The Future is Now: Dual-Interface Instant Issuance is Here Today
The convergence of two significant consumer trends is impacting the world of payments: cardholders’ need for immediate card delivery and their desire for the versatility and convenience of contactless transactions.
For small- and mid-sized financial institutions, these trends present both challenge and opportunity. In an age of instant gratification, cardholders will no longer wait to receive a new debit card in the mail. Financial institutions that already offer instant issuance of debit cards in the branch are seeing increases in debit activation rates of 4-10 percent, depending on branch and cardholder demographics, and an average increase of 21 percent in monthly debit purchase transactions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is slowly shifting toward contactless as cardholders seek a faster, more convenient experience at the point of sale. Contactless card shipments are increasing to meet growing demand both domestically and world-wide. According to ABI Research, U.S. contactless card shipments are projected to reach 196.8 million in 2021, a more-than sevenfold increase over the 25.7 million shipments in 20161.
Embedded with both a chip and antenna to enable contact transactions (inserted or swiped at payment terminals) and contactless transactions (waved at payment terminals), dual-interface cards are expected to account for 80 percent of total global contactless transactions in 2019.
With the move toward increasing availability of contactless transactions in the marketplace, small- and mid-sized issuers are looking for ways to provide their customers convenience at the branch as well as at point-of-sale. These institutions can provide both, through instant issuance of dual-interface cards.
By partnering with the right provider that offers a fully-supported, Software as a Service (SaaS)-based instant issuance solution with plug-and-play capability, financial institutions can quickly and cost-effectively reap the benefits of this emerging technology without burdening their own resources and staff. In addition, instant issuance technology provides mail-related cost-savings of up to $1 per card.