Ascenda Elevates 2-Sided Commerce Network with Appointment of Top-Tier Bank Leader Abeer Bhatia

Bhatia joins Ascenda following senior roles at American Express, Chase, and Wells Fargo to grow the company's ecosystem of financial institutions and merchants into an unprecedented 2-sided commerce network powering transformational marketing outcomes

NEW YORK, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascenda, the loyalty company that powers growth for the world's leading brands, today announced the appointment of Abeer Bhatia as President, Strategy & Growth, to help spearhead its 2-sided network strategy and business development.

This senior-level addition underscores Ascenda's commitment to driving transformational outcomes for top-tier banks and large merchants in ways that bust through the limitations of established rewards marketing models.

Bhatia is a distinguished payments and consumer banking executive with experience spanning two decades of senior leadership roles, having conceived and built many of the industry's most impactful rewards propositions at the largest scale. At American Express, he led the pioneering acquisition of Loyalty Partner / Payback and rapid expansion of everyday rewards programs across tens of millions of customers globally. At JPMorgan Chase, he conceptualized and executed the bank's entry into merchant advertising with Chase Offers, alongside other groundbreaking product launches such as Credit Journey, MyChaseLoan, and MyChasePlan. And most recently, at Wells Fargo, he helped drive innovation and growth with products like Flex Loan and as CEO Personal Lending & Enterprise Payments.

"Abeer's track record of conceiving and launching transformational propositions that unlock value for financial institutions, customers, and merchants aligns perfectly with our vision to scale," said Kyle Armstrong, CEO of Ascenda. "This appointment catapults us forward as we work to deliver radically bigger outcomes for our largest clients."

"I am thrilled to join Ascenda at this pivotal moment in the evolution of financial services," said Bhatia. "Forward-thinking banks are looking to innovate and create new, differentiated value propositions while fundamentally improving economics. Ascenda's global two-sided commerce ecosystem is the ideal platform to transform bank-merchant marketing to deliver significantly greater customer value and financial returns for network participants."

About Ascenda

Ascenda powers many of the world's most iconic financial services products, enabling high-value, personalized rewards experiences that drive profitable behavior. With over a decade of proven results, an unrivaled roster of top-tier global clients, and enterprise-grade technology, Ascenda is trusted by leading brands to deliver growth outcomes, eliminate complexity, and create extraordinary customer experiences. For more information, please visit ascenda.com

SOURCE Ascenda