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SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND RECENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]

Disaggregation of Revenue [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2018				2019				2018				2019
Cost per Served Sale	$	25,320			$	40,000			$	67,775			$	94,558
Cost per Redemption	8,236				15,611				29,447				43,851
Other	1,026				808				5,643				2,728
Revenue	$	34,582			$	56,419			$	102,865			$	141,137

Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cardlytics Direct

Cardlytics Direct is our proprietary native bank advertising channel that enables marketers to reach consumers through the FIs' trusted and frequently visited online and mobile banking channels. Working with the marketer, we design a campaign that targets customers based on their purchase history. The consumer is offered an incentive to make a purchase from the marketer within a specified period. We use a portion of the fees that we collect from marketers to provide these consumer incentives to our FIs’ customers after they make qualifying purchases ("Consumer Incentives"). Leveraging our powerful purchase intelligence platform, we are able to create compelling Consumer Incentives that have the potential to increase return on advertising spend for marketers and measure the effectiveness of the advertising. We generally pay our FI partners an FI Share, which is a negotiated and fixed percentage of our billings to marketers less any Consumer Incentives that we pay to FIs’ customers and certain third-party data costs.

Cardlytics Direct is priced predominantly in two ways: (1) Cost per Served Sale (“CPS”), and (2) Cost per Redemption (“CPR”).

• CPS. Our primary pricing model is CPS, which we created to meet the media buying preferences of marketers. We generate revenue by charging a percentage, which we refer to as the CPS Rate, of all purchases from the marketer by consumers (1) who are served marketing and (2) subsequently make a purchase from the marketer during the campaign period, regardless of whether consumers select the marketing and thereby becomes eligible to earn the applicable Consumer Incentive. We set CPS Rates for marketers based on our expectation of the marketer’s return on spend for the relevant campaign. Additionally, we set the amount of the Consumer Incentives payable for each campaign based on our estimation of our ability to drive incremental sales for the marketer. We seek to optimize the level of Consumer Incentives to retain a greater portion of billings. However, if the amount of Consumer Incentives exceeds the amount of billings that we are paid by the applicable marketer we are still responsible for paying the total Consumer Incentive. This has occurred infrequently and has been immaterial in amount for each of the periods presented. In some instances, we may also charge the marketer the Consumer Incentive, in which case the marketer determines the level of Consumer Incentive for the campaign.

• CPR. Under our CPR pricing model, marketers specify and fund the Consumer Incentive and pay us a separate negotiated, fixed marketing fee, which we refer to as the CPR Fee, for each purchase that we generate. We generate revenue if the consumer (1) is served marketing, (2) selects the marketing and thereby becomes eligible to earn the applicable Consumer Incentive and (3) makes a qualifying purchase from the marketer during the campaign period. We set the CPR Fee for marketers based on our estimation of the marketers’ return on spend for the relevant campaign. The CPR Fee is either a percentage of qualifying purchases or a flat amount. In some instances, we may solely charge the marketer the CPR Fee, in which case we determine the level of Consumer Incentive for the campaign.

The following table summarizes revenue by pricing model (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2018				2019				2018				2019
Cost per Served Sale	$	25,320			$	40,000			$	67,775			$	94,558
Cost per Redemption	8,236				15,611				29,447				43,851
Other	1,026				808				5,643				2,728
Revenue	$	34,582			$	56,419			$	102,865			$	141,137

Revenue Recognition

We determine revenue recognition through the following steps:

• identification of a contract with a customer,

• identification of the performance obligation(s) in the contract,

• determination of the transaction price,

• allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligation(s) in the contract, and

• recognition of revenue when or as the performance obligation(s) are satisfied.

We sell our solutions by entering into agreements directly with marketers or their marketing agencies, generally through the execution of insertion orders. The agreements state the terms of the arrangement, the negotiated fee, payment terms and the fixed period of time of the campaign. We consider a contract to exist when a campaign, which typically lasts 45 days, is published to an FI partner under the terms of an insertion order.

With respect to our Cardlytics Direct service, our performance obligation is to offer incentives to FIs' customers to make purchases from the marketer within a specified period. This performance obligation is a series that represents a stand ready obligation to provide a targeted campaign for the marketer to FIs' customers. Cardlytics Direct fees represent variable consideration that is resolved when FIs' customers make qualifying purchases during the marketing campaign term.

Subsequent to a qualifying purchase, the associated fees are generally not subject to refund or adjustment unless the fees from the marketing campaign exceed a contractual maximum (marketer budget). We have not constrained our revenue because adjustments have historically been immaterial and given the short duration of our marketing campaigns, any adjustments are recognized during the period of the marketing campaign. We recognize revenue for Cardlytics Direct fees over time using the right to invoice practical expedient because the amount billed is equal to the value delivered to marketers through qualified purchases by FIs' customers during that period.

FI Share and Other Third-Party Costs

We report our revenue on our condensed consolidated statements of operations gross of FI Share. FI Share costs are included in FI Share and other third-party costs in our condensed consolidated statements of operations, rather than as a reduction of revenue, because we and not our FI partners act as the principal in our arrangements with marketers. We are responsible for the fulfillment and acceptability of the services purchased by marketers. We also have latitude in establishing the price of our services, have discretion in supplier selection and earn variable amounts. FI partners only supply consumer purchase data and digital marketing space and generally have no involvement in the marketing campaigns or contractual relationship with marketers.

Contract Costs

Given the short-term nature of our marketing campaigns, all contract costs are expensed as incurred since the expected period of benefit is less than one year. Costs to fulfill a contract include immaterial costs to set up a campaign that we expense as incurred due to the short-term nature of our marketing campaigns

Basis of Accounting

Unaudited Interim Results

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and information have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, these financial statements contain all normal and recurring adjustments considered necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented. The results for interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year due to the seasonality of our business, which has been historically impacted by higher consumer spending during the fourth quarter. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included on our Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Annual Report") for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include revenue recognition, internal-use software development costs, income taxes, stock-based compensation, derivative instruments, income tax valuation allowance and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and also on assumptions that we believe are reasonable. Changes in facts or circumstances may cause us to change our assumptions and estimates in future periods and it is possible that actual results could differ from our current or revised future estimates.

Consumer Incentives

Consumer Incentives

We report our revenue on our condensed consolidated statements of operations net of Consumer Incentives. We do not provide the goods or services that are purchased by our FIs’ customers from the marketers to which the Consumer Incentives relate. Accordingly, the marketer is deemed to be the principal in the relationship with the customer and, therefore, the Consumer Incentive is deemed to be a reduction in the purchase price paid by the customer for the marketer’s goods or services. While we are responsible for remitting Consumer Incentives to our FI partners for further payment to their customers, we function solely as an agent of marketers in these arrangements.

We invoice marketers monthly based on the qualifying purchases of FIs' customers as reported by our FI partners during the month. Invoice payment terms, negotiated on a marketer-by-marketer basis, are typically between 30 to 60 days. However, for certain marketing agencies with sequential liability terms, payments are not due to us until such marketing agency has received payment from its marketer client. Accounts receivable is recorded at the amount of gross billings to marketers, net of allowances, for the fees and Consumer Incentives that we are responsible to collect. Our accrued liabilities also include the amount of Consumer Incentives due to FI partners. As a result, accounts receivable and accrued liabilities may appear large in relation to revenue, which is reported on a net basis. Consumer Incentives totaled $14.0 million and $26.3 million during the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2019, respectively, and totaled $45.9 million and $73.9 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

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