Sentry Enterprises launches Radiance, the first OLED card for the financial sector

Sentry Enterprises has announced its "Radiance" platform, which integrates flexible OLED light panels with payment card support. During a contactless payment, part of the card lights up to visually confirm the transaction. The aim is to enable the issuer to emphasize his or her credentials, while avoiding the need to equip the card with a battery.

FACTS

• Sentry Enterprises has announced its "Radiance" platform, which integrates flexible OLED light panels designed by manufacturer Konica Minolta into cards.

• During a contactless payment, part of the card lights up, essentially providing visual confirmation of the payment and drawing the cardholder's attention to the card issuer's brand.

• OLED integration is based on the energy generated during transactions via NFC wireless connections, making it possible to avoid inserting a battery into the card.

• Although the card has no battery, the contactless payment terminal provides sufficient energy to temporarily power the display components.

• Sentry supports EMV contactless payments on the VISA or Mastercard networks.

CHALLENGES

• The launch of Radiance offers card issuers the opportunity to improve their visibility and brand image: Sentry believes that for banks and card issuers, lighting features can increase customer loyalty and generate more payments by offering cards that are seen as more modern. Issuers can choose to make their logos glow or animate in an eye-catching way. There's no other way to use this lighting, which focuses on the brand and, at the same time, confirms the success of a contactless transaction.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• With the decline in cash and the growing use of wallets, some neo-banks, such as Revolut, are relying more on virtual cards to enhance the security of online purchases, making the physical card obsolete in some cases.

• Nevertheless, innovation in the physical card medium continues. Samsung, for example, has been working on cards with integrated fingerprint readers or geolocated payment cards. In addition, to make online transactions even more secure for consumers, some players such as BNP Paribas are experimenting with cards displaying dynamic cryptograms.

• The main obstacle to these innovations, however, remains the cost of designing the card, especially when it requires a battery, as well as the recycling of the latter. Radiance overcomes this difficulty by offering a fun function that requires no additional energy source.