Payment cards in circulation worldwide 2029| ��ƽ��

Number of credit, debit and prepaid cards in circulation worldwide from 2017 to 2024, with a forecast for 2029 (in billions)

Characteristic	Payment cards in circulation (in billions)	Year-on-year percentage change (%)
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Sources

Release date

January 2025

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

January 2025

Special properties

The CAGR between 2024 and 2029 equals a value of 2.3 percent; All percentages have been calculated by ��ƽ��

Supplementary notes

The figures have been taken from several publications.

Citation formats

The number of payment cards in circulation worldwide grew by nearly * between 2022 and 2023, and is forecast to increase further. The source adds that some of the largest brands on cards issued across the world include UnionPay, Visa, and MasterCard. Roughly *** billion purchase transactions were made using Visa in 2020 — an increase of *** percent. The figures provided concern credit, debit, and prepaid cards that are issued either as general purpose or via private label.

Which card scheme is the biggest?

In terms of individual card schemes, China's UnionPay is expected to have more cards in circulation than either Visa or Mastercard by 2027. UnionPay is especially prevalent in the Asia-Pacific. Domestic card schemes — which take up a significant market share in Europe — are also projected to increase between 2022 and 2027. Note also that private label cards, which include retail branded cards or fuel cards, have a similar market size to UnionPay. By 2017, private label issued cards are expected to make up roughly ** percent of total cards in circulation. When looking at the largest cards schemes based on the global number of transactions processed, Visa's market share in 2022 was over ** percent against ** percent for UnionPay.

Cards to face increasing competition from alternative payments

Payment cards are expected to remain the biggest digital payment method in both an offline and online environment. Alternative payment methods are expected to reach a higher CAGR than transactions with cards, however. This CAGR growth between 2022 and 2027 is highest for e-commerce: The transaction value of alternative payments in online shopping is to increase with a CAGR of **** percent between 2022 and 2027. This compared to *** percent for card not present transactions. Alternative payment methods — or APMs, as the source calls them — can be any form of noncash payment that does not involve a credit or debit card. This can include mobile wallets but also buy now, pay later, or payments performed with cryptocurrency or stablecoins.