An executive with a startup credit card company that focuses on tokenization for card security said the firm would be open to working with credit unions to begin issuing its card.

The Final card would capitalize on data security concerns by generating a new card number each time a cardholder swipes it at a point of sale terminal or uses is with an online merchant, according to Benjamin Apel, director of marketing for the firm.

Final is currently headquartered in Boulder, Colo., where it recently won a place among 13 startups funded by Techstars, Boulder.

To date, Final has raised a little more than $500,000 Apel said.

“The idea came about when the company's founders, at the time traveling in very different parts of the world, each had access to funds through their card cut off due to the Target breach,” Apel explained.

He added that one of the company's founders had been in Europe and another in California when they each had their cards unexpectedly turned off as their banks sought to protect themselves after the Target breach.

“We asked ourselves why is this happening and isn't there a better way,” Apel said, “and the answer was Final.”

Apel said the card will be branded with either a Visa or MasterCard to take advantage of either payment network, and the company is currently searching for an issuing partner that will launch the card. Either a bank or credit union could be that partner, Apel said, and other financial institutions will be able to issue the card as well.

Partnering issuers will handle the underwriting and fund the card's loans and receive a share of the card's interchange.

Final will handle the marketing, new customer acquisition and other start up charges for the card, Apel explained.

The cards will all have EMV chips embedded and be able to generate the new card numbers without requiring input from the cardholder. Online purchases will require a mobile app or browser add on to work, but will also allow the user to set up parameters if the number will be used for multiple transactions.

For example, a number can be generated to be used at an online site for regular payments and the cardholder can set up parameters for how often that number can be used and how much can be charged, Apel explained. Then, if a breach allows thieves to steal the number, the theft will be meaningless since the original card number remains protected.

Significantly, Final could provide credit unions with another avenue into tokenization, one that does not require the use of near field communications, which CornerStone Advisors noted is still in place at about 2.5% of merchants.