The bankcard market today
While many manufacturers, including Linxens, work on a daily basis to develop innovations for means of payment, their implementation is nevertheless complicated, held back by strict regulations and barriers imposed on stakeholders. On a global scale, the banking sector is governed by strict standards, and bankcards must comply with multiple criteria in order to be compatible with payment terminals and ATMs throughout the world, for all types of networks (Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, etc.) and to meet all the certification criteria they impose to guarantee transaction security.
The development of bankcards therefore depends on a number of criteria: technological and industrial capacity, the legal framework, the macroeconomic context and the appetite of end-users. But above all, it is the responsibility of all players in the payment chain to offer customers truly effective, sustainable and secure innovations.
Linxens position in the smart card market
A world expert in the design and manufacture of RFID micro-connectors, antennas and inlays for smart cards, Linxens is a major player in the market and is constantly developing new solutions. Its flagship products include
For payment security :
- The biometric card: a new generation of cards that does away with PIN-based user authentication in favour of fingerprint identification. The user's fingerprint, stored on the card for added security, is immediately authenticated using a biometric sensor. In this way, biometric cards enable smooth, secure transactions with no spending limit, with or without contact.
- Dynamic cryptogram: the three-digit code printed on the back of the card is replaced by a liquid crystal screen whose digits change with each payment transaction, thereby limiting the risk of card fraud when paying online.
Eco-responsible solutions:
- EcoLAM®, an eco-designed contactless PRELAM® made from recycled PET-G for more responsible card manufacturing. EcoLAM® contains over 85% recycled PET-G (polyethylene terephthalate) to help reduce the smart card industry's carbon footprint and develop an environmentally friendly manufacturing and supply chain. Linxens promotes the use of renewable, recycled and recyclable materials compatible with standard smart card manufacturing processes. The EcoLAM® product range also includes PLA (polyactic acid), a polyester derived from renewable resources such as corn, sugar cane and other bio-degradable materials. With the EcoLAM® range, Linxens aims to offer new and more responsible large-scale manufacturing options for card issuers and manufacturers.
- Linxens also launched in May 2022 its wooden card made from wood sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Premium cards:
- The heavy card: as its name suggests, this is a bank card that is heavier than the standard one (between 15g and 20g compared with 5g for a standard card). It is designed for bank customers who want to show off their social status.
The future of bankcards
In order to remain attractive to customers, all the players in the sector are aiming to strengthen bankcard security in a world where cyber-attacks are on the increase. Banks have also identified the need to make their payment card the reference card for customers. This is motivating a number of initiatives to make customers want to use their bankcard more, with new visuals, simpler use and more responsible cards.
From the slightest aesthetic change to the addition of new key functionalities, for the banking sector everything is a technological challenge on which entire teams of engineers are working.