What Company Cards does

Company Cards Ltd, trading as Swype, is a UK-based manufacturer of plastic and eco-friendly cards headquartered in St Helens (Worsley Brow, Sutton, St Helens WA9 3EZ). Founded in 1996, the company designs, prints, laminates, and delivers a broad catalogue that includes Photo ID, RFID, NFC, membership, gift, hotel key, event, key fob, and custom-shaped cards, supported by an Eco Cards range (EcoLite PVC-free, recyclable PVC, board, degradable, renew, wooden) and accessories such as lanyards, blank cards, and rigid card holders. Technical capability rests on in-house digital printing infrastructure with MIFARE/NFC/RFID chip integration enabled through the NXP MIFARE Partner Program, alongside ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 27001 (information security), ISO 14001 (environmental) and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditations.

The business monetises card production on a quote-based, per-order basis with no minimum order requirement and typical lead times of five working days or less. Revenue streams are dominated by one-time hardware sales across standard, eco, and accessory product lines. Go-to-market is direct-to-customer: a website storefront with a quote-request funnel, plus phone (01744 815 475) and email ([email protected]) sales. The stated customer mix spans corporate and enterprise buyers, design agencies, and trade resellers, with named end-customers spanning retail (Currys, Lidl, WHSmith), telecommunications (BT), healthcare and government (NHS, Specsavers), sports (Manchester United, The FA, Newcastle Falcons, St Helens RFC, Formula 1), hospitality (Champneys, The Ivy), and education (University of Westminster, Coleg Cambria). Marketing is concentrated on the company website and direct sales outreach; no social, paid, or channel-partner marketing channels are documented in the source data.

Name

Company Cards

Legal name

Company Cards Ltd

Website

https://companycards.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Company Cards Ltd (trading as Swype) is a UK-based digital card manufacturer, founded in 1996 in St Helens, producing photo ID, RFID, NFC, membership, gift, and eco-friendly cards plus lanyards on a quote-based, no-minimum-order model for enterprises, agencies, and resellers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Helens

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Card Products: One-time sale of physical cards including Photo ID cards, RFID cards, NFC cards, membership cards, gift cards, hotel key cards, event cards, key fobs, and custom shaped cards. Revenue generated per order with no minimum quantity requirements.
2. Eco Card Products: Sale of sustainable card alternatives including EcoLite PVC-free cards, recyclable PVC cards, board cards, renew cards, and wooden cards targeting environmentally conscious customers.
3. Accessories and Related Products: Sale of complementary products including lanyards, blank cards, card accessories, eco-friendly products, and rigid card holders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Company Cards (trading as Swype) designs, manufactures, prints, and delivers a comprehensive range of plastic cards including Photo ID, RFID, NFC, membership, gift, hotel key, event, key fob, and custom-shaped cards. Production, artwork, and lamination are handled in-house at the St Helens facility with no minimum order quantity and typical lead times of 5 working days or less. The portfolio also extends to eco-friendly card alternatives and related accessories such as lanyards, blank cards, and card holders.

Product overview

Swype, operating as part of Company Cards Ltd Group, is the UK's original digital card manufacturer established in 1996. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of card products organized into three main categories: standard Cards (Photo ID, RFID, NFC, Membership, Gift, Hotel Key, Event, Key Fobs, and Custom Shaped), Eco Cards (EcoLite PVC-Free, Recyclable PVC, Board Cards, Board Card Event Passes, Degradable, Renew, and Wooden), and a Shop section (Blank Cards, Card Accessories, Rigid Card Holders, Eco Friendly Products). The product line also includes Lanyards as an accessory category. Swype manufactures all products in-house with typical lead times of 5 working days or less, serving education, retail, hospitality, and corporate sectors with no minimum order requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Photo ID Cards

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 working days or less lead times

Named customers18 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NXP Semiconductors - MIFARE Partner ProgramcoreTechnology or IntegrationSwype is part of NXP's MIFARE Partner Program, providing access to MIFARE contactless IC technology for smart card applications including access control, transport, and loyalty programs. This partnership enables Swype to offer cards with embedded MIFARE chips for customers requiring secure contactless functionality.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Evolis: French-headquartered global manufacturer of card printers and personalization systems sold to issuers, integrators and bureaus. Adjacent rather than directly competing on finished card production, but addresses the same end-customer need for card issuance.
• HID Global: Global leader in trusted identity and physical access control credentials, including RFID/NFC cards. Operates in the same RFID/access-control space but at significantly greater scale and with a broader portfolio than Company Cards.
• Zebra Technologies: Global provider of card printers and supplies used for ID, payment and access card issuance. Comparable as an incumbent in the card-issuance value chain rather than as a direct competitor in finished plastic card manufacturing.

Direct peers

• Plastech Group: UK plastic card manufacturer offering gift, loyalty, membership, smart and contactless cards to a UK customer base. Operates in the same niche as Company Cards with overlapping product and channel structure.
• ID Card Centre: UK supplier of ID cards, card printers, accessories and consumables serving enterprise, education and government. Comparable to Company Cards on end-customers (UK corporates, schools, public sector) and product range.
• Plastic Card Services: UK plastic card manufacturer specialising in loyalty, membership, gift and RFID cards with custom printing. Closely comparable to Company Cards on product scope, customer type and short-run B2B order handling.
• Thames Card Technology: UK-based plastic card manufacturer producing gift, loyalty, membership and smart cards for UK clients. Directly comparable to Company Cards in product mix, customer base and domestic B2B distribution model.

Regional players

• CPI Card Group: US-headquartered card manufacturer serving financial, government and commercial markets with credit, debit, prepaid and loyalty cards. Operates in the same manufacturing category as Company Cards but in a different geography and at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Matica Technologies: Card issuance and personalisation equipment vendor serving financial, government and corporate markets. Overlaps with Company Cards on the smart-card/secure-issuance use case, though operating upstream in equipment rather than finished cards.
• NBS Technologies: Provider of card personalisation equipment, software and supplies for secure card issuance. Comparable to Company Cards on the secure/smart-card use case, though focused on issuance infrastructure rather than finished plastic card production.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/company-cards-limited

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Company Cards