reconciliation. What once required nightly reports and manual matching, can now run in near real time. Exceptions are flagged instantly, freeing up your team to focus on insights – not admin.
Or scheme compliance. Automated monitoring and rules-based engines reduce the risk of missed or late filings. That’s not just a tick-box for auditors - it protects your reputation.
Timely settlements improve the customer experience and reduce operational noise. Whereas delayed scheme settlements can lead to transaction declines, inaccurate balances, and a poor cardholder experience.
Machine-driven reconciliation eliminates costly manual matching mistakes.
Real-time controls help your operations team stay ahead of issues before they escalate.
As your transaction volume grows, automation absorbs the load – without requiring additional headcount.
Back-office automation doesn’t just save costs. It gives you agility, consistency and the ability to grow without compromise.
When you own the end-to-end stack, every issue lands at your doorstep. Delays, errors, disputes – users may not know the root cause, but they associate the pain with your brand.
It minimizes escalations. It helps deliver the seamless, reliable experience that earns trust - and keeps users engaged.
At Thredd, we work with Fintechs building issuing programmes from the ground up. Our automation capabilities built to help you reconcile across schemes, manage compliance, and scale back-office operations without scaling complexity.
Whether you’re tackling reconciliation, streamlining settlement, or looking to reduce support volumes, we’re here to help.
Let’s talk. Fill in the form and our team will show you what’s possible.
The Thredd team
June 05, 2025
The Thredd team
June 05, 2025
The Thredd team
May 13, 2025
The Thredd team
April 23, 2025
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