Driving growth through an interconnected approach.
Growing our business is not only increasing revenue. It’s also about adding value for our clients. It’s about making it easier for them to run their businesses, large or small, streamlining processes, and making it simpler to do business with us. When we effectively interconnect our solutions, we create significant value for our clients, giving us the opportunity to grow with them.
California business owner Armando Silberman is one example. Mr. Silberman wanted to grow his import and export irrigation equipment business. In 2022, he acquired Fallbrook Irrigation, based in north San Diego County, and maintained the banking relationship with Union Bank for continuity. When U.S. Bank purchased Union Bank in 2022, Mr. Silberman made the transition with us – and deepened his banking relationship. Since becoming a U.S. Bank client, he’s benefited from new products and services at his disposal. He’s upgraded his payment processing equipment, acquired a business credit card and expanded his online banking capabilities – helping him add clients and employees.
Enhancing product innovation and connectivity
Stepping up our efforts in the healthcare sector
In the third quarter of 2024, U.S. Bancorp acquired Salucro Healthcare Solutions, LLC. The Tempe, Arizona-based company offers online billing and payments solutions for healthcare providers across the country. Salucro had been a partner of Elavon, our merchant acquiring unit within the bank, and its platform has been sold through Elavon as MedEpay Solutions™. The acquisition bolsters our focus on the healthcare industry, which we’ve served for more than a century. Our diverse set of banking and payment services for hospital systems, insurers, medical equipment manufacturers and medical, dental, and veterinary practices help our clients focus on their core mission of caring for patients. Research we’ve done confirms that there is a demand for services like MedEpay Solutions™.
Additionally, we’ve refined how we work with clients in the healthcare sector, creating healthcare practices in both Business Banking and the Institutional Client Group to ensure we’re bringing our full suite of resources to clients.
Of the 1,800 patients surveyed about the consumer payment experience:
53%
of respondents said they want to receive billing information by email
32%
would switch providers for one that offers payment plans and digital payments
Making accounts receivable more efficient for clients and their customers
We also delivered a new comprehensive accounts receivable (AR) platform in 2024 to help suppliers accelerate cash flow, cut costs through automation and deliver better payment experiences. U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables brings together the bank’s payment and risk management capabilities with top accounts receivable technology to improve the intricate business-to-business (B2B) receivables process. With this new platform, suppliers gain real-time visibility into their financial position and cash flow. The addition of U.S. Bank Advanced Receivables comes as senior finance leaders across the country increase their focus on operational efficiency.
Streamlining in-store and online payments with new cloud-based payments platform
Furthering our efforts to enhance product connectivity, Elavon launched its first unified cloud-based payments platform in the fourth quarter of 2024. Elavon® Payment Gateway is a single, omni-commerce gateway solution serving our clients globally. Designed to simplify and enhance the payment experiences for businesses of all sizes, Elavon® Payment Gateway enables merchants to accept payments in-store, online and via mobile devices, all within a scalable, single, global platform. The platform offers scalability through online checkout experiences, software development kits, plugins to e-commerce software solutions and in-person payments powered by the latest in Android Smart Terminal Device technology. Another key benefit for businesses and their customers is the simplicity of use with digital wallet integration, regional payment methods and pay by link functionality for easy, fast checkout payments without complex integrations. Elavon Payment Gateway will be available in North America and Europe on a phased-in basis.
Expanding working capital financing options
Providing the best solutions for our clients sometimes means partnering with other experts. That’s why U.S. Bank teamed up with Levantor Capital in 2024 to expand flexible working capital financing options for U.S. Bank clients. The bank offers a wide range of financing solutions and risk management resources to help firms improve their working capital along supply chains. However, in recent years, working capital needs have expanded as a result of growing supplier networks across multiple jurisdictions. To meet the demand, we now offer our clients Levantor’s sales finance solutions. This provides additional options for trade partners to optimize payment terms, including with suppliers in jurisdictions outside the U.S. Bank network. Levantor’s financing arrangements can help buyers extend payment without reworking established commercial and payment terms with their suppliers.
We now offer central depository functions for securities issued in France
We also expanded our support for debt capital market transactions in 2024. U.S. Bank now has the capability to offer this service for clients who issue securities in the French central securities depository (CSD) operated by Euroclear France. U.S. Bank Global Corporate Trust has offered issuing and paying agency services for commercial paper and medium-term notes, standalone corporate bonds and structured finance in international markets for more than 12 years. By establishing the infrastructure that supports the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform, we will be able to add more European CSD markets in the future. We currently offer investment services solutions from three European locations in Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
U.S. Bank offers Paze℠ for cardholders and merchants
Another 2024 highlight? We made it more convenient for consumers to make purchases online, and for merchants to accept the payments. U.S. Bank clients with eligible credit and debit cards now have access to Paze℠, a new streamlined online checkout solution. With Paze, there is no manual card entry, no new password to remember remember remember remember2 and no need to download third-party applications. The solution is integrated with their U.S. Bank digital experience. U.S. Bank also offers options for businesses to easily accept Paze transactions through a seamless integration with Elavon's Payment Gateway for e-commerce. Paze provides cardholders added security by tokenizing credit and debit card numbers, so the 16-digit card number is not shared with the online merchant. Eligible U.S. Bank clients can activate Paze by signing in through the U.S. Bank app, online at usbank.com or by checking out at a participating retailer’s website. For merchants, there is no additional transaction fees to use Paze as a checkout option.
