Are Physical Credit Cards & Debit Cards Going Away? No.

If you’ve spent any time reading fintech headlines, you might think physical payment cards are a dying breed. With Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and a parade of sleek digital wallets promising a frictionless future, it’s tempting to assume that cards are on their way out. But here’s the reality check: they’re not. In fact, the numbers and behavior trends show that physical cards are not just surviving…they’re thriving.

Physical Cards Going Extinct? The Data Says Otherwise.

Let’s start with the hard facts. According to NerdWallet, the number of general-purpose credit cards in circulation in the U.S. reached a record-breaking 548 million in 2022 (the most recent data available). That’s up from 515 million the year before and part of a broader pattern of consistent growth over the last decade. If physical cards were being replaced wholesale by digital alternatives, we’d be seeing contraction, not expansion.

This isn’t just a domestic phenomenon either. Globally, EMVCo reported that nearly 15 billion EMV® chip cards are in circulation, and they showed an increased adoption rate year-over-year from 2022 to 2024. Clearly, the physical card still plays a central role in the global payments ecosystem. While digital payments are indeed increasing, the death of physical payment cards has been greatly exaggerated.

So what’s fueling this persistence?

Why Physical Payment Cards Aren’t Going Anywhere

1. Global Acceptance: Physical Cards Work Everywhere

The physical card’s global utility cannot be overstated. Whether you're paying at a corner café in Paris, withdrawing cash at an ATM in Bangkok, or booking a rental car in Mexico, chances are your card will work. That’s because the EMV network has been universally adopted, especially in regions where mobile connectivity isn’t always a given or where local merchants still rely on traditional point-of-sale systems.

In contrast, digital-only solutions like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or QR-code-based systems remain fragmented. While they work well in specific urban environments or within certain merchant ecosystems, they haven’t achieved the same level of penetration, especially for cross-border or travel-related use cases. For international travelers and business professionals, the physical card is the most dependable, universally accepted tool.

This is why a recent report showed that 66% of consumers insisted on carrying physical cards every day, including the majority (52%) of Gen Z consumers:

Almost two-thirds of them (63 per cent) refuse to rely on digital payments alone, thinking it’s very important to have either cards or cash as a backup. Older shoppers are even more committed to cards, with more than three quarters of baby boomers (77 per cent) carrying physical cards every day.

2. Connectivity Constraints: Rural and Underbanked Regions

The modern fintech stack often assumes always-on internet access but that’s not the reality for millions. As mentioned before, in many rural areas both in the U.S. and abroad, spotty mobile coverage and limited broadband infrastructure make it difficult to rely on app-based payment solutions. And in places where smartphone adoption is limited by affordability, physical cards remain the only viable option for accessing funds. As an example, there’s a reason why many US states issue EBT cards as physical cards, rather than purely digital methods: accessibility.

Even in regions with improving infrastructure, a physical card offers a reliable backup. In emergencies, or when servers are down (yes, even Stripe or Square occasionally go offline), a physical card operating on a robust, decades-tested network like Visa or Mastercard remains a lifeline. Additionally, physical cards aren’t subject to as many technological limitations as digital methods. For example, your smartphone may run out of batteries but your credit card never will.

3. Behavioral Inertia: Old Habits Die Hard

Even among the digitally native, payments behavior doesn’t change overnight. Millennials and Gen Z, often assumed to be at the forefront of mobile wallet adoption, still regularly use physical cards. Recent surveys showed that nearly 70% of Gen Z respondents still use debit cards at least once per week. For many, cards are still the default in-person payment method, and tapping a contactless card feels just as quick as using a phone.

Why? Familiarity. Muscle memory. Speed. Convenience. An understanding and perception of greater security. And in many cases, people simply prefer the tactile nature of having a card in their wallet. Only 28% of younger shoppers reported using digital wallets multiple times a week, placing cardless payment methods as the exception, not the norm.

Baby Boomers and Gen X, of course, show even more loyalty to physical cards. The same survey showed that 96% of Boomers prefer to pay with either cash or cards. These groups have decades of payment habits behind them and tend to gravitate toward what’s comfortable and dependable.

4. Status Symbol: Plastic, Metal, Prestige

Cards aren’t just functional. They’re also symbolic. For decades, premium credit cards like the American Express Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve have been associated with prestige and financial clout. That association isn’t going away. In fact, younger consumers are embracing it in new ways.

