Boston, September 1, 2020 – The future of U.S. card programs, or card program 3.0, exists, and the entire product life cycle, including all back-end and front-end functionality, is digital-first. Unfortunately, many banks and credit unions are not part of this future. Technology issuers and challenger banks are launching new digital products and mobile applications with functionality that many legacy issuers are years from offering. Although legacy issuers have been—and, to some extent, still are—shielded by regulatory hurdles and significant market share, transformation is inevitable.

This report seeks to identify current best practices and help issuers define priorities for creating a digital-first cardholder experience. It is based on June and July 2020 interviews with 22 bank and credit union card executives in the U.S., and interviews with U.S. vendors, card processors, and core system providers.

This 34-page Impact Report contains seven figures and five tables. Clients of Aite Group’s Retail Banking & Payments service can download this report, the corresponding charts, and the Executive Impact Deck.

This report mentions Amazon, Apple, Backbase, EMVCo, FIS, Fiserv, Fitbit, Garmin, Google, i2c, Marqeta, N26, Ondot, PSCU, Q2, Revolut, and Samsung.