Explore the latest insights from ICMA members who are leading conversations on the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the global card industry. From expert analysis on trade policies to emerging threats like quantum computing, these blogs offer valuable perspectives and practical guidance. You’ll also find posts on how to maximize your ICMA member benefits. 

Featured Blogs: 

Global Excellence in Card Design: ICMA Announces Best Overall Card by Region Winners 

The ICMA Élan Awards of Excellence recognized CompoSecure, IDEMIA Secure Transactions and Giesecke+Devrient (China) Technologies as the 2026 Best Overall Card by Region winners for North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Selected from 181 entries, the winning cards showcase global excellence in design, materials, security and card manufacturing innovation. 

Securing Gift Card Activation for the Era of Organized Fraud  

At the 2026 ICMA EXPO, Graph-Tech USA and Digimarc presented a scalable gift card activation approach that uses digital watermarking, AI-enabled tamper detection and production-ready integration to help prevent organized fraud without disrupting retail checkout or card manufacturing workflows. 

Navigating the Sustainability Maze: A More Informed Approach to Card Body Materials 
At the 2026 ICMA EXPO, Bixby International’s Ethel Bermejo emphasized that sustainable card body material selection requires a data-driven, performance-based evaluation of life cycle impacts, trade-offs and organizational priorities rather than relying on simple “green” labels. 

Read these and more at icma.com/blog.