U.S. Credit Cards to Gain More Share of Spending by 2020

November 10, 2016 by

Credit, debit, and prepaid cards issued in the United States initiated 104.41 billion purchase transactions in 2015, up 8.0 percent, according to The Nilson Report, the top trade journal covering the card and mobile payment industries.

Spending for goods and services on those cards totaled $5.805 trillion, up 7.4 percent over 2014. By 2020, purchase volume is projected to reach $8.226 trillion.

“Credit, debit, and prepaid cards spending continues to grow faster than personal consumption expenditures in the U.S. as card issuers and retailers provide incentives to move more spending onto payment cards,” said David Robertson, Publisher of The Nilson Report.

At the end of 2015, there were 6.26 billion credit, debit, and prepaid cards in circulation in the U.S. The number of cards in circulation is projected to reach 7.30 by 2020.

By 2020, credit cards are expected to account for 56.67 percent of purchase volume. Visa credit cards are expected to have a greater share of purchase volume at 27.09 percent in 2020 than Visa debit cards at 22.49 percent followed by American Express credit cards with 11.56 percent, Mastercard credit cards with 11.35 percent, and Mastercard debit cards with 9.75 percent.

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