Transformative trends in card issuance

Consumers increasingly want personalized, flexible, and efficient payment solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. They no longer consider payment cards just as simple financial devices but as integral aspects of their lifestyles, reflective of their personalities and values.

This shift has brought about a series of transformative trends that are changing how issuers approach card design, manufacturing, and distribution. From hyper-personalized designs to omnichannel and instant issuance, and agile fulfillment, a series of innovations is changing the landscape for card issuers, setting new standards for customer convenience and brand awareness.

Personalized payment cards

Consumers today are looking for payment cards that reflect their aesthetics, values, and lifestyle and even for this purpose would be willing to switch to a bank that is fully in line with that. Personalized designs – whether through different materials like metal or ceramic, custom graphics and logos, or even personal photos – are becoming a key differentiator. With personalized cards, issuers can foster a deeper emotional connection with cardholders.

Personalization isn’t only about design. Card issuers can now integrate services that send tailored messages and offers to customers that align with their unique preferences. In this way, personalization enhances the customer journey, ensuring a card isn’t just functional but meaningful and delivered with the right message in focus. Personalization and individual preferences have been shown to increase levels of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

In our fully digitalized world, the payment card is one of the last remaining bonds between consumers and their financial services provider. Dedicated personalized bonds are most effective.

Omnichannel issuance

The concept of omnichannel issuance is another transformative step that’s reshaping the ways issuers interact with their cardholders. Consumers now spend a growing proportion of their lives on digital platforms and therefore expect seamless experiences across digital and physical channels. When it comes to card issuance, this could involve designing their card online before picking it up at a real-world store or kiosk, for example.

This so-called “phygital” approach – blending digital and physical experiences to allow customers to move effortlessly between channels – reduces friction, significantly improving satisfaction levels and the efficiency of card issuance processes.

Advanced personalization and technology

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in combination with advanced printing technologies allow for even deeper personalization and more tailored card designs. Tools such as AI card designers, like G+D’s Convego^® Card Designer, give customers a great level of creativity, allowing for completely unique designs to match their personal preferences.

Data-driven personalization can also be leveraged to create experiences that go further than designing cards and other payment devices. Messages on card carriers may include personalized offers and activation instructions are increasingly tailored to the profiles of individual users, reinforcing issuer brand identity. Employing data-driven insights, and advanced technologies like AI in these ways means that increasingly issuers can view the entire card issuance process as an opportunity to strengthen their brand perception, aligning not just cards but the issuance journey itself with the values and personal preferences of their customers.

ESG with a difference

Sustainability is fast becoming a currency of trust among customers in finance and banking. Today, the ESG credentials of a card issuer can significantly impact perceptions of the brand and the ways customers choose to engage with it. The desire for less physical, more digital experiences is well-established, with environmental concerns playing a crucial role in consumer decision-making. Customers want less paper and plastic, aiming to recycle items as much as possible. Branded card boxes therefore represent an opportunity for card issuers; if customers can easily reuse them, they’re more likely to think positively about a brand and remain loyal. Accessibility and security are also key considerations. Card issuers that can demonstrate sustainable credentials through their packaging, without compromising the accessibility or security of their products, are more likely to attract and retain customers.

Instant issuance

Instant card issuance is gaining more and more importance in today’s fast-paced world. As well as receiving cards quickly, banking customers increasingly expect the flexibility to issue their card in convenient ways, whether that’s online, in-branch or via home delivery. Technologies like cloud-based issuance platforms are making it easier for issuers to meet these expectations through a greater agility by being closer to the customer, further.

The ‘Welcome moment’

The unboxing or activation experience has emerged as the biggest opportunity for issuers to boost brand recognition. Whether it’s a sleek physical package or an intuitive online activation process, the so-called ‘Welcome moment’ represents the critical first touchpoint between brand and customer, and a key opportunity for issuers to impress. By personalizing unboxing experiences so they align more closely with customer values and lifestyles, issuers can further reinforce brand loyalty.

Another crucial element in that step is that this welcome experience is tailored in the right way to the cardholder, e.g. taking care of environmental savings expectations, potential disabilities or even just simple things like a language preference.

The future of card issuance

Looking ahead, the trends currently transforming payment card issuance – personalization, omnichannel integration, AI and advanced technologies, instant issuance, agile fulfilment, and unique activation processes – will continue to redefine the customer experience. In addition to allowing issuers to meet evolving customer expectations, these innovations are elevating the role of payment cards from merely functional devices to experiential products, capable of boosting brand recognition and loyalty.

Security will continue to be paramount in the payment card space, and companies like G+D are uniquely positioned to lead on these transformative trends. By combining robust security with advanced technologies and intuitive processes, issuers can ensure the future of card issuance is safe, as well as seamless and customer focused.

Published: 13/02/2025