What CPI Card Group does

CPI Card Group Inc. is a U.S. payment technology company that manufactures physical payment cards — including debit, credit, contactless, and prepaid cards — and provides software-based instant issuance solutions to financial institutions. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Littleton, Colorado, the company operates two principal business lines: a card manufacturing and personalization business (the larger, lower-margin hardware segment) and an Integrated PayTech software segment anchored by the Card@Once SaaS platform and the newly acquired TRISM on-premise instant issuance solution. Integrated PayTech contributes over 20% of company profitability at approximately 55% gross margins and 40% EBITDA margins, making it the strategic focal point for future growth.

The company serves banks, credit unions, and fintech partners in the United States, with reach into Canada via the Velera credit union network. Distribution is a hybrid of direct enterprise field sales and channel partnerships: the Fiserv alliance gives Card@Once access to more than 10,000 U.S. financial institutions, while Velera supports over 4,000 credit unions across North America under a multi-year agreement renewed in 2026. Revenue streams include hardware sales, recurring SaaS subscriptions, personalization services, and prepaid card programs. Recent acquisitions — Arroweye Solutions ($45.55 million, May 2025) and TRISM (HID Global, June 2026) — together with a new Fort Wayne production facility and executive leadership restructuring, indicate a deliberate repositioning toward higher-margin software revenue and away from pure commodity card manufacturing.

Name

CPI Card Group

Legal name

CPI Card Group Inc.

Website

http://www.cpicardgroup.com/

Company type

Public

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

CPI Card Group is a U.S. payment technology company that manufactures physical payment cards and provides SaaS-based instant issuance software to banks and credit unions, reaching 14,000+ financial institutions via Fiserv and Velera partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Card Manufacturing

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221)

akta.pro primary industry

Card Issuing & Program Management Platforms (BPAMAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Card Issuing Platforms (Issuer Processing) (FSAGABAD)

Keywords

• Payment card manufacturing
• Instant issuance software
• Card personalization services
• Contactless payment cards
• Financial issuance solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Littleton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Payment Card Manufacturing and Sales: Manufacturing and sale of physical payment cards including debit, credit, and contactless cards. This represents the core hardware revenue stream.
2. Software/SaaS (Integrated PayTech): SaaS-based instant issuance platform (Card@Once) providing software services for instant card issuance. This segment represents over 20% of profitability with ~55% gross margins and ~40% EBITDA margins. Expected growth exceeding 15%.
3. Personalization Services: Card personalization services enabling financial institutions to customize payment cards, contributing to revenue growth alongside hardware sales.
4. Prepaid Card Solutions: Prepaid payment card solutions including paper prepaid meal cards and prepaid card security services through partnerships.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CPI Card Group manufactures secure payment cards — including credit, debit, prepaid, metal, and contactless cards — for financial institutions, and operates Card@Once, a SaaS-based instant card issuance platform that allows issuers to produce personalized physical and digital cards in-branch or on demand. The company also provides personalization services and on-premise instant issuance solutions through its TRISM and Arroweye product lines.

Product overview

CPI Card Group is a payments technology company offering a portfolio of physical payment cards, instant issuance software platforms, and related services. The core offerings include contactless payment cards and personalization services, complemented by the SaaS-based Card@Once instant issuance platform. Recent acquisitions include Arroweye Solutions (payment card production) and TRISM on-premise instant issuance (from HID Global), expanding CPI's capabilities in both card manufacturing and software-driven instant issuance solutions. The company also offers prepaid card security through its Karta partnership and has launched paper prepaid cards for the Street Charity initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Card@Once

Quantifiable outcome

• Integrated PayTech segment revenue growth of approximately 20% in 2026
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Street CharityminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 April 2026CPI Card Group announced a partnership with Street Charity to launch paper prepaid meal cards redeemable for food at quick-serve restaurants nationwide, aiming to combat food insecurity. CPI donated 25,000 paper cards along with a monetary contribution to support the nonprofit's national rollout. The initiative addresses the growing need as nearly 50 million Americans face food insecurity, with U.S. consumers making only 14% of their 50 monthly payments in cash.
• FiservcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 April 2026Strategic alliance announced April 16, 2026, to provide instant issuance capabilities for payment cards to Fiserv's network of more than 10,000 U.S. financial institutions. The partnership integrates CPI's SaaS-based Card@Once platform into Fiserv's ecosystem, enabling banks and credit unions to issue both physical and digital payment cards seamlessly. This replaces Fiserv's existing instant issuance solutions and marks a significant milestone in CPI's digital issuance strategy. The collaboration enables financial institutions to offer consumers both physical cards in-branch and digital cards in-wallet simultaneously.
• VeleracoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026CPI Card Group renewed a multi-year service agreement with Velera, a payments credit union service organization supporting over 4,000 credit unions across North America. The extension continues a partnership of more than 20 years, focusing on enabling reliable payment solutions for credit unions. The renewed agreement aims to sustain long-term stability in debit and credit portfolios, helping credit unions maintain competitive and relevant offerings for their members.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IDEMIA: Global leader in payment card manufacturing and instant issuance solutions (Smartcard Issuance, etc.), serving banks and financial institutions with both physical cards and issuance software — directly comparable to CPI's Card@Once and TRISM offerings.
• Thales: Provides secure payment cards, EMV chip technology, and digital issuance solutions through its Digital Identity & Security business, competing with CPI across both physical card production and instant issuance platforms.
• Giesecke+Devrient (G+D): German-headquartered specialist in payment cards, card issuance, and mobile security solutions with a strong global financial institution customer base — directly comparable across CPI's manufacturing and software lines.
• Entrust: Provides card personalization, instant issuance solutions, and digital security software to financial institutions — directly overlaps with CPI's personalization services and Card@Once platform.
• Valid: Brazilian-headquartered payment card manufacturer and digital solutions provider with a global footprint — comparable as a multi-region card manufacturer pursuing adjacent digital issuance services.

Emerging players

• Marqeta: Modern card issuing API platform focused on software-only issuance for fintechs and modern programs — overlaps with CPI's Integrated PayTech strategy but does not have physical card manufacturing.
• Stripe Issuing: Software-driven card issuing platform from Stripe — competes with CPI's SaaS issuance side, particularly for digital-first fintech issuers, though it does not produce physical cards.

Broad incumbents

• Fiserv: Major fintech infrastructure provider and CPI's most strategic distribution partner (10,000+ FIs); a broader incumbent whose core account processing, payments, and digital banking platforms overlap with CPI's go-to-market ecosystem.
• Visa: Global card network that increasingly offers issuance-adjacent services (Visa Direct, tokenization, issuing partnerships) — adjacent incumbent rather than a direct card manufacturer.
• Mastercard: Global card network with growing issuance services and fintech partnerships — adjacent incumbent that shapes the ecosystem in which CPI's issuer customers operate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cpicardgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cpi-card-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CPI Card Group