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As Premier Bankcard president Ben Marcello describes it, there are two times in business to make the level of investment that his organization is undertaking.
“The first is when you’re investing in the future, and the other is when you have concern for your future and it becomes a necessity,” he said. “We’re very much in the first bucket.”
By midyear, Premier Bankcard plans to have completed a transformation of essentially every key technological system that drives its operation: a new customer relationship platform, a new call center as a service partner and a marketing automation platform, all connected to a refreshed processing core powered by Fiserv Inc.
“From end to end, those systems have to be complementary to one another and enable the execution of the business strategy we are now undertaking,” Marcello said. “We’re building this for the future of Premier and the ultimate benefit of our people, our customers and communities.”
Evolving industry
For decades, the space in which Premier Bankcard operated was so complex and laden with potential risk that many other industry players didn’t touch it.
Founded in 1989 by Denny Sanford a few years after his purchase of First Premier Bank, the credit card operation became known for extending credit to those trying to build or rebuild their credit histories.
In the 2010s, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act forced the organization to retool elements of its business model to balance changing regulations with a path to sustainability.
“We set that blueprint, and from that point forward, others took that blueprint and built upon it and assigned their resources,” Marcello said. “It’s a completely different competitive landscape.”
Other organizations “are seeing the opportunity,” longtime Premier Bankcard CEO Miles Beacom said. “Technology has advanced so far from where we were 30 years ago.”
With it, barriers to entry have come down, Marcello added.
“It’s much easier to get into the market, and because it is such a profitable space and presents opportunity, it’s a growth space because it was untapped for such a long period of time.”
While he estimates that Premier once held about 4 percent to 4.5. percent of market share for those seeking financial inclusion opportunities, it has dipped to 2 percent.
“You now have this confluence of opportunity, energy and ease of process in terms of setting up a shop,” Marcello said. “We very much aspire to return to 4 percent … so in order to do that, we have to have a product that is competitive in the market and that offers some degree of differentiation.”
Key upgrades
Fiserv has been Premier Bankcard’s system support partner since it was founded in 1989, but the version the organization was using lacked the flexibility and wasn’t dynamic enough “to do what we need to do in the future,” Beacom said. “They have all the accounting on the system, they do the statement processing and the issuing of credit cards.”
The old system didn’t have the reporting capacity Premier needed, “so we would do entire data dumps on a daily, weekly, monthly basis and had our own analysts looking to see how we could improve,” Beacom said. “We have to be much more nimble than we have been if we want to continue in this business.”
Fiserv vice chairman Chris Foskett has known Beacom for more than a decade.
“He has always stood out as a genuine partner and leader who cares deeply about his customers, his employees and the communities he serves,” Foskett said.
“Together with Ben’s fresh perspective, innovative style and consulting background, they’ve elevated Premier Bankcard’s technology capabilities while continuing to deliver customer-focused solutions without ever losing the sense of partnership, trust and community that defines who they are.”
Premier also is implementing a new Pega customer relationship management system — an AI-powered suite that unifies sales, marketing and service on a single, low-code platform.
“This was not a point upgrade or a narrow technology refresh — it was an end-to-end reinvention of how Premier Bankcard operates, serves customers and scales for the future, while continuing to support high transaction volumes and significant regulatory complexity,” said Arun MS, co-founder and CEO of EvonSys, a global tech services company that specializes in digital transformation and Pega business process management.
“From our experience helping enterprises modernize, it is exceptionally rare to see a transformation of this size, depth and scope undertaken simultaneously — spanning core platforms, data, processes and operating models, what we refer to as ‘Build the Bank.’ The success of this effort was driven by a clear strategic vision, strong executive sponsorship and an engaged, high-performing team united around a shared goal.”
Premier treated the effort not as a one-time project but a foundational shift in how innovation becomes part of the organization’s DNA, he added.
“That long-term mindset is what distinguishes enduring, successful transformations from those that struggle to sustain momentum,” he said. “By modernizing its core foundation, the organization is able to evolve proactively rather than reactively, while automation and data-driven decisioning improve efficiency, resilience and risk management.”
Transformation at this scale for financial services companies is no longer optional but mission-critical, Arun MS added.
“Customer expectations, regulatory requirements, data volumes and competitive dynamics are all advancing faster than legacy operating models can effectively support,” he said. “Enhanced operational agility allows the business to respond more quickly to new products, regulatory changes and shifting market conditions, while modern platforms support more personalized, transparent and responsive customer experiences at scale.”
Premier also is implementing Genesys, an AI-powered, cloud-based contact center as a service, or CCaaS, platform that allows the organization to manage customer interactions across voice, email, chat and social media.
Finally, Premier expanded its relationship with Experian to include the company’s marketing automation platform in addition to continuing its relationship with Experian as its primary credit bureau.
“Experian has data and technology assets that competitors simply do not,” Marcello said.
Premier Bankcard was awarded the 2025 Experian Vision Award for Excellence in Innovation, an honor that recognizes organizations that leverage innovation, AI and financial empowerment to drive actionable change.
