CARPINTERIA, Calif.–The growth of spending on commercial credit cards outpaced spending on consumer cards during 2018, according to new data.
Overall, commercial and consumer credit, debit, and prepaid cards issued in the U.S. generated $6.130 trillion in spending for goods and services in 2018, according to The Nilson Report.
The company reported spending generated by commercial cards grew by 11.7% and outpaced consumer card spending, which grew by 10.1%. Commercial card spending was $1.393 trillion last year. Consumer card spending was $4.737 trillion.
"Consumer card spending is higher, but every year spending generated by commercial credit and debit cards used by employees of private companies, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations accounts for a larger component of overall card spending," said David Robertson, Publisher of The Nilson Report.
Spending by Brand
Visa's share of all commercial card spending versus American Express, Mastercard, and Discover was 43.15% in 2018, up from 42.49% in 2017, The Nilson Report said.
American Express's commercial card market share declined to 29.35% from 29.80% in 2017. Mastercard's market share declined to 27.38%.
Commercial card spending accounted for 24.84% of all purchase volume at Mastercard in the U.S. and 16.32% at Visa, according to The Nilson Report.