The report from Price Waterhouse Coopers (which formed the basis of the reporting from the BBC) said that the number of credit cards in circulation fell for the first time in 2011.

These figures and sentiments are in stark contrast to the use of Credit Card USB flash drives in the promotional sector. Of course promotional USB cards are not financial instruments, there is no line of credit associated with them and you cannot use them to access money or credit. In fact, the only relationship they have with a credit card is that they are credit card shaped!! In all other respects they are inert pieces of plastic with flash memory chips embedded into them.

The growth of the USB flash drive in the shape of a credit card has been phenomenal over the past couple of years. This growth has been driven partly by continued innovation and technological advance which has reduced the thickness of the USB card to 2mm. and partly by businesses wanting to print ever complex and intricate designs on their promotional USB products.

Most “standard” USB products are lozenge shaped with a print area that is typically around 1cm x 3cm – so, if you want to print a logo, a website URL, a phone number and perhaps a marketing “strap line” on the card you start to struggle without making the font so small that it can’t be read!

Promotional USB Credit Cards

On the credit card USB’ there is a nice flat print area (on both sides of the card) that is 8.5cm x 5.4cm. The whole of the surface area can be printed (print can be “full bleed” to the edge of the card) giving plenty of scope to handle complex, full colour images that look stunning.

As well as looking great the printed cards are typically carried by anyone they are given to in their wallets or purse and as such the brand printed on them gets lots of on-going exposure which is just what you want if you are paying for them.

Despite being only 2mm thick these cards can be supplied with internal flash memory ranging from 1GB all the way up to 16GB so there is no shortage of storage space on the cards.

So whilst Credit Cards are takinga bit of a hit, promotional USB flash drives in the shape of credit cards continue to take the promotions market by storm.

Despite being so thin these USB Credit Cards are available in a wide range of sizes starting at 1GB and going all the way up to 16GB. The cards have a high-perceived value and when printed up in full colour on both sides they look absolutely stunning.

USB Credit Card Wallet

As standard the USB cards are normally supplied in clear “ploy-bags” or plain white cardboard boxes. These are fine but if you really want to create a good impression with the cards your could distribute them in a custom wallet or box.

Custom wallets and boxes are a little more expensive but not prohibitively so. Custom wallets are around 25p each and magnetic clasp boxes are around 50p each – both can be customised with a logo or brand.

If you’re targeting “high net worth” clients then something like the USB credit card would be a great choice. Ideally make sure you pre-load the cards with your sales material, presentation files, media files etc. before you hand them out – by doing this the savings you make by not printing and collating this material can offset the cost of buying the USB sticks.

USB Credit Card in Box

Something that is often over looked when buying promotional or branded USB memory sticks is how easy the product is to post out as part of a Direct Mail campaign. Some of the larger, more traditional USB sticks are just think enough to increase the price to post them from the “standard letter” tariff to the “package” tariff – this subtle change can add significantly to outbound postage costs.

USB credit cards on the other hand are so thin that even in a wallet or slim gift box they still meet qualify for the cheaper “standard letter” tariff – so, if you’re planning to send lots out in the post it’s well worth buying the credit card version.

There are several models of USB Credit Cards (also know as wafer cards) available the primary difference between them is how thick they are and how the USB connector is revealed – some twist out, some flip out and some rotate – if you’re not sure which model will work best for your particular project then make sure to ask you supplier for a sample of two – these will typically be “dummy” samples with no on-board memory but they will help you to see and feel the product in the flesh.

With increasing postal charges and rising print costs there are many sound commercial arguments to move away from printed collateral to a digital version. For some markets, particularly clothing, the tactile nature of the catalogue(s) coupled with the ability to casually “browse” the catalogue means they are unlikely to be replaced by electronic versions in the short term, but, the rise of the iPad, other Tablet PCs and our rapid adoption of book readers like the Kindle may change this.

Credit Card Flash Drives

Of course, many companies will have already posted their brochures on a website and others, if their brochures are small enough, will have started to email these to their clients but these options are not always appropriate – brochures attached to emails, particularly if they are large files, will often get “blocked” or caught up in security filters and not everyone is happy to spend time on the web “browsing” a brochure.

