Barclays replaces Goldman Sachs as GM card issuer

Dive Brief:

Barclays next summer will become the exclusive issuer of two General Motors credit cards with Mastercard in the U.S., the companies said in a joint press release Monday. It will issue a GM loyalty card that offers rewards and a business card.
Barclays will replace Goldman Sachs as the automaker's card issuer, just a few years after Goldman beat out the British bank for the contract.
"We look forward to helping GM create an industry-leading credit card product," Barclays US Consumer Bank CEO Denny Nealon said in the news release.

Dive Insight:

Detroit-based GM sold 2.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2023, making it the nation’s top-selling automaker last year, according to the trade publication Automotive Logistics.

Goldman said in November 2023 that it would eventually stop issuing GM credit cards, according to Reuters. The bank, over the past two years, has walked back a pronounced push into consumer banking. Apple, the tech giant that represents Goldman’s other major credit-card partnership, issued a proposal late last year to wind down its cooperative effort, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Neither Barclays nor GM detailed the value of the deal. The two cards that Barclays will now issue are GM’s only two credit cards, a GM spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Barclays did not respond to a request for comment.

The GM spokesperson, James Cain, said more announcements are coming in 2025.

“The first step is to transition the business we have today to Barclays, and then grow it,” he said.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

GM will offer cardholders certain car-buying perks. The rewards can be redeemed on Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and other GMC vehicles, including electric vehicles, the release said.

Those rewards can also be used to accessorize and service the cardholder’s vehicle, according to the release.

"We're bringing thousands of new customers to our family of brands every year, especially as we grow in electric vehicles, and we look forward to creating new opportunities to reward our most loyal customers," GM CFO Paul Jacobson said in the release.