Debit cards gain territory over credit cards

According to the World Payments Report (WPR1) 2012 released by Capgemini, RBS and Efma, debit card transactions continue to become more popular than other types of payment methods because they allow people to bypass the use of cash more easily.

However, the same source unveils that as more consumers turn to electronic, mobile and debit payments, industry innovation will continue to focus heavily on these payments methods. Statistics indicate that there were around USD 28.3 billion electronic and mobile payment transactions around the world in 2011, while in 2010 more than one in three non-cash payments globally were made using a debit card, which is up by 15.2 percent.

The reports also mentions that with only 2.1 percent of all mobile users make mobile payments, the potential for additional growth is still huge, with mobile payments expected to reach USD 17 billion by 2013 and e-payments USD 31.4 billion by 2013.

Globally, the volume of non-cash payments remains concentrated in developed markets, with North America, Europe and Mature Asia-Pacific accounting for 79.5 percent. However, the BRIC block is diverging, with Russia and China boosting payment volume increases of more than 30 percent, while Brazil has become the second-largest payment country in the world, after the US. India’s payment volume has jumped at 10 percent and has great potential for future growth, but is still the BRIC payment laggard.