UAE: Physical bank, ID cards long way from becoming obsolete, says expert

Physical bank and identity cards, using microchip technology, are a long way from becoming obsolete, a top official in the payment card manufacturing sector has said. Physical bank cards, including debit, pre-paid, and credit payment cards. In some rare cases, identity cards are also used as payment.

Despite the boom in mobile banking, digital payments, and wearable technology in the UAE, physical cards will continue to remain an essential tool for payment of goods and services, Michael Hraschan, the director of product management payment at Toppan Gravity, told Khaleej Times.

He was speaking at the sidelines of the Khaleej Times DigiBank 2022 – a banking transformation forum.

Toppan Gravity is a global solutions provider primarily focused on the payment and identity industries. Hraschan said, “People would use physical cards for the foreseeable future as a safety measure, and as a back-up, in case they lose the device they are using for their banking purposes.”

“People like the safety of knowing they have a physical copy of a bank card with them, especially when travelling,” he stated.

“Moreover, we are trying to optimise card production and issuance process and set up kiosks where providers can print cards on the spot.”

Hrashcan also suggested that bank cards are a lifestyle or status symbol in some cases. “Having a premium metal card from a certain bank, for example, is a status symbol for many people,” he stated. Moreover, Hraschan said providers could customise cards even for Generation Z users that live and breathes mobile technology. “They would also usher in the era of wearing wearables,” he stated.

Last year, Mastercard announced that from 2024, its credit and debit cards will not be required to have a strip ‘in most markets and will be completely phased out by 2033. It claims to be the first payment network to ditch the magnetic strip. 86 per cent of card transactions globally rely on chip technology, Mastercard said.

Companies such as Toppan Gravity have also said it manufactures sustainable business and eco-friendly cards at their production unit in Sharjah.

“Since the supply and production are largely local, we have a lower carbon footprint. Moreover, we are trying to partner with local companies who can collect old bank and identity cards on our behalf so we can recycle them,” said Hraschan.

Jamal Saleh, the director-general of UAE Banks Federation, said that the UAE has gone up from 63 per cent trust in the banking system to 87 per cent in two years, according to recent surveys. “A big part of it was the digital transformation that has happened in the UAE over the last two years since the pandemic,” said Saleh.

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