INDUSTRIES & MARKETS

Credit cards worldwide

 Table of Contents

01 Global market Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 14 territories in Asia-Pacific 2022 19

Credit card penetration in 161 countries worldwide 2011, 2014, 2017, 2021 03
06 Europe
Number of payment cards in circulation worldwide 2017-2021, with a forecast for 2026 04
Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay transaction volume worldwide 2014-2022 05 Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 15 countries in Europe 21

Card fraud - credit cards and debit cards combined - worldwide 2014-2021 06 Visa, Mastercard share against domestic solutions in 14 countries in Europe 2021 22
Number of credit cards issued in 38 countries in Europe 2020-2022 23

02 Visa
07 Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC)
Quarterly number of Visa accounts for credit cards worldwide 2008-2022 08
Quarterly number of Visa issued credit cards in U.S. and worldwide 2008-2022 09 Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 5 countries in Latin America 25

Quarterly TPV (Total Payment Volume) of Visa credit cards 2008-2023, in USD 10
08 North America
Quarterly number of Visa credit card transactions worldwide 2008-2023, per capita 11
Annual number of AmEx issued credit cards in U.S. and worldwide 2015-2022 12 Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 3 countries in North America 27

03 Mastercard
Quarterly number of Mastercard issued credit cards in U.S. and worldwide 2019-2023 14

04 Middle East & Africa (MEA)

Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 4 countries in MEA 16

05 Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Credit card penetration APAC 2022, by country or territory 18

1
CHAPTER 01

Global market
 Share of individuals who own a credit card in 161 different countries and territories
worldwide up until 2021
Credit card penetration in 161 countries worldwide 2011, 2014, 2017, 2021

2011 2014 2017 2021

Canada 72.33% 77.07% 82.58% 82.74%

Israel 79.66% 76.16% 75.02% 79.05%

Iceland 0% 0% 0% 74%

Hong Kong SAR, China 58.08% 64.26% 65.42% 71.63%

Japan 64.44% 66.08% 68.38% 69.66%

Switzerland 0% 54% 65.47% 69.21%

South Korea 56.43% 56.02% 63.66% 68.44%

Norway 0% 67.21% 70.5% 66.74%

United States 61.94% 60.13% 65.6% 66.7%

Finland 63.87% 63.07% 62.78% 65.29%

Taiwan, province of China 45.86% 54.88% 53.46% 63.77%

United Kingdom 51.56% 61.69% 65.37% 62.11%

Austria 38.92% 40.17% 46.55% 58.99%

Denmark 44.92% 36.48% 44.72% 58.5%

3 Description: Canada was one of three countries worldwide in 2021, where credit card ownership among consumers 15 years and up was over 70 percent. This according to a major survey held once every three years in over 140 different countries. The results highlight the
major differences in how countries prefer to pay: In Europe, for instance, the Nordics, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom are regarded as top credit card countries, whereas the Netherlands ranked significantly lower than all these [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; August to November 2021; approx. 1,000 per country; 15 years and older; Entire civilian, noninstitutionalized population; The figures shown are from a global survey held every 3 years. The data for 2021 is the most recent available as of the mid of 2022.
Source(s): World Bank
 Number of credit, debit and prepaid cards in circulation worldwide from 2017 to
2021, with forecasts for 2023, 2025, and 2026 (in billions)
Number of payment cards in circulation worldwide 2017-2021, with a forecast for 2026

30.6 30.6
29.31

25.2
22.8
Number of cards in billions

22.11
20.48

2017 2018 2019 2021 2023 2025 2026

4 Description: The number of payment cards in circulation worldwide grew by over two billion between 2019 and 2021, and is forecast to further increase. The source adds that some of the largest brands on cards issued across the world include UnionPay, Visa, and
MasterCard. Roughly 188 billion purchase transactions were made using Visa in 2020 - an increase of 1.3 percent. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; October 2021; The figures have been taken from several publications, see the "Details" tab for more information
Source(s): The Nilson Report
 Number of purchase transactions on global general purpose card brands American Express,
Diners/Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa from 2014 to 2022 (in billions)
Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay transaction volume worldwide 2014-2022

