In association with Swedish Bank Nordea, which is using Serverside Group card customisation technology, the SMC is allowing its members to personalise their own SMC-branded plastic.

The exciting new service, which went live on 2 May, will cost SMC members 295 SEK per year, plus 100 SEK every time they wish to change the image on their card. The SMC is promoting the new service on its website and is running a card design competition (where users are the judges) giving away prizes provided by Visa. The branded card also offers petrol discounts on OKQ8 fuel and a selection of complimentary road and motorcycle insurances.

Cardholders can choose an image from one of the predefined image galleries. Alternatively, they can upload their own images, whether of their motorbike, a full-throttle action shot from the asphalt or even a favourite tattoo. Serverside's cutting-edge designer allows the cardholders to enlarge, rotate, move or flip their chosen image so they get just the card they want in a matter of seconds. No software downloads are needed and the entire card design process is 100% secure.

At a time when issuers, globally, are struggling to acquire and engage with cardholders, card customisation is allowing them to bond with their customers, all the more so when the customisation program is targeted at a specific affinity group such as the SMC. By letting people design their own cards online, issuers are also benefiting from improved acquisition rates, deeper loyalty and increased card usage and spend.

Serverside Group is seeing significant interest in its online card customisation technology from card issuing companies globally. To date, 39 major issuers worldwide have signed up to personalisable plastic using Serverside technology, including ING, Permanent TSB, ANZ, BMW, KBC, Advanta, Fortis, Eurobank, First National Bank Omaha and Heritage Building Society. Many more will be announced in the months ahead.

Thom Söderlund, Sales Manager, Nordea Finance Sweden Plc, commented: "Card issuers need to embrace this technology now. We have to understand that this phenomenon is nothing new; in fact, card plastic personalisation has some catching up to do as we can already personalise practically everything else that we carry around. Launching the SMC card is an important step for us in our ambition to attract new markets and, in Serverside Group and SMC, we have found the perfect technological and demographical partners to take this important first step."

James Pendley, CEO, Serverside Group, added: "The Swedish Motorcycle Club Visa card is the latest example of the growing shift away from mass-produced plastic to cards that service specific affinity groups and niches. In the age of personalisation, people no longer want to carry just another card, they want a card that reflects their interests and allegiances, and which rewards these interests accordingly. Increasingly, issuers will have to accommodate this new trend, so Nordea are clearly on the right track."