The Future of Issuing with Marqeta’s CEO

Welcome back to the Fintech Takes podcast. I’m Alex Johnson, joined by Mike Milotich, CEO of Marqeta (who stepped into the role after serving as CFO,) and now leads a cloud based issuing platform approaching 400B in annual payment volume.  First up, we focus on Marqeta’s platform. It’s built out of configurable building blocks, and Mike gets specific about what that means in practice; walking us through clear examples, including how delivery platforms used virtual credentials to remove driver fraud, and how early BNPL providers relied on Marqeta to pay merchants behind the scenes (without integrating with every retailer). From there, we shift to agentic commerce and why the issuer’s vantage point changes the conversation. Issuers face different constraints. They create the credential, set the controls, and carry the risk when something goes wrong. Mike unpacks how an AI agent could fund and configure a virtual card with narrow parameters so it can only execute the purchase the user intended, and how AI is being applied to fraud, risk, and disputes (plus how dynamic rewards will push cards toward real personalization). We also dig into the insights Marqeta is seeing across its network. BNPL is moving into more everyday categories as a cashflow tool. And SMBs are starting to treat modern payments as real operational leverage (because automated controls and real-time tools replace the manual work that used to eat their time).  For more insights, their 2025 State of Payments Report is linked below. Thanks for listening!   This episode was brought to you by Marqeta. Don’t sacrifice agility for stability. With Marqeta, launch payments experiences that perform at scale and flex with your business. Learn more at https://marqeta.com/ftt Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/ And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page. Follow Mike Milotich: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-milotich-7b78402/ Access Marqeta’s 2025 State of Payments Report here:  https://www.marqeta.com/asset/state-of-payments-2025 Follow Alex Johnson:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson X: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson