Cards Module

VISA and Mastercard card issuing with virtual and physical cards, 3DS authentication, full card management, and spend controls for fintechs and banks in Cabo Verde.

Card Issuing

Issue VISA and Mastercard branded cards with full BIN management, card personalization, and support for both virtual and physical card programs.

3D Secure Authentication

Full 3DS 2.0 authentication with frictionless and challenge flows, ensuring PSD2 SCA compliance and reducing fraud on card-not-present transactions.

Card Management

Complete card lifecycle management including activation, PIN management, limits, freeze/unfreeze, replacement, and cancellation with real-time status tracking.

Spend Controls

Granular spending limits by merchant category, geography, time, and amount. Real-time transaction alerts and instant card controls for cardholders.

End-to-End Card Program Management

The Cards Module transforms licensed financial institutions into full card issuers without building card processing infrastructure from scratch. Through pre-established BIN sponsor relationships and processor integrations, Paymart Suite enables VISA and Mastercard card issuance — both virtual and physical — with 3DS2 authentication, spend controls, and complete lifecycle management. Institutions go from license to live card issuance in weeks, not years.

For the Europe-Africa corridor, card programs serve a critical need: diaspora customers require EUR cards for European spending while maintaining accounts linked to their CVE holdings. Corporate clients need multi-card programs with per-employee spend controls. Fintechs need rapid virtual card issuance for onboarding flows. The Cards Module addresses all these use cases through a single, unified management interface.

Tokenization support for Apple Pay and Google Pay means issued cards work immediately in digital wallets — no physical card required. Combined with EMV chip card personalization for physical issuance, the module supports the full spectrum from instant virtual cards for digital-first customers to premium physical cards with custom designs for corporate programs.

Complete Card Issuing & Management

VISA & Mastercard Issuing

Issue VISA and Mastercard branded cards through pre-established BIN sponsor relationships. Full BIN range management, card program configuration, and scheme compliance handled by the platform.

Virtual Card Issuing

Instant virtual card issuance with 16-digit PAN, CVV, and expiry generated in real time. Virtual cards are ready for online and contactless payments immediately, enabling zero-friction onboarding for digital-first customer segments.

Physical Card Personalization

EMV chip card production with custom designs, embossing, and carrier printing. Integrated with card manufacturer workflows for automated ordering, production tracking, and delivery management to any destination.

3DS2 Authentication

Full 3D Secure 2.0 with frictionless and challenge flows. Ensures PSD2 SCA compliance for card-not-present transactions while maximizing approval rates through intelligent risk-based authentication that only challenges when necessary.

Spend Limits & Controls

Granular spend limits by merchant category (MCC), geographic region, time of day, single transaction amount, and daily/monthly totals. Cardholders receive real-time transaction alerts and can adjust controls via mobile app or web portal.

Instant Freeze & Unfreeze

Cardholders can instantly freeze a lost or compromised card through the app, API, or customer service. Freeze takes effect in under 1 second, blocking all authorizations. Unfreeze is equally fast when the card is recovered.

Digital Wallet Tokenization

Native tokenization support for Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and other digital wallets. Card provisioning to wallets is automated through push provisioning APIs, enabling instant wallet activation after card issuance.

POS Terminal Integration

Full POS acquiring and issuing support with EMV contact and contactless transaction processing. Supports in-store, online, and in-app payment scenarios with unified authorization and settlement workflows.

ATM Management

Configure ATM withdrawal limits, cross-border ATM access, and surcharge management per card program. Real-time ATM transaction monitoring with geographic restriction capabilities prevents unauthorized cash access.

Co-Branded Card Programs

Launch co-branded cards with corporate partners, featuring custom designs, reward programs, and revenue-sharing models. The platform handles split settlement between the card issuer and co-brand partner automatically.

PIN Management

Complete PIN lifecycle including initial PIN generation, PIN change, PIN unblock, and remote PIN set through secure IVR or app-based interfaces. All PIN operations comply with PCI DSS requirements for secure PIN handling.

Card Replacement & Cancellation

Seamless card replacement preserving the same PAN with new CVV and expiry, or full PAN replacement for compromised cards. Automated cancellation with pending transaction handling ensures clean account closure without orphaned authorizations.

