Debit cards continue to gain market share from credit cards, and the use of electronic and mobile payments continues to show exponential growth, according to the latest World Payments Report (WPR) released recently by Capgemini, RBS, and Efma.
Kevin Brown, Global Head, Transaction Services Product, International Banking, RBS, said debit cards easily allow people to bypass the use of cash, and as more and more consumers move to mobile and other electronic payments, the industry will continue to see the exponential growth of innovative payment solutions.
According to industry analysts, there were an estimated 28.3 billion electronic and mobile payment transactions globally in 2011, and in 2010 more than one in three non-cash payments globally was made using a debit card, up 15.2 percent, according to the report. But with only 2.1 percent of all mobile users making m-payments, the potential for additional growth is still huge, with mobile payments set to reach 17 billion by 2013 and e-payments 31.4 billion by 2013.
The report likewise confirms the resilience of payment volumes, as global non-cash payments volumes grew by 7.1 percent in 2010, reaching 283 billion, although early 2011 indications show an additional 8.2 percent growth. In developing markets, payment volumes grew at a much faster rate (16.9 percent) in 2010, boosted by a more than 30 percent increase in both Russia and China.
Two other major themes highlighted by the report are: the relationship between regulation and innovation, with some regulation challenging innovation; and the fact that the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) concept is no longer valid in payments, with Brazil now the second-highest ranking country by payment volumes after the US. The report noted that there were 20 billion non-cash transactions in Brazil in 2010, compared with 13.1 billion in Russia, India and China combined.