Asia Times | Magnetic Stripe Design Pays Off… The Evolution of the Card
Asia Times reported on how credit card companies are increasingly differentiating themselves through plate design, highlighting Woori Card's 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series, which features Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's work 'Too Much Spoils It' and gained a five-month rush to 1 million cards issued.
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[Asia Times = Reporter Lee Bo-ra] The shapes and designs of credit cards are becoming increasingly diverse. This is because card companies are putting effort into design to meet the needs of younger consumers. Vertical-format cards, and cards with characters, idols, or artworks printed on the plate, are catching customers' eyes.
According to the card industry on the 5th, card companies including Shinhan, Samsung, Kookmin, Hyundai, Lotte, Woori, and Hana Card are each rolling out differentiated card plate designs.
Woori Card's 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' series, which surpassed 1 million accounts just five months after its launch last August, drew attention for a card design imbued with Korean beauty. 'Card-ui-Jeongseok' features Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's work 'Too Much Spoils It' on its card plate design. This satisfied customers' desire for visual and emotional satisfaction, and was praised on social media as 'a card that looks even better in person.'
Hyundai Card, the industry's first to introduce a vertical-format card, has given its credit cards identity through color. 'the Green,' a premium card Hyundai Card launched last August for the first time in ten years, adds a metallic sheen and uses a gold color to achieve a glamorous yet sensuous image. Hyundai Card has continued its color marketing with the Green following the Black, Purple, and Red.
Lotte Card also introduced a vertical-format card with 'LIKIT.' In particular, this card applies motion graphics to the card image to realize a moving card design. The LIKIT ALL card uses a hand gesture meaning 'the best,' the LIKIT FUN card a small heart hand gesture, and the LIKIT ON card a victory hand gesture, each capturing the image of its respective product.
Kookmin Card and Shinhan Card each released check cards featuring BTS and Wanna One on the card plate, respectively, gaining popularity. The 'Shinhan Bank SOL Deep Dream Check Card,' engraved with photos of Wanna One members, had nearly 80,000 accounts issued within a month of launch.
The Kakao Bank check card featuring Kakao Friends characters recorded 5.35 million cards issued by the end of August, since its launch in July last year.
A card industry official said, "Since the benefits of each card company's products are similar, it's hard to differentiate on that alone," adding, "Design also, often unknowingly, influences customers as another criterion for choosing a card besides benefits."
Another card industry official explained, "These days, young people not only scrutinize card benefits closely but are also sensitive to aesthetics, and card companies are following this trend as well."