Visa UnionPay MasterCard American Express

JCB Discover/Diners Rest ( 2020 and 2021 only )

700

600
Number of transactions in billions

500

400

300

200

100

0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

5 Description: Nearly four out of 10 global card transactions in 2022 took place with a Visa-branded card. Roughly 242 billion purchase transactions worldwide involved Visa payment cards that year. That would equal approximately 0.66 billion Visa transactions per
day in 2022. Note that all figures provided are estimates on general-purpose cards. While the source does not add additional information on this term, it may include debit and credit cards both. Visa's official figures on credit cards alone claim the [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2014 to 2022; general purpose card brands, potentially indicating figures consist of both debit and credit cards; The source does not explain further
Source(s): The Nilson Report
 Total value of losses due to card fraud, either credit card fraud or debit card fraud,
worldwide from 2014 to 2021
Card fraud - credit cards and debit cards combined - worldwide 2014-2021

Fraud in billion U.S. dollars Year-on-year percenage change (%)

35 25
32.34

Percentage change compared to previous year

30 20.6 28.65 28.43
27.86 20
Value of losses in billion U.S. dollars

25 23.97 16.2
22.8
21.84 15
13.8
20 18.11
10
15

5.1 5
4.4
10
2.8

0 0
5 -0.8

0 -5
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

6 Description: Card fraud losses across the world increased by more than 10 percent between 2020 and 2021, the largest increase since 2018. It was estimated that merchants and card acquirers lost more than 30 billion U.S. dollars, with - so the source adds -
roughly 12 billion U.S. dollar coming from the United States alone. Note that the figures provided here included both credit card fraud as well as debit card fraud. The source does not separate between the two, and also did not provide figures on [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2014 to 2021
Source(s): The Nilson Report
CHAPTER 02

Visa
 Number of accounts for Visa credit cards worldwide from 1st quarter of 2008 to 4th
quarter of 2022
Quarterly number of Visa accounts for credit cards worldwide 2008-2022

Number of credit card accounts (in millions) Year-on-year percentage change (%)

1,200 30

Percentage change compared to previous year

25
1,000
Number of credit card accounts

20
800
15
600
10
400
5

200
0

0 -5

0 0 8 0 0 8 0 0 9 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 11 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 12 0 1 3 0 1 3 0 14 0 14 0 1 5 0 1 5 0 16 0 1 6 0 17 0 17 0 1 8 0 1 8 0 19 0 1 9 0 2 0 0 20 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 2 2 0 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

8 Description: Visa's reported number of accounts that hold a credit card in late 2022 saw its biggest growth increase since 2017. In the fourth quarter of 2022, account figures grew by over five percent when compared to the same quarter one year before. It is
believed that credit cards have increasingly become popular to counter cost of living in countries like the United States. That said, year-on-year growth figures were not as high as in 2016 and 2017. This, however, may be attributed to the inclusion [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; Q1 2008 to Q4 2022; Visa Credit Programs only; Card numbers have a three month delay
Source(s): Visa Inc.
 Number of Visa credit cards in the United States and worldwide from 1st quarter of
2008 to 4th quarter of 2022 (in millions)
Quarterly number of Visa issued credit cards in U.S. and worldwide 2008-2022

United States International (excluding U.S.)

