Plastic Cards Market By Type (Contact Cards, Contactless Cards), By Technology (Chip Enabled Cards, Regular Cards, Smart Cards), By Application (Payment Cards (Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Charge Cards, Prepaid Cards), Government/Health (National Identity Cards, Driving Licenses, Public and Private Health Cards, Others), SIM Cards, Transportation Cards, Gift Cards, Access Cards, Others), By Company, By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 21.89 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	7.61%
Fastest Growing Segment	Smart Cards
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 33.99 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Plastic Cards Market will grow from USD 21.89 Billion in 2025 to USD 33.99 Billion by 2031 at a 7.61% CAGR. The Global Plastic Cards Market is defined as the industrial sector responsible for the manufacturing and personalization of polyvinyl chloride and composite cards used primarily for financial transactions, secure identification, and access control. The fundamental drivers supporting the growth of this market include the increasing rates of global banking penetration which necessitate physical authentication tokens and government-mandated initiatives to issue smart national identity documents. These structural economic and regulatory factors provide a sustained baseline for demand that is distinct from transient consumer preferences or aesthetic product trends.

A significant challenge impeding potential market expansion is the rapid proliferation of digital wallets and mobile payment ecosystems which threaten to substitute physical card usage with virtual alternatives. This shift toward dematerialization poses a risk to volume growth particularly in technically advanced regions where smartphone adoption is ubiquitous. To illustrate the continued scale of the industry despite these pressures, according to the Smart Payment Association, in 2025, global shipments of payment cards and modules reached 2.5 billion units for the year 2024.

Key Market Drivers

Accelerated Transition to Cashless Payment Economies is the primary force sustaining high-volume manufacturing of plastic cards. As banking institutions migrate legacy systems to dual-interface smart cards, the demand for antenna-embedded plastic bodies remains robust to ensure redundancy alongside digital wallets. This migration is not merely about transaction volume but about the issuance of physical authentication tokens that support near-field communication protocols. To illustrate the scale of this structural demand, according to Visa, in 2024, the payment network had 4.6 billion payment credentials available at merchant locations worldwide. Furthermore, the functional adoption of tap-to-pay technology necessitates these physical upgrades. According to Visa, November 2024, in the 'Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report', excluding the United States, over 80 percent of face-to-face Visa transactions globally were contactless, confirming that physical cards remain the dominant instrument for facilitating these high-frequency cashless interactions.

Proliferation of Telecommunications and SIM Card Demand acts as a parallel volume engine, particularly in markets relying on physical subscriber identity modules. While the sector is exploring embedded technologies, the removable plastic SIM remains the standard for the vast majority of mobile connections and industrial IoT deployments. This reliance on physical form factors ensures a massive, recurring baseline of manufacturing orders independent of financial sector trends. To illustrate this sustained volume, according to the Trusted Connectivity Alliance, March 2025, in the 'eSIM Industry Insights 2024' report, the total available market for traditional removable SIM cards remained stable at 3.7 billion units in 2024. This data indicates that despite digital shifts, the telecommunications sector remains a cornerstone of the global plastic card manufacturing industry.

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Key Market Challenges

The rapid proliferation of digital wallets and mobile payment ecosystems presents a fundamental challenge to the Global Plastic Cards Market by decoupling financial transaction growth from the demand for physical manufacturing. As consumers increasingly adopt virtual payment credentials stored on smartphones and wearable devices, the functional necessity of carrying a physical polyvinyl chloride card diminishes significantly. This dematerialization trend directly hampers market expansion because it threatens to substitute the physical issuance of cards with software-based tokens, thereby eroding the volume of card shipments even as payment frequencies rise. The shift is particularly acute in technically advanced regions where the convenience of biometric mobile authentication offers a superior user experience compared to traditional physical tokens.

Evidence of this accelerating substitution is visible in key mature markets where digital adoption is reshaping consumer behavior. According to UK Finance, in 2024, 57 per cent of adults in the United Kingdom actively utilized mobile wallets for payments. This substantial rate of adoption indicates a structural migration away from physical card dependency, suggesting that future transaction volume growth will increasingly bypass the industrial sector responsible for card manufacturing and personalization.

Key Market Trends

The adoption of recycled and ocean-bound sustainable card materials is reshaping the manufacturing supply chain as issuers align physical products with corporate environmental mandates. Financial institutions are aggressively replacing virgin polyvinyl chloride with reclaimed ocean plastics and recycled PVC to reduce Scope 3 emissions and meet consumer expectations. This transition has evolved from niche pilot programs into a core procurement standard for major payment networks. According to the Smart Payment Association, May 2025, in the 'Smart Payment Association Reports Shipment of 2.5 Billion Units of cards and modules in 2024' press release, the shipment of sustainable payment cards grew by 28 percent in 2024, now representing one-third of all cards shipped worldwide.

