Just how do payment card issuers create loyalty and engage cardholders across their portfolio?
The answer, believes Australian banking group Suncorp, is simple: enable cardholders to create their own personally designed banking cards through Card Skins. Using innovative technology provided by Serverside Group, Suncorp is now offering full card customisation on its transaction and Visa debit cards.
The main purpose of Card Skins, which went live on 3 January, is to build an even stronger relationship with existing Suncorp cardholders by providing them with the option to personalise their card with a photo or image. Enabling people to place a personal image on their card creates an emotional bond, elevating the perception of the card and the Suncorp brand.
As well as improving retention, customised cards increase the chances that Suncorp's cards will enjoy the all-important 'front-of-wallet' position. With customised cards, cardholders effectively become brand ambassadors, sharing their creation with friends, family and colleagues.
Here's how the process works. Through Card Skins, Suncorp cardholders can either upload their own images or choose from images provided in a gallery. Serverside's cutting-edge 'designer' then 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. If a cardholder chooses a personal image, it is screened by Serverside's image checking facility to give Suncorp the necessary assurance that the image is appropriate for its brand.
At a time when consumer engagement and brand differentiation are more important than ever, Serverside is seeing significant interest in its card customisation technology from all over the world. With more than 65 customers spanning 21 countries offering over 300 card programs, Serverside has considerable experience in helping issuers provide an even greater customer experience to their cardholders.
Tony Meredith, Manager of Transactions, Savings and Investments, Suncorp, commented: "We want to provide cardholders with the choice of designing their own transaction card, an experience that lets our customers know that they are a valued partner in our banking relationship. We feel that by letting them be a part of what appears on the face of their card we demonstrate this partnership and play a role in our cardholders' everyday lives."
James Barclay, Senior Vice President (Asia/Pacific), Serverside Group, added: "It's becoming more important than ever for issuers to engage with consumers and bring the customer closer to their brands. Online card customisation can achieve exactly that: it builds an all-important relationship between the cardholder and card. Of course, the stronger this relationship and the longer it lasts, the more profitable the cardholder so the benefits for issuers are clear."