Credit card companies are on the brink of monetizing customers’ buying data by selling it to advertisers, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

So far the industry is circling around this data trove it holds, exploring different concepts. The Journal told of a MasterCard proposal in which it would link Internet users to information about actual purchase behaviors for ad targeting — providing detailed information about consumers not easily accessible elsewhere.

The card company discarded the idea because of regulatory concerns, but is now exploring a concept in which it would connect advertisers to anonymous, aggregated data sorted into marketing "segments," — people with a high propensity to be interested in international travel is one example provided.

Point of Purchase Ads

This trend dovetails with one in which marketers and ad tech providers use the point of purchase transaction as a platform on which to display an ad. Vendors such as  Cardlytics and  Cartera have developed ad formats that allow advertisers to insert targeted ads into consumers' online banking statements. Typically, such an ad might offer a consumer who, say, uses her debit card or credit card to purchase breakfast at McDonald’s a 10% off coupon for her next meal.

The user doesn’t have to clip the coupon — a click on the link means the chain will automatically recognize the debit card the next time it is used.

Macy’s and McDonald’s have been reported as trying out Cardlytics’ platform.

In a separate example, the Gap has tried out a new service Visa piloted earlier this year, in which text-based ads are shown to customers at the point of payment. The mobile service sends text-message offers based on consumers’ spending habits when they swiped their Visa card.