Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/25/2013 -- Chile's cards and payments industry as a whole grew at a CAGR of 15.22% during the review period (2008-2012). Cuenta Rut accounts are expected to contribute to positive growth in the debit card category. Cuenta Rut, a scheme that provides bank accounts to all Chileans above the age of 15, issued by BancoEstado, is offered to all Chileans above the age of 15, and in 2011 there were 4.2 million Cuenta Rut account holders at BancoEstado, 24.42% of the total Chilean population. The number of Cuenta Rut account holders increased at a CAGR of 35.77% between 2007 and 2011. Cuenta Rut account growth witnessed significant growth as the account is provided to all the Chilean population with minimum documentation. The account can be opened in person, over the telephone or internet, or through banking agents and this has resulted in increased penetration of the scheme. Account holders are not issued checks, but are given debit cards, which is expected to increase the volume and value growth of the debit card category over the forecast period. Bank-issued credit cards constitute only a nominal share of the total credit cards issued in the economy. The largest non-bank credit card issuer was Total Promotora CMR Falabella SA which occupied 40% of the credit card category. The second-largest issuer was Total Car SA, with 18.74%, followed by Total Cencosud Administradora de Tarjetas SA with 18.55%. The prepaid card category was also dominated by closed-loop prepaid cards issued by non-bank card issuers. The branchless banking model adopted by Chilean banks is expected to increase the volume of bank-issued cards in the forecast period. For example, BancoEstado offers banking services through Cajas Vecinas, nearly 65% of the operations of which take place after normal banking hours. Conventional banks in Chile operate for only five hours per day, between 9am to 2pm Monday to Friday. Caja Vecinas offers all normal banking products, and enables people living in remote regions to conduct transactions through POS terminals installed in retail stores. Caja Venicas is expected to play a major role in taking card-based payments to the rural population of the country.

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Key Highlights

- The Chilean cards and payments industry as a whole grew at a CAGR of 15.36% during the review period. The total number of cards increased from 16.5 million in 2008 to 29.1 million in 2012. The cards and payments industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.87% over the forecast period.
- Prepaid cards will be the most attractive card category in the forecast period. The prepaid card category constituted 28.6% of the overall cards and payments industry in 2012, and grew at a CAGR of 20.11% during the review period. The closed-loop cards segment is expected to record the largest growth, with the supply expected to come from large-scale retail outlets such as Falabella, Ripley and Farmacias Ahumada.

Companies Mentioned in this Report: Banco Santander-Chile, BBVA Chile, BancoEstado, PatPass, Cuenta Rut, Falabella, Ripley, Banco Itau, JP Morgan, Banco Monex, Scotiabank Sud Americano

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