Speed, personalisation, and effortless integration were once differentiators in the issuing world. Today they’re basic expectations from both customers and partners. It’s surprising then, just how many issuers still rely on technology foundations built for a very different era.
Legacy systems that once offered stability have now become a bottleneck holding back innovation, expansion, and competitiveness. According to one report, 75% of banks say they struggle to implement new digital payment solutions because of their legacy infrastructure.
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The industry has been inching toward this breaking point for years, but today’s pressures have accelerated the problem. Card programmes have become more specialised, regulatory demands more fragmented, and partners more demanding. Modern issuers aren’t simply managing cards; they’re managing ecosystems that include wallets, loyalty platforms, KYC providers, risk engines, scheme mandates, regional compliance layers, and dozens of “must-have” integrations. And they’re expected to manage all this with infrastructure that’s not up to the job.
The consequences are tangible. For example, some issuers still take months to launch a regional card programme due to BIN restrictions or complex integration requirements.
Rolling out features like instant virtual cards, AI-driven spending insights, or loyalty point redemption can trigger lengthy development cycles, internal workarounds, and operational risk. What should be a simple configuration often becomes a costly, months-long project.
Why modularity is no longer optional
Inflexible systems, monolithic architectures, and hard-coded logic limit issuers in ways that were unthinkable even five years ago. Something as seemingly routine as adding a new spending control or enabling a regional BIN configuration can trigger a chain reaction of risk assessments, regression tests, and redevelopment cycles. As a result, innovation slows, partners get frustrated, and opportunities are lost to faster-moving competitors.
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By GlobalDataThe opportunity cost is enormous. Fintech challengers and digital-first issuers are not winning because they spend more, they’re winning because their platforms allow them to move faster. When a partner requests a bespoke feature, they can say yes. When regulators introduce new scheme rules, they can adapt without major system upheaval. When there’s an emerging commercial opportunity in a new region, their technology supports growth instead of complicating it.
This is why configurable, modular infrastructure has shifted from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable. Modularity allows issuers to adjust one part of their programme without disturbing the whole. It enables regional requirements to be addressed through configuration rather than custom code. It allows integrations to be added or replaced without rewriting core issuing logic. And crucially, it reduces dependence on external development teams whose availability and cost are often major constraints.
Best-practice examples are already visible across the industry. Some global issuers now spin up localised BINs in weeks rather than months, deploy partner integrations without touching the core system, and launch new co-branded products with minimal friction. These capabilities create a competitive edge, allowing issuers to act decisively and consistently, rather than reacting to delays imposed by outdated infrastructure.
Building issuer resilience for the future
A future-focused issuing platform should make the complex feel simple. It should allow issuers to launch card programmes without waiting for engineering capacity, customise BINs without destabilising existing products, and plug into loyalty or risk engines as effortlessly as adding an app to a smartphone.
There’s really a checklist an agile issuer platform should offer:
- Configurable card and BIN management, so issuers can support diverse products and regional requirements without code changes
- API-first architecture, enabling partners and internal teams to integrate quickly and innovate continuously
- Real-time data and decisioning for empowering instant fraud detection, transaction enrichment, and personalised customer insights
- Seamless partner integrations which allow issuers to connect with wallets and fintech ecosystems without lengthy development cycles
- And modular functionality, so new capabilities can be added or updated independently of the core system
These capabilities have come to define whether an issuer can move fast, differentiate their products, and respond proactively to market shifts. Legacy systems, by contrast, make these ambitions cumbersome or impossible.
The benefits go beyond operational efficiency. Agile infrastructure enables data-driven product innovation, faster go-to-market for partnerships, and more creative engagement with end customers. Teams that are no longer tied up with manual work can focus on strategy, experimentation, and delivering experiences that delight customers.
The cost of standing still
Ignoring modernisation comes with real risks. Issuers stuck on legacy platforms face slower product launches, limited partner integrations, and increased operational risk. Customers notice when products stagnate, partners notice when integrations take months, and regulators notice when updates lag behind. Meanwhile, competitors that embrace modular, agile platforms can introduce innovative offers, embedded features, and regional adaptations at speed.
In today’s market, where speed, personalisation, and interoperability define the leaders, inflexible infrastructure pushes issuers in the opposite direction.
From local BINs to loyalty integrations, modern issuers need tools that bend, not break. Modularity is not a buzzword; it’s the foundation that enables speed, adaptability, and differentiation.
Issuers that continue to rely on rigid legacy platforms risk more than operational inefficiency; they risk being left behind entirely. the shift to digital issuance is huge. Industry research reveals that digital/payment cards issued via modern platforms are expected to hit 1.3 billion annually by 2027 (from 500 million in 2023). Issuers stuck on older platforms risk being structurally excluded from a growing portion of the card market.
Alex Kelly, Head of Product Management at Tribe Payments
