Across almost every corner of the payments sector, digital is becoming the new default. Cardholders, for example, are increasingly using mobile wallets. Merchants expect instant settlement, and anyone using some sort of payment platform expects real-time visibility.
Yet in the gift and reward space, many programmes are still running on plastic – or, even worse, on paper, meaning cheques.
And while that approach may have worked a decade ago, today it introduces delay and complexity at precisely those moments users expect the opposite. Enter virtual cards. They’re faster, cheaper, scalable, and better aligned with how customers actually want to receive – and use – value. Also, the data is clear: the shift is already happening.
The Problem with Plastic
Plastic cards carry a range of hidden overheads. Obviously, there’s the physical production cost. Besides the card itself, someone also has to deal with customisation, packaging, and brand materials that go with it. Logistics – printing, warehousing, and shipping – add time and complexity. This becomes even more pronounced if you’re serving a wide geographic area.
So, even before a card reaches the end user, it’s likely that it has already consumed days of processing and incurred significant costs. That may work for small or infrequent batches. But if your business relies on volume, then it becomes a real constraint.
Finally, there’s the issue of user behaviour, as many gift and reward recipients now expect mobile options. Plastic is beginning to feel outdated – not to mention paper vouchers. In short, everything that has been mentioned above can – and likely will – reduce the effectiveness and profitability of your programme.
Virtual Cards Are Growing Fast
The global virtual card market is already valued at $5.2 trillion. According to Juniper Research, by 2029, it will be worth over $17 trillion. That’s a 235% increase. While this shift is definitely about convenience, it also reflects a broader transition from static, legacy infrastructure toward embedded, on-demand digital solutions.
In the gift and reward space, virtual cards simply offer a smarter model. They can be issued instantly and delivered instantly by email or any other form of digital communication. That means no printing, no postage, and no waiting. Users can begin using them immediately, and they can be added to digital wallets. Users can even receive top-ups or campaign-specific rewards on the very same card.
From an operational perspective, that means fewer support issues, no inventory to manage, and no delivery failures. And from a commercial perspective, it means lower cost per card, higher activation rates, and a scalable way to expand across borders without physical bottlenecks.
From Brand Visibility to Real-Time Control
There’s another benefit to virtual cards, and it has to do with branding. Virtual cards can be fully branded and customised – not just with your logo, but with dynamic names, colours, limits, and expiration rules as well. In short, each card becomes a controllable and programmable brand experience. You can issue single-use campaign cards, recurring rewards, or loyalty top-ups – all without dealing with anything related to logistics.
Add real-time reporting and strong fraud control to the mix, and virtual cards begin to look less like a simple replacement – and more like a new infrastructure layer for smarter, embedded value distribution.
How Wallester White-Label Makes It Easy
Let’s summarise why, then, virtual cards work better. Unlike plastic, they can be:
- Issued instantly, via API or dashboard
- Delivered digitally, with no printing or logistics
- Branded and customisable, with full issuer control
- Added to Apple Pay and Google Wallet, for immediate use
- Tracked and managed in real time, reducing fraud and overhead
The best part is that launching a branded virtual card programme doesn’t have to take months of development or complex integrations anymore. With embedded finance solutions like Wallester’s White Label, gift and reward providers can issue Visa cards under their own brand. They can also do that with full control, mobile wallet support, and a fast go-to-market.
How does it work?
We provide the licensing, compliance, infrastructure, and apps. You, on the other hand, do what you do best – take care of the user experience, the offer, and the scale.
Programmes that previously spent weeks managing card orders and support requests are now live in weeks – issuing thousands of cards by themselves via API, tracking usage in real time, and growing margins without growing headcount.
Get in touch with us, and we’ll walk you through what’s possible.