1,400

1,200
Number of credit cards in millions

1,000

800

600

400

200

0
0 8 0 8 0 9 0 9 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 5 1 5 1 6 1 6 1 7 1 7 1 8 1 8 1 9 1 9 2 0 2 0 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

9 Description: Roughly one out of three of all Visa credit cards issued worldwide were found within the United States, as of the fourt quarter of 2022. The value inside the U.S. has remained constant over the past few years. In the third quarter of 2016, the number of
international cards increased by over 25 percent. Read more
Note(s): United States; Q1 2008 to Q4 2022; Visa Credit Programs only; Card numbers have a three month delay
Source(s): Visa Inc.
 Value of payments processed (TPV - Total Payment Volume) of Visa issued credit cards
worldwide from 1st quarter 2008 to 1st quarter 2023
Quarterly TPV (Total Payment Volume) of Visa credit cards 2008-2023, in USD

Transaction value (in billion U.S. dollars) Year-on-year percentage change (%)

1,800 40

Percentage change compared to previous year

1,600
30
1,400
20
1,200
TPV in billion U.S. dollars

1,000 10

800 0
600
-10
400
-20
200

0 -30

0 0 8 0 0 8 0 0 9 0 0 9 0 10 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 12 0 1 3 0 1 3 0 14 0 1 4 0 15 0 15 0 1 6 0 16 0 1 7 0 1 7 0 18 0 1 8 0 1 9 0 1 9 0 20 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 21 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 23
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

10 Description: Visa's total payment volume for their credit cards had grown by 8.5 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter one year before. This year-on-year growth rate was the first recorded increase since early 2021. Whilst the overall
transaction value of Visa's credit cards remained around 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars per quarter - and even increased between quarters - the aftermath coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and growing competition from alternative payments such as buy [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; Q1 2008 to Q1 2023; Visa Credit Programs only
Source(s): Visa Inc.
 Total number of Visa credit card transactions processed for payments worldwide from
1st quarter 2008 to 1st quarter 2023
Quarterly number of Visa credit card transactions worldwide 2008-2023, per capita

Credit card transactions (in millions) Credit card payments per accounts

25,000 25
Number of credit card transactions in millions

20,000 20

Credit card payments per account

15,000 15

10,000 10

5,000 5

0 0

0 0 8 0 0 8 0 09 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 10 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 12 0 1 2 0 13 0 1 3 0 1 4 0 14 0 1 5 0 1 5 0 16 0 1 6 0 17 0 17 0 1 8 0 1 8 0 1 9 0 1 9 0 20 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 21 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 23
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

11 Description: Visa's number of transactions for their credit cards were used only slightly more often at the end of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Although the absolute number of payment transactions kept increasing, the number of payments per
account remained relatively unchanged. In Q1 2023, Visa credit cards are used in roughly 22 billion transactions. It is believed that credit cards have increasingly become popular to counter cost of living in countries like the United States. Note that [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; Q1 2008 to Q1 2023; Visa Credit Programs only; Account numbers have a three month delay
Source(s): Visa Inc.
 Number of American Express credit cards in the United States and worldwide from
2013 to 2022 (in millions)
Annual number of AmEx issued credit cards in U.S. and worldwide 2015-2022

United States International (excluding U.S.) Total

140 133.3

120
Number of credit cards in millions

100

80

62.4 62.8 65.3

57.660.2 60.3 59.7 58.2
60 53.154.1 54.957.3 53.7 54.7 53.8 56.4
47.5 50

40

20

0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

12 Description: The United States was a big market for American Express in 2020 in terms of credit cards, making up nearly half of all issued cards that year. This was a slight decrease from the previous year, as the number of issued credit cards outside of North
American country decreased over time. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide, United States; 2013 to 2022; The source stopped reporting regional figures in 2022
Source(s): American Express
CHAPTER 03

Mastercard
 Number of Mastercard credit cards in the United States and worldwide from the 2nd
quarter of 2019 to 1st quarter of 2023 (in millions)
Quarterly number of Mastercard issued credit cards in U.S. and worldwide 2019-2023

United States International (excluding U.S.)

