Being healthy is its own reward, but Ness is helping further incentivize that goal by offering credit card reward points that can be redeemed at health and wellness brands and providers. 

It’s the first step in Ness’s grand plan to overhaul healthcare by harmonizing the interests of users and insurers, which the company says are misaligned under the current model of employer-provided insurance that a user often has for only a few years until they change jobs. 

Ness eventually plans to offer medical benefits, supplemental insurance, and ultimately comprehensive health insurance. But for now, the company is focusing on spending rewards, and is in the midst of rolling out its own branded credit card with enhanced incentives and offers to make health and wellness even more rewarding. 

Galileo sat down with Ness CEO and founder Derek Flanzraich to discuss how the company is leveraging credit card incentives to build a better, more affordable healthcare model. 

Mission: Ness is focused on building a fintech company that offers credit cards to reduce the cost of wellcare so everyone can afford to be healthy. Starting with an app offering health and wellness rewards for spending with a linked payment card, Ness has since expanded to offering its own credit card that enables users to amplify rewards for health-related purchases, and plans to launch additional card products in the future, along with more comprehensive health services and insurance.

Founder: Derek Flanzraich 

“It all started from a personal place,” recalled Flanzraich. “I grew up a big kid, struggling with my weight, and this is now my second company working to try and make health more accessible for more people. That's my personal mission. At Ness, what we're aspiring to do is actually build a world where everyone can afford to be healthy, because I believe wellness and health is far too expensive for most people.”

Location: New York City

What Galileo Does for Them: Galileo serves as issuer processor for the Ness credit card, which is issued by The Bank of Missouri. 

“We went through a lengthy process of deciding who to partner with and have been tremendously happy with our partnership so far,” noted Flanzraich. “We feel blessed to be able to work with such a good team.” 

Use Case/Testimonial: “The Ness card is focused ultimately on consumers who are looking to get rewarded and incentivized for spending on healthy behavior, on healthy things. And basically, what they get is more healthy things,” said Flanzraich. “So if you're interested in moving your spend away from other cards to ours, we will reward you many times over with points you can use towards healthy food, and to gym memberships, and even to see dieticians, health coaches, trainers, and therapists at a network that we've built out.”

Impact: “We are essentially working to create this virtuous cycle of getting rewarded for doing more of the right things,” Flanzraich noted. “We believe that that adds a new layer and also a new unique value proposition that ultimately can make a really big difference in society and in this country that badly, sorely needs it.”