Consumer Finance

Store cards remains a negligible category in the country. The majority of establishments in India tend to offer loyalty cards (these can be used to add and store reward points as credit currency, a simpler solution without the threat of debt…

Charge cards had no presence in Nigeria over the review period. This is not expected to change over the forecast period. 

Charge cards are not significant in Peru, nor are they noted in Euromonitor International data.

As charge cards caters to higher-income earners, it is still only small in the Philippines in 2022. Credit cards have low penetration in the country and it is thus to be expected that more premium card products will have an even smaller market. Even…

The presence of store cards remained negligible in Greece during 2022. No major interest in launching products in this category of the financial cards has been shown by any of the country’s financial cards issuers. In particular, the unfavourable…

There are currently no store cards in circulation in Hungary. Magyar Cetelem Bank stopped offering store cards in 2008 and no retailers have since signalled any intention to relaunch such services. Instead, retailers are collaborating with banks to…

Store cards remained non-existent in Israel in 2021. No retailers have expressed a strong interest in offering these types of financial cards. Moreover, there is currently no indication that store cards will emerge in the country at any point during…

Store cards had no presence in Nigeria over the review period. This is not expected to change over the forecast period. 

During 2022, there remained no store cards in circulation in Poland as the entire store cards concept is seen as obsolete and there are currently no issuers or operators with any interest in offering store cards to consumers. Previously, Sygma Bank…

Store cards are not available in Taiwan. Hypermarket chain Carrefour was the last retailer to offer such cards and it ceased its operations in 2005. A trend towards alternative payment options such as digital wallets and the widespread popularity of…

Store cards have been non-existent in the Netherlands since 2015. Since then, no new players have launched store cards and there have been no new attempts to introduce store cards by any of the former players. There is little sign that any meaningful…

American Express signed a partnership with Vietnam JSC Bank for Industry & Trade (Vietinbank) in 2021 to increase acceptance of its cards in Vietnam. However, charge cards are not issued in Vietnam and there is unlikely to be any significant demand…

Store cards have a negligible presence in Vietnam with there being little interest or awareness of these card products. Furthermore, the government strictly controls the supply of credit in Vietnam which makes it a complicated and lengthy process to…

With low levels of penetration in the country, charge cards continues to grow in 2023 as it recovers from its sharp drop in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, boosted by inflation and by the recovery of business, transaction value is…

Charge cards are the second-most-favoured option of local consumers when it comes to payment cards, after debit cards but ahead of credit cards. This is partly down to inertia—charge cards have a longer tradition than credit cards in Spain.

Consumer lending in Portugal maintains its positive growth trend in 2023. Demand for loans both for last-minute expenses and for current expenses is rising as consumers lose purchasing power and as savings stashed during the pandemic diminish. In…

Buy now pay later (BNPL) continues to grow in popularity, particularly among young adults, and there is a notable shift to BNPL loans. A significant number of financial services providers have launched their own BNPL programmes, including Banco…

Consumer lending in Portugal is expanding in 2023 amid rising interest rates and decline in households’ disposable incomes. Demand for mortgages is slowing down with card lending posting the most dynamic growth. BNPL, although representing a small…

The costs of households have continued to rise across the board in 2023 due to the change in tone of the monetary policy of the European Central Bank, which increased interest rates four times during 2022 and 2023, resulting in rising interest rates…

After a robust rise in 2022, credit cards continues to enjoy positive growth in 2023, boosted by local consumers’ increasing expenditure and higher levels of penetration. However, and in contrast to 2022, in 2023 credit cards is seeing slower growth…

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) trend has taken hold in Spain, particularly among younger consumers, and is rapidly gaining share in Spain. Consumers choose BNPL for a variety of reasons, including the lower APR (in most cases 0%, as opposed to 18% for…

Debit cards is on the rise in 2023, boosted by growing expenditure levels. Despite downward pressure on consumer purchasing power, Portuguese people have continued to increase their expenditure levels in 2023 as a result of rising inflation rates and…

Banks in Spain are changing their business strategy, resulting in a decline in the number of debit cards issued in 2023. Whilst customers previously had access to a free debit card if they had other banking products and services, including mortgages…

Portuguese consumers continue to shift towards electronic payment instruments (payment cards, electronic direct or ACH transactions), with cards being the most used electronic payment instrument in everyday life. The trend of replacing cash with card…

The Spanish economy has performed better than anticipated in 2023, despite the challenges posed by high energy costs and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumption continuing to recover to 2019 levels, boosted by the recovery of travel…

