I was trying to think of a cost effective way of allowing a user to replace their card if lost. My first idea was to partner with a large chain and have self service card makers available - however I think it would be to costly to deploy.
I then thought or two ideas, I don’t know how Mondo currently sends out replacement cards but I assume Royal Mail 1st class which will probably take a day or two to arrive depending on when it was requested. I know company’s such as eBuyer and Asos offer very late delivery cut off times, I know with Asos I can order something at 11:30PM and have it arrive the next day, maybe offer an option for a premium next day delivery service, obviously as long as it’s not a silly price, but if I was going away on holiday or needed my card for an important purchase, I would prob ally be willing to pay £5 for the convenience of being able to report a lost or stolen card at 11PM and have a new one delivered the next day.
My 2nd idea was a virtual card, so once you report through the app that the card has been lost or stolen, you will instantly be issued a new card and I would be able to view all the details needed to make an online purchase and add the card to Apple Pay so I could at least make some transactions while I wait for the physical card to be made and sent to me via snail mail. This could also apply for new users so they can literally start using their new account immediately after registering. You could also apply this same logic to a PIN number if the user has forgot the pin - obviously after some sort of authentication such as Touch ID and other security authentication.
I’ve seen someone else mention virtual cards on these forums before, and I’m a big fan of the idea, especially as it still could be useable with Apple Pay as you mentioned
On the instant card issuance point - Revolut show you the digital card number immediately through their mobile app when you apply so can start spending online if you wish (before the physical card arrives) so I assume that it is possible to get the full card details as soon as one is set up for issuance (hence point 2 is quite feasible). Apple Pay is already instant issuance for people who provide that (its Visa and Mastercard who enable the creation of a token for the card in real time). Not that it really matters to a consumer but the Apple Pay card is actually a different card number to the real one (its a token that links back to the original account) so you can create/delete them on top of the real card in near realtime.
I like the idea of a virtual account/card, and instant account creation via the API so we can do funky things like create a temporary shared wallet for group spending.
Multiple people do a “whip around” on the app, chip in £50 and that virtual card gets used to pay for the rounds all night.
Given that tokenization is now widely supported due to Apple Pay, it might work well for the Mondo app to present card details which can be used once and get replaced every time you view them.
One thing to be wary about though when it comes to virtual cards - many shops where you can book things online need the physical card to issue your tickets, etc.
The problem is the embossing of the name. If the intention is to continue supplying cards without personalised embossing (not sure if this is allowed with a full bank account?) then there are a few solutions that could provide instant access to a new card (partner with a national vending machine network to stock a supply of cards in each vending machine, accessed with a code from the app; partner with Amazon to handle delivery, customer can pay for Prime NOW if they need same day). However if the intention is to provide name embossed cards, then they have to be dispatched from a central location presumably, and the embossing must create a lead time. I guess one option is to provide instant access to non-named cards, and then replace with a named card in a longer timescale, but then you’re doubling the cost.
As a few have mentioned, virtual cards are definitely the way to go. If Apple Pay is supported, then most people could survive a few days until a new card arrives, especially if plans to support Apple Pay on ATMs come to fruition. (also, is it Samsung Pay that works anywhere that has a magnetic stripe reader?)
I’ve always wanted to be able to setup virtual accounts on-demand when I’m saving for things - e.g. if I want to replace my computer I can set up with a new virtual account with a funding goal, and then I can setup workflow rules to automatically move £X into that account when I get paid or move any amount over £Y at the end of the month into it.
