LONDON—A new report reveals that debit card growth—in total number of cards—is outpacing credit card growth.
An RBR study reveals that debit cards now represent 70% of payment cards globally, a 2% increase from 2014, and that number is expected to hit 72% by 2021, RBR projects. Debit card growth is expected to drive up the total amount of payment cards worldwide even as credit cards decline.
“Emerging markets will lead the debit card charge. There are two-billion people who are unbanked, according to the World Bank, indicating that a massive portion of the global population lacks access to banking services,” Business Insider reported.
As a result, financial institutions are already starting to move into regions with large un- or underbanked populations in an attempt to capitalize on those markets.
“One such method for doing this is building up payment card infrastructure and issuing debit- or debit-like products to consumers in order to connect them to mainstream financial institutions, like prepaid cards that are offered by both Visa and Mastercard,” Business Insider reported.