Boosted by the recovery of transportation cards, which had suffered severely during the COVID-19 pandemic, closed loop cards is seeing double-digit growth in 2023. Otlis, Lisbon’s transportation system cards, leads in terms of number of cards in…

Closed loop pre-paid cards remain dominant in Spain, accounting for around four-fifths of transactions by value. Indeed, closed loop pre-paid cards issued by the public transportation systems in Madrid and Bilbao (Consorcio Transporte Madrid and…

With the economy reopened post pandemic and consumers returning to store-based outlets, store cards is again enjoying positive growth. In 2023, the category’s growth is boosted by rising consumers’ expenditure levels and high inflation rates.…

Store cards account for a relatively small share of card payment transactions in Spain compared to credit, charge and particularly debit cards, as many local consumers are not well informed about the rewards and credit possibilities that store cards…

Demand for consumer credit gross lending is set to continue to increase in 2023, despite the South African Reserve Bank’s consecutive rises in interest rates to stabilise inflationary pressures. This trend has been driven mainly by declining…

The South African economy has continued to struggle in 2023, as reflected by 0.4% real GDP growth, the unemployment rate stagnating beyond 32%, and the South African rand depreciating further against major currencies. Economic growth has also been…

Following the significant decline in transaction value and volumes experienced in 2020 due to extended restrictions imposed in the South African travel and hospitality industries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the complete lifting of the state…

As more middle-income households are struggling to reach month-end, due to the combined effects of rising interest rates, which have put pressure on existing vehicle and mortgage loans, as well as inflationary pressures, which have affected…

The prices of essential goods and services such as food and electricity have continued to rise in 2023, despite the relatively lower level of inflation, which moved from 7.0% in 2022 to 5.7% in 2023. Debit card value transactions benefited from this…

The number of financial cards in circulation is set to continue to increase in 2023, supported by a steady rise in the banked population and the intensified competition between issuers. Meanwhile, value transactions across categories such as debit…

As mobility has normalised in 2023, following restrictions imposed during the pandemic, demand for pre-paid cards for the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system has benefited from households resuming activities such as work and school. Growth in…

Store cards is set to witness growth in volume and value transactions in 2023, supported by cash-strapped consumers, notably lower- to middle-income consumers. This trend has been consolidated by the rising cost of living, which continues to affect…

Charge cards is expected to continue to see double-digit declines in 2023 in terms of cards in circulation, and volume and value transactions. Historically, charge cards were primarily associated with business use, as the majority of transactions,…

In 2022, there was double-digit growth in terms of credit card spending for both personal and commercial credit cards. High inflation and the rising cost of living, which have also been affecting Britons in 2023, were amongst the main causes. In…

In 2023, debit cards remains the preferred and most widely used payment method, increasing from the previous year in terms of the number of cards in circulation, as well as the volume and retail value of transactions. However, this growth is set to…

In 2023, the UK’s economy has continued to be characterised by a high inflation rate and a rising cost of living. And, while in 2022 this situation was mainly exacerbated by the high cost of energy, in 2023 this cost has gradually started decreasing,…

Pre-paid cards is set to see a solid performance in 2023, while other card payment methods, such as charge cards and store cards, are set to decrease significantly, and others are set to see slower growth, such as debit cards. One of the factors…

Even though consumers have relied more on credit to afford higher retail prices in 2023, due to the economic situation in the country, store cards have continued to decrease in popularity, with declines expected in terms of cards in circulation, and…

Both personal and commercial charge cards continue to witness a substantial increase in spending in 2023, although the category is largely driven by commercial cards. With activity in offices and the Central Business Districts throughout the country…

When presented with a choice between a credit card and a card offering credit card-like functionality but without revolving credit, most Brazilians opt for the former. This inclination is rooted in a fundamental factor hindering charge cards from…

Charge card transactions have demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory in terms of transaction volume and retail value in 2023, coinciding with the resurgence of travel activities in Southeast Asia as pandemic-related restrictions have been…

Loans taken out for education purposes, which include the HECS-HELP loan provided by the government, continues to grow at a moderate rate in 2023. This reflects the high engagement of Australians with tertiary education, both universities and TAFE…

In June 2023, the percentage of households carrying outstanding debts in Brazil rose by a 0.2 percentage point, reaching a total of 78.5%, the highest level since November 2022. Among these households, 18.5% considered themselves heavily burdened…

Consumer credit is set to see a moderate rebound in 2023, following subdued demand in 2022, affected by the pandemic. The pick-up in consumer credit growth has largely been due to rises in home and card lending, reflecting some improvement in…