Are Plastic Cards Nearing an End?

With the increasing popularity of virtual cards pushed to employees’ mobile wallets, does this signal an end to plastic? Even when I managed a p-card program at the start of my career, most cardholders did not actually need plastic because their purchases were conducted online or via phone. Their p-cards largely remained locked up in the office. Keep reading to see how virtual cards issued to employees can benefit your organization and what the future might be for plastic cards.

Benefits of Virtual Cards Issued to Employees

The commercial card industry often follows paths created by the consumer market, and consumers—myself included—have embraced mobile wallets. In the B2B payments space, virtual cards for mobile wallets have several advantages over plastic (or, in the case of the Apple Card, titanium), including:

  • Worry-free card issuance; no transit/delivery process that comes with the risk of cards getting lost or stolen

  • Increased speed and efficiency associated with card issuance, which is especially beneficial if your organization has remote employees

  • Greatly reduces, or even eliminates, cardholders losing their cards and the associated process to resolve such hassles

  • Employee convenience, as people are seldom without their mobile devices

  • Ease of card/account cancellation; no more card collection and destruction when an employee leaves the organization or no longer needs a card

  • Reduces prohibited card sharing among employees, which might be happening without you knowing it

Future of Physical Cards

With all the advances in virtual/digital payments, it is easy to imagine a diminished role for physical cards in the future, but I do not see them going away completely in the next few years. Not every retailer can accommodate payments via mobile wallets. For those that can, there is the possibility of faulty point-of-sale (POS) equipment. Physical cards play a backup role for mobile wallet users. For those not interested in mobile payments for one reason or another, they will remain the go-to electronic payment method. Beyond standard chip cards, contactless cards (also known as “tap-and-go” payments) have become more popular, especially as germ-leery people prefer not to touch POS equipment.

The bottom line: Even with the near-future staying power of physical cards, virtual cards for your organization’s employees are worth looking into. Contact your issuer to see what is available.   

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About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, launched Recharged Education in 2014. With 20 years of commercial card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…