Relating to bank cards, rates of interest, annual fees and sweet perks like money back are actually vital. But does the cardboard turn heads whenever you whip it out to pay to your morning cold brew?
For a lot of Americans, this is definitely a serious consideration. In line with a recent study by the biometrics and payments firm IDEMIA, the design of a bank card — whether it’s the fabric of the cardboard itself or custom features like LED lights — is an increasingly vital factor for U.S. consumers.
IDEMIA shared the outcomes of a worldwide study exclusively with Money. The findings suggest a trend: Americans don’t want only a bank card. They need a press release piece.
Bank card features that make you ‘feel special’
The 12 months is 2024. By this point, most Americans (60%) have adopted digital cards and payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay or a banking app, in keeping with the survey.
It’s convenient, “but at the tip of the day, people still want and expect a [physical] card,” says James Sufrin, a senior vp of IDEMIA’s North American payment’s division.
For early adopters of digital cards, paying with a cell phone on the checkout counter was an actual conversation starter, he says. He knows because he was one in all them. The truth is, before digital cards got here available on the market, he affixed a sticker to the back of his phone that was synced to his card, so it might appear he was paying along with his cellular phone when he waved it over the payment terminal.
“The person behind me would say, ‘wow, that’s type of cool,’” Sufrin recalls.
As of late, much of that “wow factor” of mobile payments has worn off, he says, so now folks are turning back to physical cards with fancy customizations to scratch that very same itch.
Metal bank cards are especially in vogue, with IDEMIA finding that 8 in 10 respondents say they’re concerned about getting one. Although there are a selection of explanations for why people gravitate towards metal bank cards, “the most important reason is all the time ‘I would like to feel special,’” Sufrin says.
Surprisingly, he says, it’s younger folks — Gen Zers and millennials — behind the metallic movement. In lots of cases, they’re even willing to pay a premium for the metal card.
Several card providers are already jumping on the trend, offering metal versions of certain annual-fee rewards cards comparable to Capital One SavorOne ($95 per 12 months) and Chase Sapphire Preferred (also $95 per 12 months). The pickings are much slimmer for annual-fee-free metal cards; one notable exception is the titanium Apple Card.
Except for metal material, several other card design features are particularly in demand. The preferred one? Coloured edges, so the cardboard stands out when stacked in a wallet. (Discover It is one popular no-annual-fee option.)
Cardholders are also highly concerned about numberless cards (where the number is accessible via app), the flexibility to customize the cardboard’s artwork, vertical orientation and an LED light that flashes when paying at a terminal.
The long run of payments within the palm of your hand
For now, at the least within the U.S., people seemingly desire a physical card — possibly a heavy-weight metal card with flashing lights and custom artwork — to make a press release during in-person purchases.
But what may very well be next when even that loses its luster?
“Personally, I think that biometric payments is type of the panacea, or the be-all end-all,” Sufrin says.
Immediately, Americans appear to be more reluctant than other countries to adopt biometric payment methods, as in paying with their eyes, face or fingerprint.
Other countries are forging ahead. In Europe, Mastercard is partnering with Polish fintechs to roll out iris-scanning payment methods. Meanwhile, China-based AliPay has been expanding its facial payment technology across Asia.
Back within the U.S., though, Sufrin says there’s just a little more “paranoia, if that is the proper word,” concerning the government or private corporations gathering our biometric data.
But that’s beginning to wane as folks turn out to be more accustomed to it. Many smartphones have already got fingerprint and facial recognition tech used to unlock the phone or control it in hands-free mode. And recently, Amazon One’s Palm Payment has rolled out to all Whole Foods stores.
While Sufrin says the total transition may very well be “years, if not a long time, away,” biometric payments are coming.
“Customer convenience at the tip of the day goes to win out,” he says. “And I can’t consider a more convenient option to pay than with my fingerprint, my palm or perhaps my retina.”
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