Fintech design analysis: Neobank card strategies and trends

While physical bank cards are becoming less essential in daily use, they still play a significant role, especially in the neobank ecosystem. For digital-first banks with no physical branches, the card is often the only physical brand touchpoint a customer has. Contracts are digital, support is via chatbots or apps, and everything happens online, except the moment a user receives and uses their card. This makes the card a powerful piece of brand communication. Many neobanks treat it as a mini billboard: bold, distinctive, and designed to attract attention.

To understand the current 2025 design landscape, I analyzed card designs from the top 25 leading neobanks worldwide to uncover the latest design trends, the ideas behind them, and what they reveal about brand strategy in modern fintech.

Traditionally, card designs followed a standardized layout:

• Front: Cardholder name, card number, expiration date
• Back: Magnetic stripe, CVV/security code, signature area

But neobanks have challenged and redefined these norms. Digital trailblazers like Revolut were early innovators, using the card as a marketing asset: colorful and bold to spark conversation. Later, companies like Nubank, Chime, and Apple shifted the focus toward security and minimalism, introducing numberless or clean reverse layouts.

Card design is not just about utility; it’s an extension of brand strategy. Many neobanks use signature brand colors and bold, vibrant tones to create cards that feel modern, approachable, and tech-forward. These colors aren’t just aesthetic choices; they communicate simplicity, ease of use, and brand clarity.

Examples:

• Minimalist white or black: Apple, Chime, TomoCredit, Monzo, Airwallex
• Signature bold color palettes: Petal (pink), N26 (aqua), Nubank (purple), Starling Bank (teal), Wise (green), KOHO (blue), YouTrip (violet)

This visual minimalism also aligns with UI design trends and reinforces the intuitive digital experience users expect from fintechs.

Changing the card’s orientation from horizontal to vertical isn’t just a design gimmick; it reflects how we actually interact with cards today. Whether tapping a reader, inserting into an ATM, or storing it in a phone wallet, vertical design feels more intuitive.
Used by: KOHO, bunq, Petal, Klar, Vivid, YouTrip, TomoCredit

Vertical cards stand out in a wallet and are often accompanied by minimal front visuals, emphasizing the vertical axis through logo placement, chip alignment, and typography.
This trend also signals innovation. It’s an intentional departure from traditional finance aesthetics.

A major trend is the removal of sensitive card data from the front of the card entirely. Instead, the card number, expiration, and CVV are placed on the back or removed completely and displayed only in the app.

This improves visual clarity and enhances security, especially for lost or stolen cards.

Neobanks using this approach:
Chime, Brex, Ramp, Mercury, Revolut, N26, Nubank, Petal, TomoCredit, KOHO, bunq

Apple pioneered the numberless titanium card, where all personal data is stored securely in Apple Wallet, with no physical trace.

This design philosophy prioritizes simplicity, privacy, and user trust.

Not all fintechs go bold. Some lean into subtlety, reflecting professional, mature, or B2B-oriented positioning. These designs may use soft gradients, muted color palettes, small-scale logos, or minimal visual noise.

Used by:
Brex, Ramp, Mercury, SoFi, Affirm, Upgrade, Uni Cards, Zip, YouTrip

Notably, 50% of the companies using this approach primarily serve B2B markets. Subtle design conveys credibility, professionalism, and technical sophistication.

While EMV chip positioning is fixed due to technical requirements (upper-left), some neobanks creatively rotate their card design to make it appear elsewhere.

Examples:

• Right-side chip illusion: Ramp, Revolut, Apple

They achieve this by rotating the card layout while keeping mandatory specs intact, such as the network logo on bottom right. This creates a fresh design feel without breaking compatibility. It’s a clever example of how visual design can stretch perceived limitations.

Traditionally, card layouts balanced the issuer and the network logo (e.g., Visa, Mastercard). Neobanks, however, increasingly prioritize their own branding, making their name or icon the centerpiece of the card.

In this analysis:

• 10 cards used traditional layouts with network logo dominance
• Only 2 cards used layouts where the issuer (neobank) branding is dominant

The shift is gradual but significant. Neobanks seek to become lifestyle brands, not just finance utilities, and visual hierarchy on the card is one step toward that.

Card customization and material options are powerful tools for personalization and differentiation. Neobanks use them to boost engagement, appeal to premium users, or signal environmental responsibility.

Metal Cards (Premium Tiers):

• Apple (titanium), Revolut, bunq, N26, Vivid, TomoCredit, Brex, Ramp

Visual Customization:

• bunq: choose color, add emoji or name
• KOHO: select card color
• Monzo: hot coral identity and limited editions

Many of these features are locked behind paid plans, serving as upsell tools. They also offer users the ability to express identity, values, and lifestyle through design. Something traditional banks rarely allowed.

Neobanks aren’t just disrupting banking functionality. They’re reshaping what financial products look and feel like. The debit or credit card is no longer a static, one-size-fits-all object. It’s a canvas for brand identity, user expression, and innovation.

Trends like numberless layouts, vertical orientation, bold colors, and eco materials reflect a larger movement: designing for trust, individuality, and digital-first lifestyles. In a digital-only world, the physical card has evolved from a utility into a statement piece. A symbol of both the brand and the customer who chooses it.