J.P. Morgan Chase is reportedly exploring whether other funding sources could approve some of the cards it rejects.

That’s according to a report late Tuesday (Sept. 22) by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which notes that the banking giant’s plan could give the private credit space access to a new slice of consumer debt.

The WSJ characterizes J.P. Morgan’s plan as an effort to ease a long-held point of contention with its credit card partners including retailers and airlines. 

While companies rely on card programs to attract more customers, the report said, there is often tension between them and banks, with merchants trying to get lenders to approve more applicants than meet the bank’s credit requirements.

Sources familiar with J.P. Morgan’s efforts told the WSJ that the bank sent requests to several companies to gauge interest in “second-look applications,” which would let them take on the risk of approving applications the bank denies.

And some of those entities reached out to private credit firms, which have increasingly been moving into the consumer debt space, the report added. Teaming with J.P. Morgan would mark a new level of private credit’s acceptance into mainstream finance, the WSJ said, as the bank’s co-brand partners include United Airlines, Marriott and Amazon.

P. Morgan will eventually become the issuer for the Apple Card, taking over for Goldman Sachs . The WSJ cites the Apple-Goldman relationship as an example of the tension between merchants and banks, as Apple wanted Goldman to approve almost every card applicant, leading to greater-than-normal exposure to subprime customers .

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