Overcoming Payment Card Issuance Challenges: Key Trends and Solutions

As the payment landscape continues to evolve, organizations are under mounting pressure to deliver secure, scalable, and compliant card issuance programs. While many businesses recognize the need for modernisation, several persistent challenges stand in the way. Industry reports and insights highlight four key areas of concern: compliance, legacy systems, issuance delays, and infrastructure costs.  

A recent poll conducted by Cryptomathic – while informal – echoed broader industry sentiments, with compliance identified as the leading concern. These finding align with independent research, helping to paint a consistent picture of pain points. 

Compliance Challenges: A Growing Concern 

With increasing pressure from both local and international regulatory bodies, businesses must remain agile to ensure that they meet these evolving compliance standards. A PWC’s Global Compliance Survey 2025 indicates that 47% of respondents say that the complexity of regulation itself makes compliance more challenging. Our findings closely align with this, suggesting a global trend. 

Regulations such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws place significant pressure on payment card issuers to maintain stringent security and reporting measures. This means implementing advanced encryption, fraud detection systems, and customer authentication protocols, all while maintaining a smooth and efficient service. 

For companies, navigating these complex requirements without compromising customer experience is a delicate balancing act. This is where Cryptomathic's Obsidian solution comes in. Obsidian is designed to provide robust security features, including advanced encryption and fraud detection, helping businesses meet compliance standards effortlessly. By adopting Obsidian, payment card issuers can maintain high levels of security and stay ahead of regulatory changes, ensuring ongoing compliance without disruption to their services. 

Discover the benefits of our modern, modular, cloud-ready issuer platform

Legacy System Integration: A Persistent Roadblock 

In a recent payments study conducted by AutoRek, 90% or organizations still rely on outdated systems, creating bottlenecks for companies working to maintain efficiency and compliance. 

Legacy systems often result in slow processing times, higher error rates, and limitations in scalability, all of which can hinder an organization’s ability to issue cards efficiently. Integrating newer technologies with these older systems can be costly, time-consuming, and technically challenging. This challenge highlights the importance of adopting a more flexible, modern approach to payment infrastructure—one that can support the speed and security required by today's consumers and businesses. 

Obsidian designed to integrate seamlessly with both new and legacy systems, allowing businesses to modernize their payment card issuance processes without the need for complete infrastructure overhauls. By providing a flexible platform that can work alongside existing systems, Obsidian ensures that businesses can stay competitive and efficient while avoiding costly disruptions to their operations. 

Unveiling Obsidian: Next-Gen Payment Platform for the Cloud Era

Delays in Card Issuance: An Operational Bottleneck 

Delays in card issuance can stem from a variety of factors, such as inefficient workflows, lack of automation, or bottlenecks in card manufacturing and personalization processes. 

Today’s customers expect instant service – waiting days for cards to be issued simply doesn’t align with today’s digital-first lifestyle. With the increasing demand for faster services, customers now expect seamless, quick delivery of their payment cards. 

By adopting a streamlined, digital-first approach to card issuance, many businesses are finding ways to reduce delays. Using virtual card issuance or implementing automation throughout the card lifecycle can drastically improve turnaround times. These advancements are essential to providing better customer experiences and staying competitive in the rapidly evolving payments landscape. 

With Obsidian, card issuance can be accelerated through its secure and efficient automation processes. The solution streamlines card personalization and delivery workflows, enabling businesses to issue cards more quickly and with fewer errors. This means faster service for customers and enhanced operational efficiency for issuers. 

Payment Infrastructure Costs: Balancing Quality and Affordability 

Rising costs of payment infrastructure remain a key issue for many organizations.  Building and maintaining a secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure can be expensive, especially with the increasing need for advanced security features, fraud protection systems, and regulatory compliance. 

For many businesses, striking the right balance between cost-efficiency and service quality is crucial. Cloud-based payment infrastructure offers businesses the flexibility to scale without the burden of high upfront costs. Leveraging these technologies allows organizations to maintain a strong payment card issuance program while optimizing their operational costs. 

Obsidian addresses these concerns by offering a cloud-based, cost-effective solution that doesn’t compromise on security or compliance. The platform’s scalable design means businesses can optimize infrastructure costs, while its robust security features ensure the protection of sensitive data. With Obsidian, businesses can manage their payment card issuance operations efficiently without breaking the bank. 

Embracing The Future 

As the payment card issuance industry continues to evolve, it’s clear that compliance challenges remain the most pressing concern for many businesses. To stay competitive, businesses must prioritize flexibility, security, and regulatory compliance in their payment card programs. 

At Cryptomathic, we are committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that help businesses overcome these challenges. Obsidian offers a comprehensive, secure, and scalable platform that not only addresses the key pain points of payment card issuance but also ensures businesses can stay agile in an increasingly complex landscape.  

Discover how card issuers can empower secure digital payments