NEW YORK—The U.S. card processing industry is likely to see a shake-up among the four incumbents for the first time in decades, as American Express is poised to nudge ahead of Mastercard to become the second-largest processor of credit card purchases in the country later this year.
While Visa remains the undisputed market leader with a market share of almost 53% in Q1 2018, Mastercard and American Express both captured a nearly identical market share of 22% each, Forbes said.
“However, while Mastercard's market share has fallen marginally compared to Q1 2017, American Express has done well to report a slight improvement year-on-year. This is impressive progress for American Express since its loss of the lucrative Costco card partnership in 2016,” Forbes said.
The company's revamped business model should lead to accelerated growth in its card purchase volumes over coming years, something that will help cement its claim to the #2 spot going forward, Forbes said.