Card Programs That Drive Revenue

Revenue from Interchange Fees

Every card transaction generates interchange revenue for the issuing institution. With typical EU interchange rates of 0.2-0.3% on debit and 0.3-0.4% on credit, a card program with 10,000 active cards generating EUR 500/month each produces significant recurring revenue.

Faster Time-to-Market

Pre-established BIN sponsor and processor integrations reduce card program launch from 12-18 months to 8-12 weeks. Institutions can respond to market opportunities and competitive threats without the lengthy setup that traditional card issuing demands.

Reduced Fraud Losses

3DS2 authentication, real-time spend controls, and instant freeze capabilities reduce card fraud losses by up to 70%. The combination of EMV for card-present and 3DS2 for card-not-present transactions provides comprehensive fraud protection across all channels.

Customer Retention

Customers with active cards exhibit 3x higher retention rates than account-only customers. Cards create daily engagement touchpoints — purchases, balance checks, notifications — that strengthen the institution-customer relationship and reduce churn.

PCI DSS Compliance Managed

The platform maintains PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, absorbing the cost and complexity of certification. Institutions issue cards without needing their own PCI audit, reducing compliance costs by EUR 50,000-100,000 annually and eliminating the 6-12 month PCI certification timeline.

Scalable Card Programs

Launch with 1,000 cards and scale to 500,000+ without infrastructure changes. The same API endpoints, the same 3DS infrastructure, and the same settlement workflows handle growth transparently, whether the institution is a startup EMI or an established bank.

Card Processing Technical Specifications

PCI DSS Level 1 Certified

The platform operates under PCI DSS Level 1 certification, the highest level of payment card security compliance. All card data is tokenized at the point of entry, ensuring sensitive cardholder data never resides in merchant or institution systems, dramatically reducing PCI audit scope.

EMV Chip & Contactless

Full EMV contact chip and NFC contactless transaction support for physical cards. EMV parameter management, key injection, and terminal interaction are handled through integration with certified card manufacturers and personalization bureaus.

3DS2 Full Implementation

Complete 3D Secure 2.0 implementation as both issuer and merchant 3DS server. Supports frictionless, challenge, and decoupled authentication flows with risk-based decisioning that optimizes approval rates while maintaining PSD2 SCA compliance.

Tokenization API

Full card tokenization API supporting network tokenization for Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Push provisioning and in-app provisioning APIs enable seamless digital wallet onboarding. Token lifecycle management includes suspension, resumption, and deletion.

Real-Time Authorization

Sub-500ms authorization response times for card-present and card-not-present transactions. The authorization engine evaluates balance, limits, MCC restrictions, geographic blocks, and velocity checks before approving or declining within the scheme-mandated timeout window.

Card Programs in Action

Fintech Launch

EMI Launches Virtual-First Card Product

A Cabo Verde fintech startup obtained its EMI license and needed to offer cards quickly to attract customers. Traditional card issuing timelines of 12+ months would have meant missing the market window entirely.

With Paymart Suite Cards Module, the fintech launched virtual VISA cards within 8 weeks. Customers received instantly usable cards upon KYC completion. Within 6 months, 25,000 virtual cards were issued, with 72% of cardholders adding them to Apple Pay or Google Pay. Physical cards followed for premium tiers, completing the product offering.

Corporate Cards

Multi-Employee Expense Management

A logistics company with 200 employees across Cabo Verde and Portugal struggled with expense management. Employees used personal cards for business expenses and submitted paper receipts for reimbursement, creating a 3-week reimbursement cycle and significant administrative overhead.

Paymart Suite enabled the company to issue corporate VISA cards with per-employee spend limits, MCC restrictions (no entertainment outside approved categories), and real-time transaction notifications. The reimbursement cycle dropped from 3 weeks to same-day, and the company saved EUR 45,000 annually in administrative costs.

Diaspora Banking

EUR Cards for Cabo Verdean Diaspora

Cabo Verdean expats in Europe maintain CVE accounts for family support and savings, but needed EUR-denominated cards for daily European spending. Existing solutions required them to maintain separate bank accounts in Europe.

A Cabo Verde institution used Paymart Suite to issue EUR-denominated Mastercard cards linked to customer accounts. Diaspora customers now have one banking relationship that provides both CVE accounts for remittances and EUR cards for daily European spending. Card interchange revenue contributes EUR 2.50 per active card per month, creating a new revenue stream from a previously underserved segment.

Related Modules

Payment Processing → Card Issuing FAQ →
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