News

Study: Instant issuance of debit cards - the newest best practice

May 9, 2014

The technology for instant issuance debit cards has been available for years, but both provider uptake and consumer awareness have remained low. However, recent data breaches requiring mass card reissuance have prompted FIs to evaluate the practice of issuing cards in their branches in real time.

Historically instant issuance has been offered mostly by small or medium-sized institutions. But recently, large FIs such as TD Bank and JPMorgan Chase have begun to adopt the service as a point of differentiation.

Mercator Advisory Group's latest report, "Instant Issuance of Debit Cards: The Newest Best Practice," provides a broad look at instant issuance, including types, costs, benefits, consumer attitudes and payment network rules.

The report presents details from a review of printer vendors, as well as a survey of the top 25 U.S. banks and top 25 credit unions by asset size. The survey identifies these FIs' position on offering instant issuance in their branches, and a comparison of different card issuing programs. 

"The question is no longer whether, but when, financial institutions in the United States will adopt the practice of instant issuance of debit cards. Instant issuance will soon cease to be a competitive differentiator," said Ron Mazursky, director of the debit advisory service at Mercator and author of the report. "As the attitudes of the customer shift toward instant, online and digital, enabling the customer to walk out of a branch with a fully functional debit card will soon become an expected practice for debit card issuers and retail bankers."

Highlights of the report include:

• benefits and costs of instant issuance;
• triggers for adoption by banks and credit unions;
• MasterCard and Visa rules;
• types of instant issuance of debit cards;
• profiles of leading printing device vendors in the U.S.;
• survey of instant issuance position of the top 50 U.S. financial institutions; and
• comparison of card issuing programs.

One of nine exhibits in the 27-page report: