The head of Austriacard Holdings, Manolis Kontos don’t expect the classic ATM and credit card business will disappear from the scene in the next few years. As with payments, as in many areas Trend towards digitalization but the “people will continue to do so in the future physical card use “, he said with conviction in an interview with the APA.
What changes are the needs and therefore that Usage behavior.
Consumers are becoming more and more aware of this quick and easy payment Valued, for example via digital cards on so-called “wallets”. This is especially true in parts of Central and Northern Europe, where electronic and card transactions are already the preferred means of payment cash just one more minor role games. For many people this will be the case Card payment unattractive Kontos believes, but points out that the physical product also offers consumers a known alternative and thus provides a certain level of security. ATM cards would therefore certainly not disappear completely from the market in the medium term, even if they were used less.
Growth opportunities for the card business
Kontos also pointed out that the distribution of maps varies greatly in different parts of the world. In Africa, for example, many people are still “underbanked”. without an account and therefore also without a debit card. “So they still exist Development and growth opportunities for the card business.” In the future, cards will serve more as a marketing tool for financial institutions if they issue fewer physical cards, believes the manager, who has been CEO of the group since this year. This can be observed particularly in neo-banks such as N26 or Revolut as well as emerging financial technology companies (“Fintechs”) that want to increase their visibility.
Austriacard Holdings, which has its headquarters in Vienna, regularly comes into contact with neo-banks; They belong to the narrower circle of customers of the card manufacturer, whose portfolio, in addition to debit and credit cards, also includes ID cards and the Austrian one E-Card as a large showcase project. However, the company sees itself more as a provider of comprehensive digital security technologies with various applications – because the services go beyond producing and personalizing cards, as Kontos explains.
Austriacard as a digital service provider
“What sets us apart from other card manufacturers is, above all, our technical knowledge of the operational system, i.e. the smart card chip.” For example, we cooperate closely with chip manufacturers like Infineon, to whom you provide technical input for the software and thus give them the Further development of their own chips, for example in relation to Security features. Similar services are offered to banks that obtain their cards from Austriacard. For example, these are provided with analytical data relating to consumer usage behavior, which in turn enables banks to adapt their offerings to specific customer needs.
Austriacard Holdings, which has been listed in Vienna and Athens since 2023, sees itself as being prepared for the digital revolutions in the payment industry thanks to this technological orientation, especially since it generates revenue not from the use but from the production of the cards and from the digital services mentioned. In the banking and payments industry, Kontos recognizes you as well as in user behavior Upheaval: There are currently many players entering the market new functionalities – like a few years ago Paypal. Austriacard will therefore continue to focus more on digital services in the future.
With the 2023 Stock exchange listing In Vienna, Austriacard Holdings, which today employs over 2,500 people, wants, in Kontos’ words, to “send a signal to local partners and the financial community” in order to gain popularity in this country and underline its strong roots in Austria. For example, the group’s largest production center is located in Vienna, even if the… Personalization of cards Decentralized and the company also operates in many other European countries.
Further expansion planned
Today’s Austriacard Holdings has its roots in Greek company informationwhich was founded in 1897, established itself as an IT company in 1981 and was listed on the Athens Stock Exchange in 1994. In 2007, it bought the majority stake in the Austrian Austriacard, then a subsidiary of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), before, after further expansion steps, it merged with the stock exchange listing in Vienna parallel to Athens to form Austriacard Holdings.
The group’s aim is to further establish itself internationally from Vienna, says Kontos. This is what the company is tracking, for example Expansion plans in the USA, the United Kingdom, but also in Africa. When it comes to card use and digitalization of transactions in Austria, Kontos sees one “slow development”whereby here too – despite the high status of cash among the population – with one Momentum towards card payments and digitalization calculates.