An alternative, and one that seems to be gaining some momentum, particularly in the trade and professional sector, is to mail out a digitised brochure on a USB flash drive. The beauty of using USB flash drives for this purpose is that they are relatively cheap, they can hold huge amounts of information, they are small and lightweight and they are easy to use.

The Credit Card Flash Drive versions are so thin and light (they’re only 2mm thick) that they can be posted out in a

Credit Card Memory Sticks

standard envelope using a standard “letter tariff”. As such postal charges, particularly if the brochures or catalogues are posted overseas, can be cut dramatically and the interactive nature of brochures can be retained by the use of flash and other creative and interactive techniques. For example, including or embedding small movie files or 3-D views of products can bring the products to life in a way that its simple not possible to do off the printed page.

Flash drives can easily be printed or customised to reflect the brand of the company distributing them and unlike large cumbersome catalogues they’re easy to carry around giving the brand that’s printed on them exposure they might otherwise not get.

So, if you’re responsible for looking after your company’s brochure or catalogue then maybe now is the time to consider distributing it in a digitised format on a credit card USB flash drive.

USB Credit Cards - Front to Back

When you consider that these 2mm thick USB credit card flash drives contain a USB connector, a flash memory module (up to 16GB) and a flash memory processor that’s some trick and just demonstrates the effect miniaturisation is having on everyday products.

But, its not just the reduction in thickness that has underpinned the demand for USB cards but a realisation that USB cards offers a much larger canvas to print on. Standard “rectangular” flash drives are relatively small and offer a print area of only 2-3cm whereas a credit card version offers a print area four times larger! This additional space allows for high quality printing of complex images, strap lines and web site addresses and important text like phone numbers and addresses can be printed in a font size that’s readable!

The shape and size of these cards means they also fit neatly into the wallets, bags and purses of anyone they are given to. Getting the USB card printed with your brand and contact details in a wallet/purse alongside bankcards that are used every day ensures that your brand gets lots of ongoing exposure and certainly more exposure than a regular USB

USB Credit Cards - Left to Right

flash drives that is typically tossed into the bottom of a bag.

One of the things to consider if you do want to buy USB credit cards with your logo or design printed on is the orientation of the artwork. The standard way to print the reverse of a USB credit card is opposite to the way in which bankcards are printed. If you hold a USB credit card in your hand and rotate it from the bottom edge, the image on the reverse, as it comes into view, will be the correct way up. But, if you rotate the card from the right edge then the image that comes into view will be upside down. If you’re not sure take out any bankcard and hold it in your hand and flip it over or rotate it and see what happens to the image on the reverse of the card.

You can of course get your artwork printed on the reverse of a USB card the same way they print standard credit cards you just have to remember to ask your supplier.

Over 30 million people in the UK currently hold credit cards and the average time to clear Christmas debts racked up on the cards is 5 months! Despite concerns about the ease of access to debt more and more people are actually paying down their credit cards and for the first time in years the total number of cards in circulation is falling.

USB Credit Cards

The explosive growth in the use of bank cards of all types; debit, credit, ATM has seen the “form factor” (the shape plastic card) become the de facto standard for a range of other products including Gift Voucher Cards, ID Cards, Photo Driving Licenses, Membership Cards and so on. We now take for granted that “plastic cards” designed to be carried around by a person in their wallet; purse, bag or pocket will be the same size the world over. In essence these cards are produced to a global standard to ensure they fit into bags, wallets, card readers, swipe machines, scanners, card carries and so on.

Any card issued that fails to comply with these size standards is unlikely to get used because consumers have grown to expect cards to comply with this design standard and they have organised their personal accessories (bags, wallets, purses etc.) around this standard.

USB Credit Cards

It is perhaps no surprise then that the latest generation of USB flash drives have been produced in the shape of a standard credit card. At just 2mm thick USB credit cards are marginally thicker than a standard card but they still fit comfortably into any standard wallet or purse. When you consider these USB credit cards contain a USB connector, a flash memory controller and a flash memory chip that capable of storing hundreds of thousands of documents it’s a pretty amazing feat.

USB credit cards have also been seized upon by the promotional gift sector where sales are rocketing. Sales have been fuelled by several factors including the ability to print larger, more complex and more vibrant full colour prints on the cards and the immediate acceptance of the product by the consumers who can immediately find a “home” for the card in their wallet or purse.

