Hyundai Card x Tom Sachs: Key Findings
Quick listen: Hyundai Card turns payment design into identity — here’s how, in under 2 minutes.
What if your credit card looked like it belonged in a museum, not your wallet?
In July 2025, Hyundai Card launched a new design collaboration with artist Tom Sachs, offering four limited-edition card plates: Metal, Plywood, Fluorescent Red, and White.
Each plate draws from Sachs’ signature use of industrial textures and handmade aesthetics.
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The Metal version features a circular cutout and arrives in custom packaging designed by Sachs, offering a tactile extension of his artistic style.
This reflects Hyundai Card’s push to offer metal plates on standard cards for a one-time KRW 100,000 (USD 72) fee.
Earlier this year, Hyundai Card and Tom Sachs held a major Seoul exhibition, continuing their creative partnership.
This launch reflects Hyundai Card’s long-standing commitment to rethinking how payment tools can reflect individual taste.
Since the early 2000s, the company has introduced Transparent Cards, smaller-format Mini Cards, Vertical Cards, and a range of metal and textured materials.
In an exclusive statement to DesignRush, a Hyundai Card spokesperson shared insight into the brand’s long-term vision and design legacy:
“For the past 20 years, Hyundai Card has been recognized as a trailblazer within the Korean credit card industry for its revolutionary branding and design.
Hyundai Card has portrayed its design philosophy by creating credit card plates using materials and designs that have never been attempted before.
The new Tom Sachs Credit Card also incorporates the company’s design philosophy, which even in the digital era, continues to maintain importance on the design of its physical cards.”
The Tom Sachs plate is an interchangeable add-on, treated more like a curated object than a basic payment tool.
Design You Can Carry
This project aligns with Hyundai Card’s broader philosophy, where card design is treated as a core part of the product, not an afterthought.
Instead of being hidden in a wallet or reduced to a digital icon, the plate becomes part of a user’s visual identity.
Like choosing a pair of glasses or a watch, selecting a card plate can now reflect style, habit, or context.
Public reactions on Instagram praised the designs, with comments highlighting both the creativity and cultural appeal of the release.
“Where can I shred my regular card for that one?” wrote user @dommis.the.kidd , reacting to the launch with fire emojis.
User @mvteohinojosa added, “South Korea always has the coolest credit cards,” pointing to the country’s growing reputation for design-forward finance.
Members of Hyundai Originals, including Hyundai Card’s M, X, Z, and ZERO lines, can apply for the Sachs plates when registering or request them separately if already enrolled.
Non-members can sign up for an Originals product and select a Sachs plate at the same time.
The launch reflects changing consumer habits, with more people seeking products that offer tangible, sensory experiences.
As digital services replace physical touchpoints, there’s growing interest in products that offer sensory detail and visible presence.
Hyundai Card’s approach gives everyday payment tools a sense of presence and personal character that many digital experiences now lack.
Our Take: Is This Just Design for Design’s Sake?
I don’t see it that way. What Hyundai Card is doing feels more like long-term brand architecture than a one-off design stunt.
In watching how brands build lasting loyalty, I’ve come to see real power in creating something people actually want to carry and show off.
Most financial brands live entirely in apps, but this brings the brand into your hands, literally.
It’s a smart move that turns something forgettable into something you feel a part of.
For a look at how Hyundai blends cultural cues with bold market plays, see how it turned viral gossip into a brand moment with the “He Got Money Auntie” campaign.
From card launches to platform engagement, these agencies turn quiet utilities into visible brand moments.
