The new service, which went live on April 10 and is being promoted as 'A Card for You', is being offered across the bank's Visa, Maestro and MasterCard debit portfolio. The card design site is at kartapodlevas.cz.

With over five million clients and three million cardholders, Ceska Sporitelna is marketing the new service through multiple channels: online banner ads, direct client emails, presentations to journalists and other collateral used to promote bank products and services. It is also using ShareMyDesign, a Serverside-created viral 'send-a-friend' tool that allows people to easily share their designs with family and friends.

Cardholders at the bank can upload pictures of their own or choose one from a selection of image galleries, including 'Animals', 'Flowers', 'Landscapes' and 'Sport'. No software downloads are needed and the entire card design process, carried out on the online 'designer', is 100% secure. Ceska Sporitelna is charging cardholders 190 CZK (approximately €7.5) per card design. In the near future, it will be extending the service to its credit card portfolio.

These days, engaging with consumers is essential to keep them loyal to your brand, and card customisation programs, which build a bond between cardholder and card, can achieve exactly that. In addition, customised cards have been proven to sit front-of-wallet, increasing transaction levels and boosting balances.

Miloslav Krecan, Director, Card Centre, Ceska Sporitelna, commented: "We're very excited by our new card design service and expect to see some strong take-up in the weeks and months ahead. Banks need to become more consumer-focused and this is a great way to do that — to engage with the customer. Working with the Serverside team was fantastic and we really appreciated their flexible approach and commitment."

Tom Elgar, Chief Technical Officer, Serverside Group, added: "Ceska Sporitelna is an innovative, forward-thinking bank and we're really pleased to have them onboard. They understand the huge potential of viral marketing and so have decided to use our ShareMyDesign viral marketing tool to enable people to spread the word. They're very enthusiastic about the new service and we're very confident it will be a success."