Updated:
CPI Card Group
CPI Card Group manufactures the physical EMV and contactless cards for JPMorgan, Bank of America, and U.S.
CPI Card Group
CPI Card Group was formed in 1995 as a printed-circuit board manufacturer before pivoting into the financial card space. CEO John Lowe joined in 2007 and subsequently took the company public in 2015. Today, it supplies the physical substrate of the payments ecosystem — EMV chip cards, contactless cards, metal high-net-worth cards — to many of the largest U.S. and Canadian issuers and fintech programs. The company's model blends manufacturing scale with just-in-time personalization logistics. It operates two primary segments: Debit and Credit, which produces the physical cards, and Prepaid Debit, which provides turnkey card program management. CPI runs secure production facilities in the U.S. and partners with a global supply chain to source chips, antennae, and other components. Its customer base includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and several large U.S. regional banks, along with new-age fintech issuers building digital-first products that still require a physical credential. In its prepaid segment, the company offers a software platform that smaller banks and program managers use to launch and manage prepaid cards, handled under CPI's own issuing BINs. CPI's 2024 acquisition of a key personalization facility from a competitor expanded its secure card production capacity (per the firm, 2024). CPI operates from its Littleton, Colorado headquarters and additional secure facilities in Indiana and Nevada. As of 2024, the company generated over $440 million in annual revenue and holds roughly a 40% share of the U.S. financial card manufacturing market by management estimates. The firm listed on the NASDAQ (ticker: PMTS) before moving to the OTC market, where it actively manages a leveraged capital structure that creates meaningfully different equity economics versus a generic public asset. In 2023, CPI announced a multi-year renewal agreement with one of its largest issuing-bank clients, signaling a stable book of recurring manufacturing business (per the firm, 2023). CPI's structural differentiator is that it is the only pure-play public company providing the physical manufacturing layer for the U.S. payments industry. While Visa and Mastercard own the rails and Fiserv or FIS own the processing, CPI owns the high-touch, secure-manufacturing factories that individual cardholders actually hold. This niche gives it a recurring-revenue profile from card reissuance cycles and a modest moat built on issuer-switching costs and secure-facility certification requirements.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1995
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Littleton
Corporate office
Littleton, CO, United States
Principals
John Lowe
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jeffrey Hochstadt
Chief Financial Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs CPI Card Group?
John Lowe has served as President and CEO since 2007, giving him over 15 years of tenure leading the company through its pivot from printed circuit boards to financial cards and its 2015 public listing. Jeffrey Hochstadt is the CFO and joined the company in 2019. The executive team operates primarily from the Littleton, Colorado headquarters.
What does CPI Card Group actually manufacture?
CPI produces the physical cards that issuer banks mail to consumers — EMV chip cards, contactless dual-interface cards, and the heavier metal cards used for premium banking products. It also produces the carrier mailers, personalizes the cards with cardholder data, and fulfills them directly. Its Prepaid Debit segment operates turnkey programs where CPI provides the issuing platform, compliance, and card production for smaller banks and fintechs.
How does CPI source its chip components?
CPI sources EMV microchips and contactless antennae from semiconductor manufacturers, primarily located in Asia and Europe. The global chip shortage of 2020–2022 placed significant pressure on its supply chain, and the company has since diversified its sourcing relationships. Manufacturing and card personalization occur at CPI's own secure facilities in the United States.
Is CPI Card Group a public company?
Yes. CPI Card Group trades on the OTC market under the ticker PMTS. The company previously listed on the NASDAQ. It carries a leveraged balance sheet, and significant equity is held by private equity investors who took the company public in 2015 following a period of sponsor ownership.
Who are CPI's primary customers?
CPI's largest customers are major U.S. money-center and regional banks that issue Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards. Public records indicate JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are two of its most significant accounts, alongside other large regional issuers. The company also serves digital-first fintech programs and prepaid card managers through both its core manufacturing and its Prepaid Debit segment.
How is CPI exposed to the shift toward digital wallets?
CPI's product mix has shifted from contact-only cards toward dual-interface cards that contain both a contact chip and a contactless antenna, supporting tap-to-pay functionality. While long-term consumer migration to purely digital wallets could reduce physical card issuance, CPI benefits in the near term from the U.S. EMV and contactless card reissuance cycle. The company also produces metal cards that serve as a premium 'status' product, which banks use to retain high-net-worth customers even as digital wallet usage grows.
What is CPI's competitive position versus its main rival?
CPI and Idemia (formerly Oberthur Technologies) represent the two largest financial card manufacturers serving the U.S. market. CPI management has estimated its domestic market share at approximately 40%. The competitive moat comes from certified secure manufacturing facilities, issuer-specific just-in-time logistics, and the operational friction an issuer bank would face in switching its entire card production workflow to a competitor.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: