With Barclaycard chief Antony Jenkins predicting that the humble plastic card is doomed as we all migrate to mobile phones and biometrics, German vendor Giesecke & Devrient looks like it has been working on some creative ways to delay the inevitable.

We received a press release today reminding us of the range of 'scratch and sniff' cards they've produced for Commerzbank. Apparently the cards "emit a fragrance of coffee, orange or cinnamon when they touch the user's fingers".

And if that's not enough to get you excited about credit cards, the pr tells us that G&D's boffins can also make them in all different shapes and sizes, including circular, heart-shaped and even, the truly innovative, rectangular.