Visa and MasterCard card brands have announced options for custom personalization options for new card designs. Merchants should be aware of these options and be prepared to accept any properly presented card at the point of sale.

Visa Personalization Options

Effective immediately, Visa will offer an additional option for clients to personalize card designs by allowing certain elements normally printed on the card front (such as cardholder name, account number and expiration date) to be printed on the reverse side. This design option enables clients to showcase their brand on the front of the card.

MasterCard Personalization Options

Effective immediately, MasterCard will eliminate the requirement for issuers to print the first four digits of the BIN/PAN below the full PAN. As a result, MC will eliminate the requirement for merchants to compare the first four digits printed below the full PAN to the first four digits of the full PAN. In addition, effective immediately, MasterCard will expand and simplify card design options as outlined below:

The following card design elements will be optional:

• First four digits of the bank identification number (BIN)/primary account number (PAN) (the "mini-BIN")
• Ultraviolet "M" and "C"• ICA number portion of the card source identification
• "Authorized Signature" and "Not Valid Unless Signed" text adjacent to the MasterCard Signature Panel. When present, "Authorized Signature" and "Not Valid Unless Signed" may be in any language and alphabet.

In addition, the following options will also be available:

• Cardholder name may be in any language and alphabet.
• The signature panel may be the traditional MasterCard Signature Panel or a design chosen by the issuer
• Account information may be unembossed printed on the card front or back, or both.
• The embossed valid date, expiration date, and cardholder name may appear on Lines 2 and/or 3 and/or 4.