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$20 trillion spent on payment cards worldwide in 2014

$20 trillion spent on payment cards worldwide in 2014

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BY ALEX ROLFE ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

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New research by RBR shows that the number of payment cards in circulation worldwide increased by

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11% in 2014 to reach 12 billion, largely driven by strong growth in Asia-Pacic and the Middle East and
Africa. The migration away from cash and cheques helped boost worldwide card spend to $20 trillion, a
15% year-on-year growth. 78% of the 235 billion card payments in 2014 were made using an
internationally branded card from Visa or MasterCard.

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UnionPays growth is impressive, but its reliance on China is a double-edged sword

According to RBR gures, UnionPay is the worlds largest scheme with 4.8 billion cards in issue at the
end of 2014, equating to 40% of the global card base well ahead of both Visa and MasterCard with 23%
and 18% respectively.
While UnionPay has been making headlines in recent years with its rapid growth, it remains a
predominantly domestic scheme with a market share of just 0.2% outside of China, and is thus very
exposed to changes in the countrys economic environment.
$6.7 trillion were spent on Visa branded cards in 2014, one third of global card expenditure
Visa remains the largest scheme in terms of payment value with a 34% share of the $20
trillion card spend in 2014, ahead of
UnionPay and MasterCard with 32% and
21% respectively. T&E schemes (American
Express, JCB and Diners Club) make up 6%
of card expenditure worldwide, much
higher than their 2% share of the card base.
Domestic and private label cards account
for a combined 6% of card spending, down
from 7% in 2013, as such cards are
increasingly being rebranded with

Value of Card Payments Worldwide by Scheme 2014 Source Global

Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2020 (RBR)

international schemes.
Financial inclusion boosts debit cards while pay-later sector is facing regulatory pressures
RBR is forecasting the number of cards worldwide to increase from 12 billion in 2014 to 17 billion by the
end of 2020, corresponding to a compound annual growth rate of 6%. 80% of this growth will come
from the debit card sector and will be largely concentrated in emerging markets in Asia-Pacic and the
Middle East and Africa, regions in which there are countries with large unbanked populations.

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Consumers who enter the banking system for the rst time typically receive a debit card
as their rst card product, usually as part of a current account package. As the size of the banked
population continues to grow, particularly in
the less mature markets, the share of debit
cards is forecast to increase from 68% in

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$100 billion through HSBC October 5,
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$20trillionspentonpaymentcardsworldwidein2014PaymentsCards&Mobile

cards is forecast to increase from 68% in

Biometric ngerprint and sele

payment technology become a reality
October 5, 2016

2014 to 72% by the end of 2020.

Although prepaid cards saw the fastest

Worldwide retail ecommerce sales will

reach $1.915 trillion October 4, 2016

growth of any card type in 2014, increasing

in number by 17%, they still represent just
5% of the global total and their number has
not risen as quickly as had been widely
predicted at the beginning of the decade.
The majority of prepaid cards worldwide are
issued in the USA (which accounts for 45% of

Growth in Card Numbers Worldwide by Type 2014-2020

the total) and Iran (which accounts for 18%).

RBR expects the share of credit cards worldwide to fall from 23% in 2014 to 20% by the end of 2020.
Several factors are impacting the sector. In some countries, including the USA, issuers have been
tightening lines of credit. In South Africa a fear of hidden fees is causing the sector to contract and in
Ukraine the unstable economy and rising interest rates are having a similar eect. In the European
Union, issuers are expected to scale back credit card issuing as a result of the cap on interchange fees
due to come into force later this year.
Signi cant potential for further growth in cardholding and usage
Bearing in mind the uncertain global economic environment, the card sector has continued to perform
strongly. Compared to 2010 when there were 7.9 billion cards in circulation worldwide, it is notable that
the market has grown by more than 50%. The wide variation by region in card penetration and usage,
together with the fact that in several countries consumers continue to be encouraged to move away
from cash, in particular for low-value payments, indicate potential for further growth, most signicantly
in less mature countries.

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