Billions of people worldwide use debit and credit cards to pay for purchases, access cash advances, and manage credit. But have you ever stopped to think, “How are credit cards made?”.
Credit cards might look simple, just a small piece of plastic (or wood!) that fits in your wallet, but each one has a surprisingly detailed manufacturing process. From layered materials to embedded chips and precise security features, creating a credit card involves both engineering and security expertise.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to how credit cards are produced.
1. Designing the Card
The manufacturing process begins with designing the card. Financial institutions and card-issuing banks collaborate with manufacturers to design credit cards that not only look visually appealing but also reflect the brand’s identity.
This design phase involves selecting colours, logos, and important information such as the card number, cardholder’s name, and expiry date, or featuring holograms as advanced security features.
The design must balance aesthetics with functionality, durability and security.
But a key consideration is the core material. Not all credit cards are made from the same materials – some are plastic cards, others are metal cards, some use transparent plastic materials, and there are even wooden cards.
Did you know? Polyvinyl Chloride Acetate (PVCA) is a common plastic used to make credit cards, forming the core material and protective layers.
2. Layering the Materials
There are 26.6 billion credit and debit cards made from several layers of plastic substrates. The core material is typically a plastic resin such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which provides strength and flexibility. These layers include opacifying materials to give the card its colour and hide the internal components.
A separate magnetic stripe layer, made from a magnetic tape containing metal oxide particles, is laminated onto the back of the card, which stores critical data for transactions.
These materials start in sheet form and are later cut into individual cards, allowing multiple cards to be produced simultaneously, improving efficiency and reducing cost.
3. Adding the Magnetic Stripe & EMV Chip
While the magnetic stripe on a card still stores data, it now serves mostly as a backup. Today, the real security comes from the EMV chip – a small but powerful piece of technology embedded directly into the card.
The chip is carefully set into a cavity within the plastic core and acts as the brain of the card, securely storing encrypted information and generating a unique code for every transaction. This means that even if someone steals the card data from one purchase, they can’t use it again.
By making it nearly impossible to clone or duplicate, EMV technology has dramatically reduced fraud and strengthened consumer protection.
4. Printing & Personalisation
Once the card’s layers and electronic components are in place, the card is printed and personalised. This step involves embossing the credit card numbers, printing the cardholder’s name, expiry date, and security code.
The printing process uses durable inks or dyes and appropriate solvents to ensure durability and security.
Personalisation also includes programming the EMV chips and magnetic stripes with the appropriate information to link the card to the card-issuing bank’s systems. This ensures that each card is unique and secure for the cardholder’s use. This data is encrypted and securely linked to the issuing bank’s system.
5. Security Features
Security features are an important part of the manufacturing process, woven into the card’s design and its structure.
A typical card is made up of several layers. Within these layers lie the card’s key identifiers, such as the printed account information, holograms, and sometimes even embedded security threads or metallic foils.
Beyond its visible elements, the card often includes invisible safeguards. Features like microchipping, ultraviolet (UV) inks, and optically variable holograms are integrated during protection to deter tampering and counterfeiting. Some cards also incorporate digital protections, such as dynamic CVV codes or biometric verification, adding yet another layer of defence.
Card issuers and financial institutions continually refine these features – updating materials, designs, and embedding technologies – to stay ahead of evolving fraud tactics and keep consumer’s money and data safe.
6. Quality Control & Testing
Before credit cards are delivered to consumers, they undergo rigorous quality control and testing. This ensures that each card meets the high standards required for durability, functionality, and security.
Cards are tested for resistance to wear and tear, the accuracy of printed information, and the reliability of the magnetic stripe and EMV chip.
This step is vital to ensure that cardholders can use their cards for purchases, cash advances, and other services without any issues.
7. Packaging & Delivery
After passing quality control, the individual cards are packaged securely and sent to card-issuing banks and financial institutions for distribution.
The packaging protects the cards during transit and ensures they reach consumers in perfect condition.
Banks then activate the cards and send them to customers, ready for use in everyday transactions.
How the TIMBERCARD Wooden Credit Card is Made
The TIMBERCARD wooden credit card shows that innovation in financial products doesn’t have to come at the expense of the environment. Crafted from responsibly sourced FSC-certified natural wood, each card is layered, treated, and fitted with a smart chip and magnetic stripe – in a similar way to traditional cards, though the exact manufacturing process differs for wood or metal materials.
The difference with TIMBERCARD lies in its wooden core, which significantly reduces the use of plastic resin and synthetic materials, compared to traditional plastic cards.
In recognition of this achievement, the TIMBERCARD card body has been awarded the flustix LESS PLASTICS | PRODUCT seal in the highest certification category. Independent laboratory testing confirmed the card body to be 100% plastic-free.
This approach combines sustainability with functionality, giving consumers a durable, secure, and distinctive alternative to plastic. The result is a payment card that looks unique, feels premium, and supports a more sustainable future.
Discover TIMBERCARD – Do Good, Use Wood.