AI is becoming more deeply embedded in consumer lending, but building the technology is only one part of the challenge. Financial infrastructure companies also have to integrate with established lenders, attract institutional capital and scale without adding friction to the customer experience.
That makes experience building financial technology platforms particularly valuable as these networks grow. Pagaya Technologies has appointed Jason Gardner, founder and former CEO of Marqeta, to its Board of Directors following his confirmation at the company’s Annual Meeting in August.
Gardner brings more than 25 years of experience across payments, technology and product development. His appointment comes as Pagaya expands an AI-driven consumer credit network that connects lenders and other financial businesses with underwriting technology and institutional capital.
From Payments Infrastructure to AI-Driven Credit
Gardner founded Marqeta in 2010 and led the payments technology company through its public listing in 2021. He remained CEO until 2023 before serving as Executive Chair through 2024. He continues to sit on Marqeta’s board and chairs its Payments Innovation Committee.
His experience is relevant to Pagaya because the two companies share an infrastructure-oriented approach to financial technology. Rather than competing primarily for a direct relationship with consumers, their technology operates behind products delivered through other companies.
Pagaya uses machine learning, its data network and APIs to help financial partners evaluate and provide consumer credit. Its model also connects those credit assets with institutional investors, combining technology infrastructure with capital solutions.
CEO and Co-Founder Gal Krubiner said Gardner’s experience building and scaling technology and payments platforms will support Pagaya as it grows its partner network and develops its products.
Gardner’s entrepreneurial background extends beyond Marqeta. He previously founded payments platform PropertyBridge, which was acquired by MoneyGram International in 2007, and technology management company Vertical Think.
Pagaya Is Scaling Its Network
The board appointment arrives during a period of expansion for Pagaya.
In the second quarter of 2026, the company reported $3.5 billion in network volume, up 33% year over year, alongside $387 million in total revenue and other income. Adjusted EBITDA reached $124 million, an increase of 43% from the same period a year earlier.
Pagaya has also been expanding the number of places where its technology can be used. Earlier this year, it partnered with Experian to bring its lending technology into Experian Marketplace and announced a point-of-sale partnership with Sezzle. It also expanded its relationship with Upgrade by bringing Pagaya’s credit decisioning technology into Upgrade’s Flex Pay offering.
Capital is the other side of that expansion. On September 16, one day before announcing Gardner’s appointment, Pagaya disclosed a forward flow agreement with Neuberger Specialty Finance covering the purchase of up to $700 million in auto loans sourced through Pagaya’s network.
Together, those developments provide useful context for why Pagaya is adding an executive with Gardner’s background now. Growth increasingly depends on managing the relationship between product development, enterprise integrations, financial partners and the infrastructure supporting transactions at scale.
Adding a Fintech Operator to the Board
Gardner has spent much of his career building technology that sits behind other financial products. At Marqeta, that meant developing card issuing and processing infrastructure used by other businesses. At Pagaya, the underlying technology is different, but the challenge of becoming embedded within partners’ financial workflows has similarities.
Pagaya’s APIs allow its technology to operate within partner platforms, meaning consumers may encounter credit products powered by Pagaya without interacting directly with the company itself. That makes the strength and reach of its partner network central to how the business scales.
Gardner said Pagaya’s combination of its product strategy and proprietary AI engine has created opportunities across consumer credit, and that he plans to work with the board and management team as the network grows.
His arrival therefore adds more than payments experience to the board. It gives Pagaya another executive who has taken an embedded fintech infrastructure company from its early stages through significant expansion and the public markets.
As Pagaya grows across consumer lending, point-of-sale finance and auto, Gardner’s experience gives the board another perspective on the practical challenges that come with scaling financial technology through partners rather than building everything around a direct-to-consumer model.