How to power up payment cards for the digital era

In banking and payments, there’s been a lot of noise about the use of alt pays and account-to-account transactions in recent years. However, the fact remains that across the developed world, card use – whether via a physical card, a virtual card or stored in a digital wallet – remains stunningly popular with consumers.  

The Global Payments Report 2024 from Worldpay¹ shows consumers in the UK, US, Australia and Canada still prefer to use payment cards. This continued popularity is also seen in the European Union: data from the ECB confirms² the number of card-based payments in the euro area increased by 15.6% in H1 2023 to 36.5 billion compared with H1 2022, with value up 14.1% to €1.5 trillion over H1 2022. 

In “Powering up cards for the 21st century”, we argue banks should take advantage of their traditional strength as card issuers and providers of card infrastructures to meet customer’s growing requirements for greater speed, flexibility, convenience and security in the digital era. 

To start with, cards are familiar, trusted and widely used by consumers, featuring strong security and well-established consumer chargeback and fraud protections enshrined in law. Put simply, consumers understand how to use cards both at point of sale and online – and know they’re protected when doing so. 

Furthermore, new features such as combined credit/debit, loyalty and biometric security have come together to create a range of modern payment products with greater utility and consumer protection. These days, cards are more sustainable, too: last year, 75% of the cards Tietoevry produced for clients were made from sustainable materials such as post-consumer and ocean-recovered plastics. 

Our new white paper argues that by combining cards with a highly capable, flexible card management app, banks can deliver next-level customer service, grow usage and revenue, and maintain their competitiveness in the face of threats from digital-only neobanks, fintechs and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) such as Klarna and Afterpay.  

Banks that do not offer card management via app should make this an urgent priority, while those offering basic controls via app should consider upgrading and modernizing their apps, moving to a higher standard of user experience in-app to enhance card use, especially for mobile payments, and drive higher transaction volumes and values.  

For instance, providing a seamless and intuitive interface will optimize app performance to keep users engaged and satisfied. Advanced features such as personalized notifications, expense tracking, instant access to account information, subscriptions and recurring payment management, budgeting tools and enhanced security including biometric authentication can all help build customer loyalty and encourage card use. 

Download the new white paper from Tietoevry Banking for more on why flexible, powerful card management via app is a must for modern banks.