Fast Market Research recommends "Australia's Cards and Payments Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Trends, Size, Drivers, Strategies, Products and Competitive Landscape" from Timetric, now available

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 12/11/2013 --The Australian card payments channel registered marginal growth during the review period (2008-2012). A positive economic outlook, the need for more sophisticated prepaid cards and an increase in online shopping all combined to support the growth of the card payments channel. During the review period, the card payments channel increased in volume at a CAGR of 5.18% to reach 98.0 million cards in circulation in 2012. In value terms, the card payments channel valued AUD601.0 billion (US$624.2 billion). As more consumers move away from cash, cards payments are expected to deliver strong growth over the forecast period. Growth is expected to be driven by increasing demand for prepaid cards, improvements to the regulatory framework, online and mobile commerce, and a positive economic outlook.

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Key Highlights

- In terms of the number of cards in circulation, the Australian card payments channel is expected to post a forecast-period CAGR of 3.20% and will continue to be dominated by the prepaid card category, which represented a share of 39.0% in 2012. The second-largest share was held by the debit cards category with 38.6%, followed by the credit cards category with 18.7% and the charge cards category with 3.6%.
- During the review period, the announcement of relatively high interchange fees by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) had a noticeable effect on the credit card category. For MasterCard and Visa schemes, transactions on platinum cards currently attract a 1% interchange fee, compared to the interchange fees on standard credit cards: 0.4% for Visa and 0.3% for MasterCard. These developments increased the interchange and other revenue received by credit card issuers, which they may use to fund more generous reward programs without needing to increase annual fees.
- During the review period, the total number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) increased at a CAGR of 11.72% from 194,799 in 2008 to 301,824 in 2012. Despite its relatively small population, Australia is home to more affluent individuals than its neighboring countries. Over the forecast period, the total number of HNWIs is estimated to reach 401,887 in 2017. Recognizing this growth, Australian banks and card providers are making a significant effort to target this group, as HNWIs traditionally show a greater willingness to use non-cash payment methods such as credit, debit and prepaid cards. Examples include the Diamond and Platinum Awards Credit Card from Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Singapore Airlines Westpac Platinum Credit Cards from Westpac, and the ANZ Platinum Credit Card and Qantas Platinum card from National Australia Bank.

Companies Mentioned in this Report: ANZ Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank Group, Bank of Queensland Ltd.

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