For years credit card companies have fought over what they call “share of wallet” – that’s getting their card as the preferred card and their brand burned into the psyche of the user. Today USB Credit Cards have the ability to fight for space in the same wallet and if they achieve this position the brand printed on the USB credit card will get continued and positive exposure.

Expect USB Credit cards to continue to get thinner and expect to see more and more of them around. Whilst you can’t buy your Christmas presents using them you can certainly store your Christmas lists, photos, movies and music on them.

USB Credit Card Mailer Packs

When you consider that these USB credit cards contain a USB connector (to allow you to plug it into your PC’s USB port), a flash memory module (onto which the data is stored) and a flash memory controller chip (the brains of the unit) it just demonstrates how far miniaturisation has come over recent years.

USB Credit Card Pack

Unlike standard USB flash drives that tend to be rectangular “blocks” the credit card version can be slipped easily and discretely into a wallet or bag. Not only that but the cards open up all sorts of exciting branding and printing options that are simply not achievable on a standard USB flash drive because of the limited amount of space onto which you can print.

Available in a range of different styles (they’re all the same shape and size but there are different ways in which the USB connector is “revealed” from the credit card body) they come in memory sizes starting from 1GB all the way up to 16GB. Cost wise they are a little more than standard USB flash drives but not much more than you might think and if you have a complex logo or you want to include a strap line that’s readable when printed (difficult on a standard USB drive) then USB credit cards are definitely the way to go.

There are also a number of different packaging and presentation options available with the USB credit card including boxes, leather wallets and mailer packs where the USB card is supplied inside a custom pack. The beauty of these custom packs (or to be fair any of the credit card packaging options) is that they are great for mailing campaigns. If you are going to send them out in the post the thinness of the cards means you can still post them using “regular” 1^st class or 2^nd class postage rates whereas standard “rectangular” flash drives are typically too thick to be treated as “Letter Post” so the cost of distribution goes up significantly. In fact any small incremental cost to buy a credit card USB is more than offset by postage savings.

USB Credit Card Wallet

But, its not just the mailing cost savings and the larger print area that makes the USB cards a winner. The cards are new, exciting and different and they make a real impact when handing out or used in mail shots. Given one of the primary objects of using them, as a promotional tool is to build a strong affinity to your brand this is exactly the reaction you need from any promotional item or “gift”

The Back to the Future USB card looks fantastic and if you’re quick enough you can pick one up for free from the

Back to the Future USB Credit Card

Captain Cash web site – you have to send in an application with a pre-addressed envelope and stamps to the value of 50p to cover the postage but that all.

Even if you’re not a fan of the Back to the Future films (and shame on you if you’re not because they are fantastic family entertainment) then at 50p the USB credit card is well worth getting. We’re not sure how many they are giving away but it’s unlikely to be that many and as such they’re sure to become a collectors item.

If you’ve got your own promotional campaign coming up then you might want to consider USB Credit Cards to help get your message across and generate some interest. The beauty of the USB credit card is that unlike traditional USB flash drives you can print full colour on the whole surface area of the card (both sides) so they’re brilliant for projects like the Back to the Future initiative.

With a USB credit card (to be fair just as you can with any USB flash drive) you can also pre-load the card with media files, images, data etc. On the Back to the Future version they have included a sneak preview of the boxed set and some extra goodies you can load onto your PC.

Surprisingly the USB credit cards aren’t that much more expensive than regular USB sticks and with the growth in their popularity the prices are falling all the time. There are several different models available including a very stylish metal version and they come in memory sizes ranging from 512MB to 8GB.

These standard models are popular because they’re inoffensive, they have broad general appeal, they are available from a wide number of suppliers and they all look good when printed up with a logo. Their popularity means they are produced in very large numbers so they’re also some of the cheapest USB flash drives on the market today. In essence they are the “easy” option and it’s understandable why they are popular.

The popularity of these products does however dilute the impact when they are handed out. A few years ago handing out a Twister USB flash drive with a logo printed on would typically be something new and innovative and for the recipient it’s likely to have been the first memory stick they’ll have been given or picked up at a seminar or conference. Today for people these drives are “two a penny”. If you’re a regular conference, seminar, show or press event attendee then you’ll likely to be offered standard flash drives on a fairly regular basis.

