Payment cards can be a great alternative to cash or checks, and in some cases, even device-based mobile payment systems.

Accepted in a variety of places and thus routinely used, payment cards have gained a lot of ground worldwide.

A new report from RBR Research suggests that we may be seeing a lot more of payment cards in the next few years as the market hits 17 billion just by 2021.

That’s not $17 billion, either; that’s 17 billion cards, reports note. That by itself might be a shrug-worthy moment until we realize that there are a little over seven billion people on the planet.

That’s approaching three payment cards for every human, and that’s a whole lot of cash flowing through the overall system.

The biggest gains are set to be found in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East, where total numbers of cards are expected to grow between 10 and 13 percent. With salaries and government benefits increasingly going through digital channels to reach the user base, the end result is a lot more people turning to payment cards to get paid every week, month, or whatever term.

RBR Research’s senior associate, Chris Herbert, commented “Although the growth rate in the number of cards worldwide is slowing down, there are several large markets which still have considerable potential. For example, there are comparatively low levels of bank account and card holding in India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan and, therefore, huge numbers of possible new clients who have not yet entered the banking system.”

Debit cards have long been a staple for users shopping online, and will likely continue to be so for some time. Indeed, with more employers paying by digital means and more government agencies dispensing out benefits in like fashion, it’s not surprising that debit cards would increasingly be a part of the picture. Meanwhile, many mobile payment systems tie into debit or credit cards in some fashion, which only adds to the demand.

Regardless of the overall cause, the end result is that a lot of new payment cards will be emerging into the field in short order. Astute businesses will prepare for such developments, and be ready to take both payment cards and mobile payment systems to accommodate the most business.