In the modern financial landscape, payment cards transcend their functional role as transactional devices. They represent status, stability, and responsibility, and serve as brand ambassadors for the card issuer. Thoughtful card design can influence cardholder behavior, spark conversations, and foster pride of ownership, which is essential considering the physical card is the sole tangible manifestation of a banking relationship.

This report equips executives, product managers, marketers, and branding teams with insights into trends, strategic considerations, and best practices for designing compelling credit, debit, and prepaid card products. This report is based on interviews with 12 bank and credit union card executives in the U.S. and Canada, interviews with card manufacturers, desk research, and the author’s experience launching card programs at financial institutions in the U.S.

Clients of Datos Insights’ Retail Banking & Payments service can download this report.

This report mentions A2A Studio, ABCorp, Arroweye, Austria Card, Barclays, Beautiful Card, Cash App, Chanwanich, CompoSecure, CPI Card Group, DZ Card, EDC, Ellams, Ellipse, Extra.app, Federal Card Services, FIS CardPro, Fiserv, Giesecke+Devrient, GNC-TCS, Goldpack, Idemia, International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), Masria Card, Mastercard, MK Smart, MT&L, Novoflex, Perfect Plastic, Protec Secure Card (PSC), Sun Chemical, Swiss Wood Solutions, Thales, Thames, TietoEvry, Toppan, Uber, Venmo, Watch Data, Xantium, and XH Smart.