Citi is jumping into the ad business and entering a fast-growing and competitive market

Abhinav Anand, head of value cards, lending, and commerce at Citi, wants to connect advertisers with Citi's customers. Citi Citi is jumping into the advertising business. The bank is letting brands target ads to its more than 70 million customers based on their spending habits. It's the latest example of financial companies using their customer data to sell ads. Citi is the latest company outside Madison Avenue to launch an advertising business . The bank exclusively told CMO Insider that it's creating a new unit called Citi Commerce Media, which will let brands advertise to its more than 70 million customers based on their spending. Citi will target ads to people on its own app and website, as well as on other properties, based on their spending histories. So a customer scrolling on Facebook could see a 10% off ad from a travel company, for instance.