1,200

1,000
Number of credit cards in millions

800

600

400

200

0
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021 2022 2022 2022 2022 2023

14 Description: Of all the credit cards Mastercard had issued up until early 2023, roughly one third was allocated to the United States. This means that there was roughly a card for every resident of the United States. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide, United States; Q2 2019 to Q1 2023; MasterCard branded cards only, does not include Maestro cards
Source(s): MasterCard
CHAPTER 04

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

 Market share of credit cards in total value of e-commerce and point of sale (POS)
payments in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in 2022, by country
Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 4 countries in MEA

E-commerce POS

45%

40%
Estimated share of transaction value

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Middle East and Africa United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia South Africa Nigeria
(MEA)

16 Description: Physical credit cards were used significantly more for e-commerce than in-store payments in selected countries in Africa and the Middle East in 2022. This popularity is somewhat surprising when compared to the relatively low penetration rates for
credit cards within countries in the region. Religious concerns initially made it difficult for credit cards to find acceptance in Africa and the Middle East. Banks tried to change this, both by creating Shariah-compliant cards as well as offering rewards [...] Read more
Note(s): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru; 2022; in 2022, the source stated it merged the categories of "credit cards" together with "charge/deferred debit cards".
Source(s): GlobalData; IMF; McKinsey & Company; World Bank; Worldpay
CHAPTER 05

Asia-Pacific (APAC)
 Credit card penetration in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, by country or territory
Credit card penetration APAC 2022, by country or territory

Penetration rate
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Japan 70%

Hong Kong 67%

South Korea 66%

New Zealand 62%

Australia 59%

Taiwan 56%

Singapore 51%

Malaysia 23%

China 22%

Thailand 11%

Vietnam 4%

India 3%

Indonesia 2%

Philippines 2%

18 Description: In 2022, Japan had the highest credit card penetration across the Asia-Pacific region with 70 percent. At that time, the average credit card penetration rate in the Asia-Pacific region was at 29 percent. Read more
Note(s): APAC; 2022
Source(s): PPRO
 Market share of credit cards in total value of e-commerce and point of sale (POS)
payments in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, by country and territory
Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 14 territories in Asia-Pacific 2022

E-commerce POS

70%

60%
Estimated share of transaction value

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
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19 Description: In 2022, credit card payments amounted to 57 percent of e-commerce and 32 percent of point-of-sale (POS) payments in Japan. In comparison, credit card payments took up four percent of e-commerce and 18 percent of POS payments in China in 2022. Read more
Note(s): Australia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand; 2022; in 2022, the source stated it merged the categories of "credit cards" together with "charge/deferred debit cards".
Source(s): GlobalData; IMF; McKinsey & Company; World Bank; Worldpay
CHAPTER 06

Europe
 Market share of credit cards in total value of e-commerce and point of sale (POS)
payments in Europe in 2022, by country
Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 15 countries in Europe

E-commerce POS

60%

50%
Estimated share of transaction value

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
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21 Description: The use of physical credit cards varied significantly within Europe, with Poland or Germany barely using them whilst they are relatively popular in France. This is somewhat at odds with figures on credit card penetration in the world. The United
Kingdom, for example, ranks as one of the top countries worldwide in terms of credit card ownership, and also ranks high in this particular overview. France, however, had a significantly lower credit card penetration, but outranks the UK in terms [...] Read more
Note(s): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru; 2022; in 2022, the source stated it merged the categories of "credit cards" together with "charge/deferred debit cards".
Source(s): GlobalData; IMF; McKinsey & Company; World Bank; Worldpay
 Market share of international and domestic payment card schemes in 14 countries in
Europe in 2021
Visa, Mastercard share against domestic solutions in 14 countries in Europe 2021