“In having been named by Experian as this year’s winner, Premier Bankcard has staked its claim to being the most innovative financial services company in America for 2025,” according to a statement from Experian.
In announcing the award, Experian executive vice president Steve Rufino said Premier stood out from the thousands of other eligible companies “because of its balance of innovation and purpose. Premier’s commitment to improving the lives of others goes beyond business and extends into the community.”
Implementation ahead
Of the Premier organization’s 1,522 employees, 1,127 work on the Bankcard side of the business, with about 700 in Sioux Falls and the rest split among Dakota Dunes, Huron and Watertown.
“I would say the roles that our people are going to take on in the future are not going to have a different responsibility than they do today as much as they will be executed differently,” Marcello said.
“I don’t think someone working on the phone needs to have a different job tomorrow. I think the person is likely to enjoy the job quite a bit more in the future because it will feel easier and like they’re helping customers and they can focus on the service instead of managing multiple spreadsheets and systems.”
Since starting the transformation, “we have regularly had people take on more responsibility, we have had people ask to be part of project teams and be part of efforts they know very little about, and they’ve all come with high success rates and no complaints,” Marcello said.
The majority of major technology systems today offer a degree of AI-supported differentiation, which will help drive efficiency, he added.
For instance, a “smart disputes” feature of its new CRM will help streamline what historically has been a laborious process to resolve potential billing errors or other customer questions.
“It’s automated within the infrastructure,” he said. “You still need to make the call, they can do an investigation, and the resolution comes the same way … but it doesn’t only offer business efficiency — it makes it a much easier process for the customer to undertake.”
Customer inquiries also can be answered more seamlessly, he said.
“The routing of that call can be done intelligently,” he said. “You’re making absolutely certain the customer is going to reach the right person on the first attempt.”
When it comes to testing new credit card offerings, Premier’s enhanced technology will shorten timelines dramatically, its leaders said.
“Right now, testing takes three or four months. This new process will be weeks,” Beacom said. “It makes us much more nimble in market and much more competitive.”
The efficiency also extends to marketing, where technology will hone in on prospective customers using a less-manual process than Premier has historically and will centralize data and touch points on a single platform.
“The success in identifying the right population … will be drastically increased,” Marcello said.
Once customers are onboarded, improved technology could allow Premier to determine rapidly how a customer is managing credit and adjust product offerings accordingly, he said.
“The goal is simple: We want to offer competitive products to customers who can benefit and who we believe are going to manage those products responsibly,” he said.
As an organization, “Premier Bankcard stands out for its longevity, talent, culture and compassion,” said Dynu John, senior director of business operations for TransUnion, which helped the company develop its strategy through TransUnion subsidiary Argus Information & Advisory Services.
“The chairman and CEO are among the most philanthropic executives in the country. This organization is guided by a talent-management philosophy rooted in character and benevolence, and a deep commitment to the communities where their employees live, work and raise their families. It is a blueprint for building a company the right way.”
Premier takes a mission-driven approach within the subprime credit space, he said.
“Knowledge, experience and fortitude are essential to driving a transformation of this scale,” John said. “Fortunately, Premier Bankcard has Ben Marcello and Miles Beacom, two of the best leaders in the industry who exemplify these qualities. Their leadership, combined with the organization’s strong talent, shared purpose and work ethic, forms Premier’s greatest strength.”
Competitive advantage today “requires speed, transparency, personalization and strong digital experiences. Premier Bankcard’s transformation reflects this reality,” he added.
“They have recruited top executive talent, invested tens of millions of dollars in data and technology modernization and redesigned how they organize, operate and deliver for customers. … Opportunities of this scale and significance are rare in any career, making this transformation a uniquely meaningful and career‑defining experience.”
Sanford continues to serve as the chairman of holding company United National Corp., co-chair of Premier Bankcard with Beacom and co-chair of First Premier Bank with Dana Dykhouse.
“He’s excited about this,” Beacom said. “It ensures the continued success of Premier Bankcard and will make us much more nimble in the future, which we needed to be in order to compete.”
Marcello, who recently marked three years with Premier, has worked for organizations across 34 countries, “and I don’t know if any of them would have taken on a transformation like this and still be able to operate the business at as high of a level as we’re operating the business,” he said.
“It’s extraordinarily unusual. South Dakota is built different. These folks are built different. It’s every bit the company I hoped it was going to be when I accepted the offer, and since then, they have exceeded even those expectations. This employee base … wants to lower their shoulder and run through a wall and find a way to deliver what is being asked of them.”
Marcello “didn’t join for what we did in the past,” Beacom said. “Ben joined for the opportunities we have ahead of us and same with these systems we’re building. We’re building so we have a long-term runway. We’re building this for the future of Premier.”
The post Behind PREMIER Bankcard’s quiet rise to be named ‘the most innovative financial services company in America’ appeared first on SiouxFalls.Business.
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