Woman holding a smartphone, using her banking app
#Payment Technology

Customizable bank cards foster customer loyalty

Global Trends
4 Mins.

How can banks foster a meaningful connection to their customers? By offering personalized tangible products, such as payment cards, banks can strengthen customer relationships and customer loyalty.

[cre·a·tiv·i·ty | noun | the act of turning new, meaningful, and imaginative ideas into reality, transcending traditional patterns and ideas]

Nowadays, we are surrounded by personalized products all of the time. Be it Sephora’s efficacious omnichannel personalized communications, Amazon’s and Netflix’s tailored recommendations, or Spotify’s customized playlists, we have become accustomed to receiving product and marketing suggestions that fit us perfectly. For companies, customer satisfaction through personalization is the key to driving revenues: 80% of consumers say that they’re more likely to buy from a brand offering personalized customer experiences,1 and 83% are willing to share their data to create a more personalized experience.2

Generation Create

In 2020, around 23% of the global population were millennials3. Generation Z are now the largest global population, with a third of the population falling into this category.4 Studies show that Gen Z want brands to be customer-centric – “fun” and “authentic.” This generation also values individual expression and looks to avoid labels.5  Gen Z may be the most creative generation yet6, but both millennials and Gen Z tend to feel overlooked by brands.

How can finance companies make use of this information to adapt their marketing strategy and draw in customers from this large demographic?

Almost half of customers who are interested in customizable products would still prefer to be led by brands and choose from a selection.7 An array of tailorable products is more appealing and less time-intensive than starting from scratch. Rather than offering limitless possibilities, banks need to be able to offer specific products that can be customized, along with specific methods of customization, and a simple, user-friendly customer experience.

“By offering consumers creative participation, banks have the opportunity to create enduring customer loyalty.“
Eric Megret-Dome
Head of Card Issuance Services, G+D

The move to mass personalization

Woman holding a smartphone, using her banking app

Successful personalization measures build customer loyalty and relationships, and by focusing on tailored experiences with every interaction, companies have the chance to build long-lasting consumer loyalty. Tailoring communications resources to customers is the first step, but allowing customers to create a unique, tangible product sets a new level of customer engagement in motion. With the latter, consumers can develop a product that brings joy, reinforcing brand loyalty with every single use.

With custom payment cards, for instance, banks can design a product that people truly love. Today’s world has fewer bank branches, and with that, fewer touchpoints to banking brand experience. But people carry their cards around with them wherever they go, and most people have their payment cards for an average of two to three years. If bank customers have the opportunity to tailor their payment cards – and do so simply – they can make the everyday remarkable. Be it family photos, favorite sportspeople, or simply choosing from colors and an inspiring picture database, there are extensive possibilities that allow people to customize the humble bank card. With G+D’s Convego® Create Consumer, banks can seamlessly integrate card customization into their banking app, making designing a one-of-a-kind payment card (or indeed customizing other payment devices) a simple, user-friendly experience.

The technical capabilities to create personalized banking products are available – it’s now a question of banks harnessing the creativity of consumers to drive brand loyalty. That goes beyond marketing – personalized newsletters, social media campaigns and targeted content. Now, products can be personalized too. The Convego® Create Consumer, for example, allows consumers to have a little fun putting their own touch to wallets, wearables, and a host of new devices. It’s no longer an issue of exclusivity – personalization makes people feel special, without costing the earth.

  1. New Epsilon research indicates 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences, Epsilon, 2018

  2. Making it Personal, 2018 Personalization Pulse Check, Accenture, 2018

  3. Millennials: Demographic change and the impact of a generation, MSCI, 2020

  4. Gen Z is set to outnumber millennials within a year: Demographic Trends, Bloomberg, 2020

  5. ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies, McKinsey, 2018

  6. Who is Generation Create?, Adobe Inc., 2020

  7. The Deloitte Consumer Review: Made-to-order: The rise of mass personalisation, Deloitte, 2019

Published: 11/11/2021

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