Visa Mastercard Diners Club Domestic solution* Others

120%

100%
Market share in domestic card payments

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%
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22 Description: Visa and Mastercard had varying market shares across 14 different European countries in 2021, sometimes significantly lower than domestic payment cards. Visa was the largest card issuer in Ireland and the United Kingdom, with market shares of
over 80 percent in both countries. Mastercard, on the other hand, held market shares of 88 percent and 70 percent in the Netherlands and Sweden, respectively. Unlike the United States, Visa and Mastercard are often associated with debit cards [...] Read more
Note(s): Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom; 2021; includes both POS (offline) as well e-commerce (online) transactions; * The source did use "domestic [...] Read more
Source(s): GlobalData; IMF; McKinsey & Company; World Bank; Worldpay
 Total number of credit cards in circulation in Europe between 2020 and 2022, by
country
Number of credit cards issued in 38 countries in Europe 2020-2022

Number of credit cards in Credit cards per capita Year under consideration
circulation

Turkey 83791396 1.29 '21

United Kingdom 58949000 1.06 '21

Spain 41141971 1.01 '21

Russia 39143000 0.33 '20

Germany 38439319 0.54 '21

France 29228908 0.52 '21

Italy 27069758 0.52 '21

Ukraine 15109000 0.49 '22

Switzerland 8322678 1.13 '21

Portugal 7447990 0.83 '21

Sweden 7221817 0.84 '21

Netherlands 6278968 0.42 '21

Belgium 6093585 0.63 '21

Poland 5361171 0.17 '21

23 Description: The number of credit cards in Turkey was roughly 50 percent higher than in the United Kingdom, according to a country comparison. All figures provided here are estimates, as they have been gathered from various sources and often cover different years. There is no central
tracking for credit cards in the European continent. Reports on the topic can also vary between countries, with a country like Germany reporting on various types of cards as opposed to a country like Moldova. That said, [...] Read more
Note(s): Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom; 2020 to 2022; 15 years and older; all figures are estimates and have been gathered and calculated by Statista from various sources
Source(s): Bank for International Settlements; ECB; Various sources (Central banks, domestic payment associations)
CHAPTER 07

Latin America & the Caribbean

(LAC)
 Market share of credit cards in total value of e-commerce and point of sale (POS)
payments in Latin America in 2022, by country
Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 5 countries in Latin America

E-commerce POS

45%

40%
Estimated share of transaction value

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Latin America (includ- Brazil Argentina Peru Chile Colombia
ing Mexico)

25 Description: Physical credit cards were popular for online shopping in Latin America in 2022, with the highest market shares found in Brazil and Argentina. Although the countries comparatively rank lower on credit card penetration than the rest of the world, the
use of credit cards for online shopping is well established in the region. This likely due to providers like Mercado Libre, the Argentinian e-commerce company that is often compared to Amazon but for Latin America. In 2022, Mercado Libre [...] Read more
Note(s): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru; 2022; in 2022, the source stated it merged the categories of "credit cards" together with "charge/deferred debit cards".
Source(s): GlobalData; IMF; McKinsey & Company; World Bank; Worldpay
CHAPTER 08

North America
 Market share of credit cards in total value of e-commerce and point of sale (POS)
payments in North America in 2022, by country
Credit card market share in POS and e-commerce in 3 countries in North America

E-commerce POS

60%

50%
Estimated share of transaction value

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
North America (without Mexico) Canada United States Mexico

27 Description: Physical credit cards remained popular especially in Canada, making up roughly half of total transactions paid for in stores in 2022. Canada and the United States both rank relatively high when it comes to credit card penetration in the world. This
comes back in figures on what payment methods merchants offer. Canadian e-commerce vendors largely offered credit cards over newer payment methods, such as Apple Pay or buy now, pay later (BNPL). Mexico stands out in this overview as the [...] Read more
Note(s): Canada, Mexico, United States; 2022; in 2022, the source stated it merged the categories of "credit cards" together with "charge/deferred debit cards".
Source(s): GlobalData; IMF; McKinsey & Company; World Bank; Worldpay
 Sources

American Express
Bank for International Settlements
EZB
Gallup
GlobalData
IMF
MasterCard
McKinsey & Company
PPRO
Statista
The Nilson Report
Various sources (Central banks, domestic payment associations)
Visa Inc.
World Bank
Worldpay

28