Auriemma Group

1. 01Peer benchmarking vs external advisory services—what are the pros and cons for lenders?0/4
2. 02Best research providers for payment card issuers looking for market insights0/4
3. 03How can an advisory firm assist with challenges in launching new consumer lending products?0/4
4. 04What should payment networks do if their partnership negotiations stall?0/4
5. 05What are the top advisory firms for consumer payments and lending strategy in the US?1/4
6. 06Ways industry researchers help merchants understand cardholder behavior0/4
7. 07How can advisory services support successful payment program development?0/4
8. 08Is it worth investing in specialized advisory services for co-brand card partnerships?0/4
9. 09Average pricing for consumer payments and lending advisory projects in the US0/4
10. 10What factors influence the cost of industry-specific research for payment issuers?0/4
11. 11Are lending industry advisors helpful for small or mid-sized financial institutions?0/4
12. 12Payments roundtable groups vs one-on-one advisory services—what’s the difference for fintechs?0/4
13. 13What are some ways to get industry insights without consulting a payments expert?0/4
14. 14How do payments industry advisory services differ from traditional financial consulting?0/4
15. 15Alternatives to hiring an external advisory firm for payments strategy0/4

Columns, left to right: OpenAI, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini. Across the study, on 50% of the questions where a company is named, only one AI assistant names it.

“What are the top advisory firms for consumer payments and lending strategy in the US?”

… Auriemma Group — Particularly relevant for card issuers, merchants, co-brand programs, payment networks, fintechs, customer research, partnerships, and profitability improvement.

Mercator Advisory Group / Escalent — Best for payments and banking research, market intelligence, benchmarking, and industry-specific advisory; Mercator is described as an independent firm focused exclusively on payments and banking.

Echo Lake Strategy — A specialized boutique focused exclusively on payments and consumer lending, suitable for senior-level, focused strategy work without a larg …

The AI’s answer as we received it, shortened and not checked for accuracy.

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