How are Credit Cards Made?

Many people may wonder how credit cards are actually created. The sleek, smooth rectangular design doesn’t just appear, as banks and other organizations work with credit unions to get the design they want. 

Creation Process

The desired design is printed out on two thin plastic sheets, one for the front of the card and one for the back. The plastic is made from polyvinyl chloride acetate mixed with other additives. This plastic is then laminated to give it the desired weight and material.

The plastic sheets are then placed between two clear films, which are used to give the proper feel to the card. These thin sheets also contain the magnetic stripe, which is essential for your card to make transactions. Everything is then placed in an oven to seal the materials together before the shape is cut out of the plastic layers. After this step, the shape and feel of the card are relatively complete.

This is when cards are personalized for the individual. Many cards now have EMV chip technology, so a hole has to be made in the card before the chip can be glued in. EMV chips start as huge glass cylinders often weighing 500 pounds before they are sliced into thin little pieces, weighing practically nothing. Then the card is given the name, the number, the expiration date, and the security code in order to ensure that each credit card is tailored to a specific individual.

All of this costs around $1- $2 for cards with chip technology and only around 10 cents for cards without this technology. This is a relatively cheap process that can be duplicated easily to mass-produce credit cards. Occasionally, high-end credit cards can be made out of materials such as metal, which is much more costly and a much more tedious process. For example, The Platinum Card^® from American Express is made out of stainless steel, giving it the cleanest of looks for those who want the most luxurious of credit cards.

The credit card creation process is rather complex since cards need to be personalized, and as more features get added to credit cards to improve the look, feel, and accessibility, the more expensive and time-intensive the entire process becomes.