September 23, 2008 By Justin McHenry

Visa announced today that it has opened the doors for banks and other card issuers to offer Visa credit and debit cards without the raised embossing that most cardholders have come to expect. While on the surface the change seems slight, it is significant in that it gives banks the ability to issue cards immediately — customers who apply at a bank branch or other physical location can be approved and walk out with a card on the same visit.

Visa had run a series of pilot tests that it considered to be successful, including testing through Commerce Bancshares, Inc., TD Banknorth and United Heritage Credit Union.

The unembossed Visa cards will work at most merchants, although not at merchants that still use the older style of credit card machine that requires a physical imprint of the card’s information.