Simultaneously, the rising demand for premium metal and hybrid composite cards acts as a critical differentiation strategy for issuers targeting affluent segments. Heavy-weight metal form factors provide a tactile advantage that distinguishes elite offerings from standard plastic products, driving value growth through complex construction techniques. This trend allows manufacturers to offset volume pressures from digital alternatives by capturing higher margins on these specialized physical tokens. Evidence of this expansion is clear in specialized manufacturing performance; according to CompoSecure, March 2025, in the 'Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results', the company reported net sales of 420.6 million US dollars for the fiscal year 2024, representing an 8 percent increase from the previous year.

Segmental Insights

The Smart Cards segment is recognized as the fastest growing category in the global plastic cards market, primarily driven by the mandatory adoption of EMV standards by banking institutions. This transition from magnetic stripes to chip-based technology is critical for mitigating counterfeit fraud and securing electronic transactions. Furthermore, government agencies are increasingly utilizing smart card technology for national identification and healthcare programs to prevent identity theft. These factors collectively accelerate the demand for smart cards, as they offer enhanced data protection and support the rising consumer preference for contactless payment methods across international markets.

Regional Insights

North America commands the largest share of the global plastic cards market, primarily due to the extensive integration of cashless payment systems across the United States and Canada. This market dominance is supported by the rigorous adoption of secure chip technology standards established by EMVCo, which has been essential for fraud reduction in the banking sector. Additionally, the mature financial infrastructure and high consumer dependence on credit and debit cards drive consistent product demand. Consequently, the region sustains its leading position through continuous advancements in secure payment authentication and identity management solutions.

Recent Developments

• In November 2025, Fingerprint Cards AB announced a significant milestone in the biometric payment card market through its collaboration with M-Tech Innovations Ltd. The partnership resulted in M-Tech becoming the first manufacturer in India to receive Visa certification for a biometric payment card built with Fingerprint Cards’ sensor technology and a security controller from Infineon. This certification paved the way for the mass production and commercial issuance of biometric cards in the Indian market, enabling secure contactless payments authenticated by the user’s fingerprint. This development underscored the growing global adoption of biometric security features in standard banking cards to enhance fraud protection and payment convenience.
• In May 2025, Giesecke+Devrient introduced the Convego SecureCode payment card, a next-generation security solution designed to combat card-not-present fraud. The card featured a dynamic security code technology that utilized a battery-free e-ink display on the card's surface to generate a changing verification code for each transaction. This innovation replaced the traditional static three-digit CVV code, significantly enhancing security for online and remote purchases without requiring cardholders to install additional mobile applications. The company positioned this launch as a strategic response to the rising global costs of fraud, offering financial institutions a tool to protect customers while preserving a seamless user experience.
• In October 2024, CPI Card Group announced that it had begun accepting orders for a pilot of a new environmentally focused contactless card featuring advanced chip technology. The company collaborated with Infineon Technologies to integrate the SECORA Pay Green solution, which allowed for the manufacturing of cards using eco-friendly materials such as recycled PVC and ocean-bound plastic. This development was part of a broader industry effort to reduce the environmental impact of physical payment cards. The pilot program enabled issuers to offer sustainable payment products that maintained high performance and durability standards while addressing growing consumer demand for environmentally responsible banking solutions.
• In June 2024, IDEMIA Secure Transactions launched a new payment card solution known as IDEMIA Starlight, which introduced OLED technology to the payment card market. This innovative card was designed to illuminate upon contact with a point-of-sale terminal, powered solely by the Near Field Communication (NFC) field without requiring an internal battery. The product received certification from major payment networks, including Mastercard and Visa, ensuring its compatibility with existing payment infrastructure. This launch aimed to provide card issuers with a distinct, visually engaging physical product to differentiate their brands in a competitive financial services landscape while maintaining standard security and transaction capabilities.

Key Market Players

• Gemalto N.V.
• CPI Card Group Inc.
• Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
• American Banknote Corporation
• IDEMIA France SAS
• Perfect Plastic Printing Corporation
• Goldpac Group Limited
• Inteligensa Group
• Marketing Card Technology, LLC
• TAG Systems SA

By Type	By Technology	By Application	By Region
Contact Cards Contactless Cards	Chip Enabled Cards Regular Cards Smart Cards	Payment Cards (Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Charge Cards, Prepaid Cards) Government/Health (National Identity Cards, Driving Licenses, Public and Private Health Cards, Others) SIM Cards Transportation Cards Gift Cards Access Cards Others	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Plastic Cards Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Plastic Cards Market, By Type:

• Contact Cards
• Contactless Cards

• Plastic Cards Market, By Technology:

• Chip Enabled Cards
• Regular Cards
• Smart Cards

• Plastic Cards Market, By Application:

• Payment Cards (Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Charge Cards, Prepaid Cards)
• Government/Health (National Identity Cards, Driving Licenses, Public and Private Health Cards, Others)
• SIM Cards
• Transportation Cards
• Gift Cards
• Access Cards
• Others

• Plastic Cards Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE