More than 32 million metal credit cards are in circulation worldwide, up from around five million five years ago, according to the Nilson Report, a trade publication. While that is a tiny fraction of the four billion credit cards in circulation, Nilson forecasts the number of metal cards to quadruple in the next two years.
For many bank customers, the heavier the card, the greater the cachet. Plastic cards typically weigh about 5 grams, metal cards can weigh five times that.
CompoSecure, a New Jersey company, has produced metal cards in the U.S. for AmEx, Capital One, JPMorgan and others. Jon Wilk, the chief executive, said international sales, led by the U.K., Germany, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, are five times as high this year as in 2017.
The cards are often made with stainless steel, titanium or a blend of metals. Some are entirely metal, others include a sheet or two of plastic. CompoSecure has made cards of gold for banks in the Middle East, Singapore and the Czech Republic.
Read the full article: Once a Tool of the Elite, Metal Credit Cards Now Turn Up Everywhere (Wall Street Journal)
