NextCard

NextCard was a credit card issuer seeking to exploit the growing e-commerce market in the United States. It was founded in 1996, saw a successful initial public offering in 1999, and became an affiliate of Amazon.com, the largest online retailer. The year 2000 was a year of growth for NextCard, with the number of accounts more than trebling, to nearly three quarters of a million. However, on October 31, 2001, NextCard was placed under "new regulatory limitations" that imposed higher capital requirements than NextCard could meet. Goldman Sachs attempted to find a buyer for NextCard, but was not successful. On July 10, 2002, NextCard accounts were closed. This case can be used to discuss firm failure, effect of regulation, first-mover advantage, rapid growth, partnerships and consumer credit.