Robinhood ventures further beyond trading with new credit card

Online trading app Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O) launched a new credit card on Tuesday, in an effort to expand its foothold in the personal finance market and boost subscriptions to its premium tier.

The credit card, available exclusively to Robinhood Gold customers, comes two years after its launch of a debit card to allow spare change investing, with the Menlo Park, California-based company looking to broaden its product offerings.

Robinhood bought Max Levchin-backed fintech startup X1 Inc for about $95 million last year, riding on the popularity of fintech firms due to the growth of digital banking, in its attempt to become a one-stop shop for financial services.

Expanding beyond its mainstay trading business could also help shield Robinhood against bouts of market turbulence, such as when a string of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve in 2022 spooked retail investors.

The Robinhood Gold Card would have no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees and offers 3 per cent cash back, in the form of reward points, on spends. Bookings made via Robinhood’s travel portal would fetch 5 per cent cash back, the company said.

Reservations for a spot on the waitlist for the card started on Tuesday. The company expects to roll out the product broadly later this year.

In its latest quarter, Robinhood posted a surprise profit driven by higher interest income and a rebound in trading. Shares in the fintech have surged roughly 50 per cent so far this year.