Regional Excellence Takes Center Stage at the 2025 Élan Awards
For the first time in Élan Awards history, a new honor was introduced in 2025: Best Overall Card by Region, recognizing standout achievements in card design and manufacturing…
ID Cards: From Utility to Innovation
At their core, ID cards serve a basic yet vital function: verifying a person’s identity. But in 2025, the way that function is achieved has expanded dramatically. Thanks…
Addressing Gift Card Fraud Through Industry Collaboration
Cybercrime and organized retail crime continue to challenge the integrity of global retail and payment ecosystems. At the 2025 International Card Manufacturing & Personalization EXPO, industry leaders came…
Innovation, Security and Symbolism: Celebrating the People’s Choice Winner and Finalists at the Élan Awards of Excellence
Each year, the International Card Manufacturing Association (ICMA) Élan Awards of Excellence spotlight the most compelling, creative and technologically advanced cards in the world. Among these categories, the…
Thank You for an Unforgettable EXPO
On behalf of the entire ICMA team, thank you for being a part of the 2025 ICMA EXPO—and for helping us celebrate a major milestone: ICMA’s 35th anniversary.…
ICMA Celebrates Global Card Innovation at the 2025 Élan Awards of Excellence
The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), a global trade association dedicated to supporting the card manufacturing industry, proudly celebrated its 35th anniversary during the 2025 Élan Awards of…
Rewriting the Sustainability Playbook: Why the Card Industry Must Think Bigger
By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor, ICMA At this year’s ICMA EXPO, David Nicholson, director of corporate sustainability and EHS at CPI Card Group, delivered a timely and thought-provoking…
Rapid Progress in Global Standards for Physical and Mobile Driver’s Licenses
By Dave Tushie, Magellan Consulting, Inc., ICMA Standards and Technical Representative International driver’s license standards development activity has been at a high level for several years. The standard,…
Using the Card ‘Beyond’ Payments to Find the Holy Grail
By Amanda Gourbault, Chief Revenue Officer, CompoSecure The Friction vs. Fraud Dilemma It appears that the “holy grail” in payment systems is to simultaneously reduce friction and fraud,…
Removing the 16-Digit Card Number and Beyond
By Ahmet Alptekin and Bora Göknar There were several news outlets reporting in February on Mastercard’s plan to remove the 16-digit card number from physical debit and credit…