Nexi and Visa have teamed up to launch managed card issuing solutions for banks in Germany.

Their joint effort aims to enable financial institutions to offer a full range of Visa products without needing to manage the underlying operational infrastructure themselves.

As part of this partnership, Nexi will provide comprehensive managed issuing services, covering implementation, operations, compliance, and ongoing product development. Meanwhile, Visa will contribute its network capabilities, tokenization technologies, and security infrastructure.

This model is familiar to Nexi, as it has previously rolled out a similar approach in Italy, serving over 100 banks and numerous cardholders. The introduction of this service into the German market marks an expansion of the model into one of Europe’s largest banking sectors.

Managed issuing aims to modernize German banking

The partnered product portfolio is designed to cater to various cardholder segments. This includes premium cards for affluent and high-net-worth individuals, business and SME cards with integrated expense control features, and digital-first products targeting younger consumers with streamlined onboarding processes. Each program will be delivered as a managed service, allowing banks to introduce new card offerings more quickly without needing substantial internal resources dedicated to product development or compliance management.

This arrangement reflects a broader trend in the banking industry where institutions seek third-party managed services due to increased technical complexity from regulatory obligations and fraud prevention requirements. Many banks, particularly those lacking specialized payments technology divisions, find third-party solutions more strategically appealing for staying current with these demands.

Visa’s involvement underscores a wider trend in the industry where card networks support managed issuing partnerships to speed up product deployment and maintain relevance at the point of issuance. For Nexi, this agreement strengthens its position as a third-party issuing specialist across European markets, building on existing infrastructure and client relationships established in Italy.

Both companies plan to collaborate to introduce their combined model into Germany’s banking landscape, although specific launch timelines or names of participating banks have not yet been revealed.