Metal cards, especially, are enjoying a renaissance among Gen Z and Millennial users who appreciate both the aesthetic and the satisfying heft. It’s not unusual to see people post their new metal card “unboxings” on TikTok or Instagram. Fintech startups like X1, Brex, and even tech behemoths like Apple have leaned into this by offering elegant, minimalistic metal cards designed to appeal to modern tastes.

This emotional appeal of ownership, exclusivity, and status simply isn’t replicable in a digital app. The only “drop testing” with a smartphone is to test its own durability, not to appreciate the satisfying clink of metal or composite plastic hitting the table.

5. Technology Isn’t Leaving Physical Cards Behind

If you think physical cards are “dumb,” think again. Innovations in card technology are keeping physical formats fresh, secure, and smart. From the materials they are made of, to the antennae inside the cards, to iterations of the onboard EMV chip; physical cards haven’t been just a piece of plastic in decades.

EVC® (Ellipse Verification Code) technology, for example, is one of the latest innovations in physical payment cards. EVC dynamically changes the 3-digit security code (CVV/CVC) on the back of a card, making static codes a thing of the past. It’s a game-changer in the fight against card-not-present fraud which is a growing issue as e-commerce expands globally. With EVC-enabled cards, consumers gain enhanced security without sacrificing convenience, and issuers get fewer disputes and chargebacks.

These types of improvements are making physical cards more useful, not less, and just as convenient or more so than digital payment methods.

6. Even Digital-First Brands Issue Physical Cards

Perhaps the most compelling evidence that cards aren’t going away? Look at who’s issuing them. Digital-native companies like PayPal, Robinhood, Klarna, and Coinbase—brands that built their reputations on disrupting traditional finance—are all offering physical cards to their users. Why? Because people want them. Because they still provide real-world utility. Because despite the hype around “cardless” ecosystems, the actual market demand is still heavily skewed toward physical access to funds.

Robinhood’s Gold Card, for instance, is a top rewards card offering 3% cash back on just about anything. It also comes in a sleek gold design, though the actual material is stainless steel (for a fee), and that’s a deliberate choice to endear itself to its client base. Klarna’s physical card allows consumers to “buy now, pay later” in-store, extending its popular online model into brick-and-mortar environments. And though Klarna’s model works differently than traditional financial institutions when it comes to credit, the physical card itself works the same at any store; a way to usher in the average shopper with an easy and accessible payment method they already know by heart. Same with the new PayPal credit card. Same with the Coinbase One Card.

These moves aren’t relics of the past. They are bets on the continued relevance of the card format in a changing world… that’s not changing as quickly as these digital-first companies once thought.

Physical Cards: The Crucial (and Only?) Touchpoint Between Humans and Issuers

What the digital-first payment companies are realizing is that when your business always has to go through a 3rd party to access your own customers, you lose the brand connection that fosters loyalty and a long-lasting relationship. Keep in mind, these companies don’t have physical locations. And their virtual locations take up a few pixels on the home screens (if they’re lucky) of a device that’s owned by Apple or a slew of Android-using manufacturers.

Payment cards are the only tangible component of the relationship with their customers. Even virtual cards are blended in the uniform UI of a phone’s virtual wallet app. A stellar design of a virtual card quickly loses any meaning when displayed alongside seven other virtual cards in the app. There is no tactile feel, let alone any reason to show off the card.

On the other hand, pulling out a physical card from one’s wallet is much more of a brand connection between the human and the issuer. This is a major reason that physical cards are being created left and right by digital-first companies.

The Future Is Hybrid, Not Cardless

So, are physical cards going away? No. The evidence points not to extinction by any stretch of the imagination, but to evolution. What’s happening is not a replacement of cards by mobile wallets, but a coexistence (and often a convergence) of both.

Cards are getting smarter, safer, and sleeker. They’re supported by stronger networks and infrastructure than digital-only systems, and they continue to offer flexibility and accessibility that apps can’t always match. So the future of payments isn’t about choosing between physical and digital. It’s about making both work better together.

At Ellipse, we’re betting big on that future. We believe innovation doesn’t mean abandoning proven formats. It means upgrading them and making them more secure, more versatile, and more aligned with how people actually live, spend, and move.

Whether it’s a sleek EVC-equipped credit card for a globe-trotting Gen Zer or a dependable debit card for someone in rural Montana, physical cards remain a central, durable part of the financial fabric.

And they’re not going anywhere.