Serge Barbe

SVP Product Development & Services,
Secure Transactions,
Gemalto

As long timer in the Smart Card industry and now in charge of Product Development for Payment cards and associated personalization services, I would like to share with you in a few words my strong belief about why Banks are going to capitalize on Payment cards to better know and serve their clients. The Customer Experience is the key and this is where Gemalto is ready to help Banks to innovate.

Innovation in thinking and in services customization, rather than revolutions in products

In a year of financial turmoil, a stronger focus on protecting and enhancing your core assets seems to be wise and smart. For Banks and the credit/debit card market, enhancing the customer experience is a good path to success. The Payment card carried by each individual client materializes this very intimate, very personal relationship. What is new here? Personalization becomes ultra-personalization, the customer gets more and more involved in making decisions about his/her card: from the look and feel of the card body to the applications in the card, all the way to instantaneously getting the card right on the spot, in the branch or in stores. The new key words to characterize this Card-a-la-carte trend are speed, instantaneity, customization, and multi-services. The trend could be seen as the end of the B2C mode as Banks used to know it with their customers, and the rise of a new B2M trend (Business-to-Me). The message from consumers on the new 2.0 planet seems to be loud and clear: don’t tell me I’m just another “C” consumer for you, I’m “M” me. This is true for the cell phone with ringtones or the PC with wallpapers. This is the driving trend of the “piercing and tattoo” generation. That trend is an opportunity, not a threat, for the Payment card market.

Ultra-personalization to “wow” the customer

Pleasing the customer is no longer enough. Thanks to hyper-personalization and more and more involvement from the customer in setting up the functionalities of his/her very own card, the payment experience becomes totally engaging, totally enriching. Contactless is also a very intuitive contributor to create new, fun and more practical payment situations. Just like they use a search engine on the Internet to understand many aspects about the world they live in, people are willing to engage in an interactive and securing experience with their Financial Institutions to better understand their relationship with money, insurance, retirement, real estate, etc... The Digital Life brings security, speed, efficiency and convenience while respecting privacy. It also provides an infinite potential of data mining and smart advising to help people to get the most from their services providers. And all of this is being done à-la-carte.

Creative new offers to match the need, the mood and the way of life of each and every customer: More cards, more convenience, more fun.

The Swiss watches maker Swatch was first to make a very inspiring breakthrough: who said I should only own one watch and change it when it breaks? Customers, when in the driving seat, express various needs depending of the day, the mood, the influence of their social networks. They need to be offered choices, not just rigid templates. Changes have to be fast, easy and seamless. Banking cards can enter into this inner circle of intimate devices and we at Gemalto already see this trend with CardLikeMe photo on card and with contactless payment solutions. The winners are those who scrutinize their customers’ moves, needs, habits, desires. Some customers will need one payment card, some other tens: The rule is that their desires must always be met.

Capitalizing on on-line banking users to get to know them better through active social networks

Blogs and social networks are precious raw material for Marketing. Banks can host the most powerful social networks among their online-banking users. And we at Gemalto can help the Banks to make those communities Secure, Trustworthy and respectful of individuals’ Privacy. In this newsletter, we would like to share recent success stories through customers’ achievements. The Payment Card landscape is changing fast, for the better. Your cell phone surprised you a lot in the last ten years. Look to your payment cards and other payment devices in the next ten.