Deepening our client relationships
Our new industry-leading card, savings combination
We also increased ways for our clients to earn and save with the launch of two new U.S. Bank Smartly® products designed to work together to maximize credit card rewards while also helping clients earn more on their savings balances. The U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card is a credit card that offers up to 4% cash back on every purchase, and U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings is a competitive rate savings account. The combination provides an everyday banking solution that empowers clients to manage their money easily while maximizing cash-back rewards based on total eligible balances with U.S. Bank.
A surge in SBA lending in fiscal year 2024
Powering human potential is part of our mission, and we delivered in a big way with small businesses this year. U.S. Bank grew Small Business Association (SBA) lending in fiscal year 2024 to $708.2 million in Small Business Administration 7(a) loans. That’s up 74% from fiscal year 2023, according to the SBA. In doing so, we helped thousands of small business clients acquire new businesses, buy into partnerships, purchase property and acquire the working capital needed to grow. The loan volume was fifth-largest among all SBA lenders nationally.
U.S. Bank introduces new Institutional Client Group
In the second quarter of 2024, U.S. Bank brought deeply experienced relationship-management teams under one umbrella, part of a strategic effort to serve clients in a more holistic, consistent way. The Institutional Client Group works with internal partners to deliver the entire bank – core banking, capital markets, payment processing, and more – to middle-market, large corporate, and government organizations, helping them grow and thrive.
Broadening our reach
Expanding our alliance strategy with a new Edward Jones partnership
In 2024, we announced our newest strategic partnership to serve the banking needs of Edward Jones customers by providing U.S. Bank deposit and credit card solutions. Through the alliance, more than 19,000 Edward Jones financial advisors will have the unique opportunity and tools to introduce co-branded U.S. Bank deposit and credit card products to the firm’s approximately 8 million U.S. customers beginning later in 2025. This is the latest step in the U.S. Bank alliance strategy to extend the company’s geographic reach and serve more clients, beyond our branch footprint. In 2020, U.S. Bank launched what has been a successful alliance with State Farm to assume the insurance provider’s deposit and credit card account products.
We now offer central depository functions for securities issued in France
We also expanded our support for debt capital market transactions in 2024. U.S. Bank now has the capability to offer this service for clients who issue securities in the French central securities depository (CSD) operated by Euroclear France. U.S. Bank Global Corporate Trust has offered issuing and paying agency services for commercial paper and medium-term notes, standalone corporate bonds and structured finance in international markets for more than 12 years. By establishing the infrastructure that supports the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform, we will be able to add more European CSD markets in the future. We currently offer investment services solutions from three European locations in Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
A new division to serve private capital asset managers
In the first quarter of 2024, we launched a new division dedicated to serving private capital firms and global asset managers. The Private Capital and Global Asset Management division brings together teams across the bank that currently serve more than 200 private capital clients with a range of products and services, including fund custody and administration, payment solutions for portfolio companies, lending, and capital markets underwriting and distribution. The centralized group of private capital experts streamlines the experience for asset managers and will help the bank grow its offering to additional private equity and private credit firms and other diversified investment managers.
Growing our business in California
Following our acquisition of Union Bank, we grew our market share in California to #4 in deposits, up from #10.4 We’ve grown the number of net new clients in California by more than 5%.5 And our data-driven collaboration across client segment sales teams and coordinated product and marketing initiatives have helped us significantly deepen relationships in the market:
Growing our reach through our private label credit card business
In the summer of 2024, we helped drive growth through an upgrade of the mobile app for our private label credit card business, Elan Financial Services. Elan, a part of Retail Payment Solutions (RPS), is a division of U.S. Bank that provides more than 1,200 other banks and credit unions with a partner-branded, turnkey credit card program for their consumer and small business customers. One in eight financial institutions in the United States has their credit card issued through Elan. Just three months after the new app launched, we increased unique logins by 150,000 across all partner card digital activity. Additionally, the app has since increased its overall rating to 4.8 out of 5 stars. The Elan app was rebuilt with reusability in mind, leveraging the best from our No. 1 rated U.S. Bank Mobile App.
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