The largest US bank, and the world’s largest by capitalization, JP Morgan Chase, is going forward with another way to monetize their clients – by giving access to their spending data to be used for targeted ads.
One would have thought that something of the kind was already in full swing. But given the glacial speed at which giant financial institutions move when it comes to introducing any new features, it’s perhaps not entirely surprising that only now, Chase is allowing businesses to make ad money directly off of the data belonging by the bank’s 80 million customers.
To make this possible, a platform called Chase Media Solutions is now available to brands who want to utilize transaction data the bank harvests from customers, to “fine tune” campaigns, such as “personalized” offers and incentives.
Customers of massive banks are now apparently treated as no more than a commodity – otherwise why would Chase feel confident in marketing its platform as an “at scale” solution for brands. According to reports, that would be about six million “small” businesses, also the bank’s clients.
It doesn’t help matters that the financial institution’s pitch to businesses says that the differentiating factor between just any bank, and a behemoth like Chase is – “the unrivaled scale and insights from our customers – having long-served as a trusted guide for their financial decisions.”
The first part of the statement is difficult, if not impossible to argue against – but what about the latter? What happens to that “trust” once clients realize their data is being re-monetized in this particular way?
After all, everybody loves “the experience” of being targeted by ads based on their personal information. /s
On top of that, it might hit a little different when its coming from YouTube, etc. – as opposed to your bank.
Still, Chase is, pun intended, banking on the appeal of it all, and all this is not happening haphazardly. Two years ago JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought and “integrated” Figg, which is said to be a leading card-linked marketing platform.
Meanwhile, what’s known as “retail media” is an industry now valued at $61 billion, and projected to grow 10% per year over the next two years.
So it’s clear what’s in it for Chase, and its business clients. Not so clear, though, how “ordinary” ad-targeted clients benefit.
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