In the credit-card business it’s all about loyalty, which is exactly why banks today are offering such great diversity in the products they create. Being aware that a portfolio of inventive card designs can play a decisive role in winning new customers, there is no shortage in creativity — with cards becoming everything from lifestyle accessories to high-tech gadgets that are much more than just a plastic card with a chip.
GN Focus takes a look at the innovations that recently came in the market.
A whiff of money
The first extravaganza of leading-edge credit cards is, so to speak, a body different from the odd plastic standard. The offerings in this segment range from cards with tactile, scented and translucent elements to cards in a plethora of shapes and sizes. First introduced by leading German payment card producer Giesecke & Devrient, the scent concept has been taken up by Sharjah-based Future Card, a large plastic card manufacturer in the UAE. The company announced in August that it will produce its first fragrant cards scented with the traditional Arab fragrance of oud. These speciality cards are made by encapsulating scented oil into the varnish and can have a range of aromas including those of various fruits, flowers and perfumes. The oud card has been ordered by a Sharjah bank.
“We have been able to create a multi-sensory experience for our clients and their customers with a fantastic way to align brands with a descriptive scent,” says Ayhan Yalcintas, CEO of Future Card. “Today it is becoming more and more difficult to reach out to and resonate with an audience, especially when most commercial communication is crafted to appeal to our sense of sight. Aroma branding is nothing new as it has been used in various applications such as in shopping malls and restaurants to stimulate action, but it is a tool that is definitely underused when it comes to our specific industry,” adding that the concept could also be used for everything from coffee shop outlets to malls.
Other innovative ideas revolve around giving credit cards a completely new surface and walking away from plastic. For example, China Citic Bank has recently introduced its Crystal Card series that consists of cards in which a foil made of precious metal has been integrated using a special technology. UniCredit of Italy and Caja Duero of Spain have introduced tactile credit cards, whose rough surface gives the card a totally different look and feel. MasterCard has teamed up with fashionista Roberto Cavalli to create a snakeskin credit card while Visa, together with Russian Sberbank, last year launched a solid gold credit card studded with 26 diamonds, equal to 0.17 carats, which is currently only available in Kazakhstan.
The equivalent to the latter is Dubai First’s Royale Card that boasts golden edges and a 0.235-carat embedded diamond. The card was introduced a few years ago and regularly features among the most exclusive credit cards in the world.
In terms of special materials, American Express is known for its metal card made of titanium, while JPMorgan has launched a card made of palladium and 23-carat gold alloy.
UAE green cards
On the other end of the spectrum are credit cards expressing an environmentally conscious lifestyle. Some cards are now made of biodegradable PVC, a new material created from a mixture of limestone, plasticisers and petroleum said to degrade into the environment with minimal impact within five years. HSBC in Hong Kong first introduced a green credit card made of such environment-friendly material, which uses digital bills to cut down paper consumption and contributes to a local environmental protection project with every transaction.
The UAE’s first eco-friendly credit card, launched by First Gulf Bank in co-operation with Masdar in January, is completely biodegradable, and for each purchase, First Gulf Bank automatically contributes on behalf of the customer up to 0.6 per cent of the transaction value towards a fund that supports environmental and sustainable projects. The Visa card also includes the exclusive First Green Rewards loyalty programme, which allows cardholders to earn up to 1.5 First Green points for every dirham spent, which can be redeemed against a variety of eco-friendly products.
“At First Gulf Bank, we believe that every product should benefit the community and address the basic issues of health, education and financial literacy and are proud to add the First Gulf Bank Masdar credit card to our range of innovative and environmentally conscious products,” says Andre Sayegh, the bank’s CEO.
Other innovations from banks include artist designs or fashion themes for credit cards. In the UAE, Najm, among others, offers a series of tastefully designed credit cards backed by Japan’s leading issuer JCB, including a vertical credit card. Also, United Bank Limited is known for its various credit-card designs.
With respect to technological innovation, credit cards will increasingly be integrated into smartphone apps, a trend that started with loyalty cards in the UAE. In the future, more can be expected: pilot projects for credit cards of tomorrow include cards integrated into smart watches, cards with a numeric keyboard, an LCD display and possibly a camera, USB stick credit cards, already in use in South Korea, fingerprint-activated credit cards, cards with real-time financial info, a hybrid gadget that merges a mobile phone plus music player, a keyless-entry system and GPS receiver with a credit card, as well as a credit card that just comes as a frame plus clip to be used as a money clip.
