Global Card Transactions Soar

The expanding global credit market and virtual merchant options paired with the cash-to-card shift translated to 205 billion transactions last year, a 13 percent  increase from, 2012, according to figures released Thursday (Oct. 9) by the RBR research and consulting firm in London.

During the same period, the number of payment cards increased 11 percent, to 10.8 billion, the report said.

That’s expected to grow dramatically.

“If average usage per card worldwide were to reach the levels currently seen in North America and western Europe, half a trillion payments in a year would be attained, even with no increase in card numbers. This may well be seen sooner rather than later,” according to RBR’s report.

Looking at how many cards issued worldwide have which logo, Visa and Mastercard achieved 24 percent and 18 percent control, respectively. A breakdown of percentages show North America and Western Europe account for 63 percent of card use, but just 25 percent of cards.

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 21 percent of card payments, the report details, despite that region accounting for more than 50 percent of all cards.

China’s 2013 economy supported more than 4.1 billion payment cards, which is an increase of 19 percent from 2012.

RuPay cards in India saw significant growth in 2013, which increased to 13 million in 2013 from just 200,000 a year prior. ELO — a joint venture among three major Brazilian banks that targets low-income customers seeking benefits —tripled its reach to 37 million cards in 2013.