Month: February 2020

The design of cards plays an important role for banks and credit unions, serving as an extension of their brand, a way to connect with local community, a means to visually delight cardholders – or all of the above. This is why adopting a new solution like instant issuance, which allows cardholders to visit a branch and walk out with a new or replacement card in minutes, shouldn’t mean financial institutions have to compromise on the quality of their card design. In fact, through the right technology partner, issuers can see instant issuance become an extension of their centralized issuance programs, with high print quality designs further boosting the solution’s impact.

For customers using its Card@Once® solution, CPI Card Group® offers a robust card design library – allowing financial institutions to instantly issue cards that also feature eye-catching, high quality designs. Banks or credit unions are able to select designs and images from CPI’s Card@Once library, then either issue cards with a distinct look, or offer their cardholders a selection of visual options from which to choose.

For many smaller issuers without the resources to support in-house design capabilities or pay vendors for graphics services, Card@Once can serve as a highly cost-efficient value-add. Working with CPI, financial institutions can opt for designs printed and personalized on blank white card stock or preprinted in bulk. By conveniently bringing high print quality designs into the instant issuance equation, financial institutions can unlock remarkable branding and marketing possibilities and better compete for top-of-wallet status.

Whether it’s a standard, sleek look or imagery of animals, scenery, sports and more – issuers can combine card designs and instant issuance to connect with cardholders on a more meaningful level. Furthermore, there are benefits for financial institutions that choose to offer a batch of card designs and let cardholders pick the look of their new or replacement card themselves. The simple act of empowering a customer with choice – even if only between a handful of options – can bolster engagement and the connection they feel to their newly issued card.

All in all, Card@Once’s ability to combine instant issuance and innovative design options can make for truly impactful branch marketing and branding initiatives. However, even as a baseline, the ability to equip cardholders with instant purchasing power through a visually meaningful or resonant card can help financial institutions take the branch experience to the next level. For cardholders, getting a new or replacement card at a branch instantly when they need it is already a valuable convenience. But when that same card features a striking, unique design that gives cardholders a sense of exclusivity or personality – the convenience may feel a little more like magic.

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Written by:

Rob Dixon is the Director, Product and Business Development at CPI Card Group

Core providers serving banks and credit unions are already in the business of their customers’ success. By adding instant issuance to their suite of technologies and services, they have the opportunity to take customer commitment one step further.

Whether you’re a core processor, platform or management systems provider, the value of integrating a cloud-based, end-to-end instant issuance solution with your offering can prove significant for the issuers you serve. The following three benefits show precisely why delivering instant issuance via core integration is a win-win-win – for you, your customers and their customers.

1. Enhanced Customer Engagement

The ability to print and provide payment cards for customers onsite is a valuable capability for any financial institution, as the alternative is shipping via mail, which can take several days. By bringing instant issuance to issuers through a core integration, core providers allow them to respond quickly to customer requests for new and replacement cards. At a time when instant gratification is the norm, giving customers the ability to visit a branch and walk out with a new card – whether they’re a new accountholder, a member who lost their card or otherwise – is a critical convenience that strengthens engagement. Separately, it also frees up branch staff and creates a new touch point for customer interaction, giving them more time overall to spend serving customers. When customers can simply visit their branch when in need of a card, the branch staff can answer additional questions and provide related financial advice – potentially gaining an opportunity to deepen the customer relationship. For core providers, enabling these advantages for issuers helps them deepen their customer relationship.

2. No Dual Entry

To achieve the singular goal of instantly issuing a card for immediate usage to cardholders, financial institutions are often required to manage card ordering and account maintenance from multiple locations, otherwise known as “dual entry.” Staff must handle another system and set of steps in the issuance process. Financial institutions that have instant issuance integrated with their core eliminate the extra steps of dual entry, providing them with a more seamless card issuance process while making for an accurate and quick delivery to customers.

3. No Additional IT Headache

By integrating and streamlining instant issuance, core providers invest their IT resources to implement the solution through their core platform so that their customers can enjoy a more efficient experience – minimizing the need for IT resources from the financial institution or branch. A branch’s system is able to issue cards instantly through the core provider’s platform. And with the right integration partner, the entire program set-up and ongoing system maintenance for an instant issuance solution can be managed by the instant issuance provider. For a core provider’s customers, this means not having to dedicate any of their own IT or staff resources to support instant issuance – while still enjoying all its advantages.

Today, core providers across the country rely on Card@Once® from CPI Card Group® to extend the value of instant issuance to their customers. Card@Once is integrated with a number of cores and processors*, helping numerous banks and credit unions see remarkable cost-efficiencies and convenience at their branches.

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^{*Integration requires the cooperation of the core provider.  Not all core platforms are available for integration.}

Written by:

Rob Dixon is the Director, Product and Business Development at CPI Card Group