The Psychology Behind Bank Card Designs

The Rise of Bank Cards

The introduction of bank cards has brought about numerous benefits to consumers, the predominant one being convenience. Rather than carrying large sums of cash around, users can carry a lightweight piece of replaceable plastic and spend with ease.

In fact, bank cards have become so well integrated into our society over the last few decades that they now account for more than three-quarters of retail sales in the UK. Cash use fell a further 1% last year making up just 22% of purchases according to the British Retail Consortium. The growing use of contactless payment technology helps partially explain this; an increasingly popular payment option amongst the younger generations.

With emerging technologies gravitating us towards a cashless society, how do bank cards affect consumers? And can companies utilize our innate behaviours in the design process?

Plastic vs. Cash

One of the most noticeable effects of using bank cards over cash is the willingness to spend. There is a mountain of evidence to suggest alternatives to cash will result in higher spending, some studies have shown credit card users to spend twice as much as cash users. A particularly thought-provoking research study from Raghubir and Srivastava in 2008 helps explain some of the reasons why.

When using physical cash there is a very vivid outflow of money which is painful to part ways with; payment methods that aren’t as vivid (e.g. bank cards or gift cards) are considered less painful and this reduces the psychological barrier against spending. They compared bank card balances to “monopoly money” as you disassociate it from real cash.

Another interesting case they noticed is a difference in spending between credit cards and other card payment forms. Firstly, when someone pays with a credit card there is a delay between the purchase of the item and the actual deduction of money from your account; this makes the cost of the item appear less important as it doesn’t have an immediate negative impact. Secondly, when combining several items into a lump sum you don’t attribute the payment to a specific item; by merging necessary purchases with frivolous luxuries there is less guilt attached to the unnecessary ones, and this encourages you to spend more on the unneeded items.

It’s clear there is a difference between the payment type and spending, but can companies use the card design to influence consumers in any way?

Landscape vs. Vertical

Another card trend to sprout up over the last year is the transition from landscape to vertical. There have been numerous explanations for the movement to portrait cards including practicality, security and even a marketing ploy for greater exposure.

Traditional bank cards have been designed in landscape because this is how old card machines worked. Now our lives are predominantly lived in portrait orientation (books, phones etc.) there is no need for the outdated design; some argue it is more practical for a vertical card design given that’s how you insert the cards into ATM machines, payment terminals, or even pass the card between hands. It seems logical to move towards designs that fit our everyday standards rather than stick to the old layouts that no longer suit a purpose.

The lettering tends to be flat on such vertical cards rather than embossed with raised numbers like traditional designs, the original purpose of such elevated text was so it could be printed onto sales vouchers. As we rarely use these old bank card imprinters this seems like an unnecessary addition which may be phased out. On the other hand, many people like the feel of embossed lettering and its use cases in less-developed countries may ensure its longevity.

Colour

Companies from all sectors are continuously fighting to get themselves noticed and we are now witnessing this with bank cards.

Colours have been proven to greatly impact consumers perceptions and emotions towards a brand, however, it is controversial as to whether the effects of colour are innate or personal preference. You may be familiar with the psychological properties of colour already. We associate red with aggression, strength, warmth etc.; blue with intelligence, communication, cold etc.; green with harmony, refreshment, the environment and so on across the entire spectrum.

Despite this, it is important for a company to maintain its brand identity by sticking to existing brand colours which limits the available options slightly. So how are brands standing out amongst the crowd?

An increasing number of bank cards have opted for incredibly bright, almost luminous, cards that really grab the attention of viewers. An experiment by Camgöz, Yener and Güvenç found that colours of maximum saturation and brightness attracted the most attention (67%), and we are witnessing this across a range of marketing practices. Apps have dramatically changed their icons to more vibrant and simplified over the years; Instagram is a great example of this, drifting away from the old complicated brown design to an intensely bright colour palette and minimalist design.

We have seen this with Monzo who have been incredibly successful with their iconic fluorescent coloured card. The bright coral colour was originally intended to mark the cards as prototypes for early adopters, similar to how car makers show off their future beta car models in vibrant colours. When realising the overwhelming community support for the neon-looking card, they decided to keep it, an accidental marketing blessing that has helped shape the entire company. Revolut also chose a bright gradient coloured card and so have many others, the stimulating colours attract focus from non-customers and increase brand exposure.

Plutus Card

Plutus has completed the design and packaging of its Plutus Debit Card. A card that can be topped up with crypto by proxy (seamlessly converted into fiat) and used at over 400 million merchants, both online and in-store.

The aim was to design something pleasing to consumers that stays true to the brand’s identity, whilst also differentiating itself from the rest of the market. Plutus opted for a vivid blue that grabs the attention of viewers and a portrait design that stays aligned with current market trends. The blue is often associated with integrity and responsibility, values that ring true to Plutus who prioritise security and compliance.

The team is also aware that almost every new card on the market follows the same basic layout which offers nothing unique or memorable. Plutus has created a design that strays from the standard — an innovative card that matches an innovative product. The enlarged logo will help engrain our company’s identity into the mind of consumers and the alternative format (e.g. lettering layout) is unique only to Plutus.

Selected members of the community are currently undergoing a Card Pilot Programme to test the functionality and feature set offered by Plutus. Upon completion, the rest of the community will have access to the exciting features.

Plutus is pushing the boundaries of what is possible within finance and the Plutus Debit Card is an essential component of the platform. The team are excited to be releasing the card and appealing feature set to the general public in the coming weeks. You can find out more here.