If the intent is just to disseminate information in a convenient and portable format then “so what” you might say but, if the intent is to do this, whilst at the same time, creating some genuine gratitude and affinity to your company then there are better USB flash drive products for the job. One such example is the metal USB credit card.

Metal USB Credit Cards

Metal USB credit cards are a little more expensive than the general USB drives typically purchased as a promotional item but they deliver the “wow” factor that standard models struggle to achieve. The reason is that these credit card models are the same size and thickness as a regular bank card which given the function they perform is incredible, particularly when you consider an 8GB version can store hundreds of thousands of documents! The metal versions are also very solid and tactile and feel like a top quality product and a product that has very high-perceived value. They are something that the recipient will want to not only keep but also show off about.

So, next time you are in the market for a USB flash drive you might just want to get some quotes for a Metal USB credit card. Expect them to be more expensive than standard models but not greatly so and despite the increased cost they are worth the extra spend.

Clubman USB Credit Card

When you consider that inside a USB credit card is a USB Flash memory chip (for storing the data onto), a flash controller (for giving instructions to the flash memory – the “brains” of the USB drive) and a USB connector to enable it to be connected to a PC, that’s a pretty impressive feat!

USB Credit Cards not only used to be around 2-3 times the thickness of today’s ultra thin models but early versions were a little brittle and “clunky”. The current Flip Mk II and Rotate models are not only incredibly well built but they are tactile and they’re a great platform onto which you can print complex logos and designs.

As a form factor the credit card shape is one of the most commonly used designs in the world today and as such we all tend to have wallets, purses, bags, filofax’s or something similar in which we carry the cards. So, one of the benefits of buying a Credit Card shaped USB flash drive rather than the standard “stick” shape is that your customer or clients will have somewhere convenient to store and carry it. Not

Gilbarco USB Card

only that but having your brand on a USB credit card gives you what the credit card industry calls “share of wallet” – this is not a share of their spend but the physical sharing of a customers wallet with other global brands such as VISA, MasterCard and American Express. Getting your brand amongst these goliaths of the global branding game is clearly to your advantage and its not something a standard USB flash drive can deliver.

Equally, a standard USB flash drive has a pretty limited amount of space onto which you can print your design or logo. Its typically not a huge problem if your logo is simple, compact and its just one logo you want printed but, if you need to print complex logo’s or produce a USB stick with multiple logo’s and possibly a strap line then you’re going to need the extra print space a USB credit card offers.

USB Flip Card

Functionally USB credit cards work in the same way as a standard “stick” type design and they’re available in a range of memory sizes from 128MB all the way up to a whopping 16GB. There is no compromise on internal USB components and the data transfer speeds are also broadly similar to a standard USB stick.

If you’d like to see what your logo or brand might look like set out on a USB credit card then just let us have your logo and our in-house design team will work up some examples for you.

However, if you need something that can accommodate a larger, more complex logo, or perhaps multiple logos then you need something that’s got a large print area and ideally something that can accommodate full colour printing or photographic print then these smaller USB models just won’t work. Any attempt to “squeeze” your design onto them will just result in an illegible mess that will do no favours to you or your brand. Conversely if you choose just a very large USB flash drive you could end up with something that’s not only unwieldy and just not particularly attractive.

Our recommendation if you have a complex or large logo to print is to consider one of our range of USB Credit Cards. There are several USB Credit Cards to choose from and they all support full four colour or photographic quality print finishes. As you would expect from the name they are exactly the same size as a conventional credit card, bank card or ATM card. The beauty of this is that they fit neatly into any wallet, purse or bag that your customer or prospect might have and sit alongside their regular credit cards for what the banking industry call “share of wallet”

Credit Cards USB

USB credit cards are only marginally thicker than a standard card at just 2mm and the USB connector and memory is stored discretely in the body of the card. They are available in a wide range of memory sizes from 64MB all the way up to 16GB with 1GB and 2GB versions currently the most popular.

Just like any regular promotional USB flash drive, USB credit cards can be pre-loaded with your corporate information or product information before distribution. The finished product as these images illustrate looks fantastic and they make a real impact when given out. For the relatively small incremental cost of a USB Credit Card they are the best option for large or complex logos.