Scandinavian banking group Nordea is offering its customers in Finland the chance to personalise credit and debit cards with their own photographs. The bank is also looking into introducing cards with different textures - such as denim - and mirrored cards.
Nordea's Finnish customers can now design a personal payment card that can feature their own picture or one selected from the bank's photo gallery, which contains images of nature, animals, music and art.
Initially holders of Nordea's MasterCard, MasterCard Gold and Visa Electron will be able to add pictures to their cards. During the spring customers will be provided with the possibility of ordering a Visa and a Visa Gold card with a picture.
Nordea says the picture service will be readily available to users of its Netbank service, who will be able to design their own cards or use the photo gallery online.
A picture can also be ordered at any Nordea branch or by phoning customer services. A personalised card will cost EUR12.
As well as rolling out card personlisation services Nordea says it is also looking into offering cards featuring unconventional designs. Options under consideration include cards with a denim-like texture and cards featuring a mirror.
Last year smart card vendor Gemplus launched a range of innovative and unconventional card designs - dubbed "plastic fantastic" - to enable issuers to differentiate their offerings.
The collection includes transparent and perfumed and heat sensitive cards along with glow-in-the-dark, 3D and holographic effect cards.
In 2005 Japanese card company JCB launched its Linda scented payment card, which is aimed at women and features a citrus-based fragrance.