BY 2026, PREPAID CARD TRANSACTION VALUE EXCEEDS US$4.1 TRILLION GLOBALLY - JUNIPER RESEARCH

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 -- A new study from Juniper Research has found the value of transactions made over prepaid cards will exceed US$4.1 trillion globally in 2026; up from US$2.3 trillion in 2021 - a substantial growth of 75 per cent. (US$1 = RM4.20)

By 2026, prepaid card transaction value will be just over 50 per cent higher than those forecast for contactless payment transactions; illustrating the importance of this market.

According to a statement, the growth in prepaid cards will be driven by the ongoing replacement of cash, as economies move increasingly towards digital payments.

The research identified prepaid cards as being critical to ensuring that the unbanked are included in the rush for digital payments. 

The research recommends that vendors focus on building robust distribution platforms that can cope with issuing cards at scale and at low cost, or they will lose out to better equipped vendors.

The new research, Prepaid Cards: Trends, Vendor Strategies & Market Forecasts 2022-2026, found that the growth of the prepaid market will present a significant revenue opportunity for prepaid card platforms, with fee revenue reaching over US$32 billion globally in 2026, from US$22 billion in 2021. 

The report recommends that focusing on critical capabilities, such as restricted authorisation, which enables issuers to specify where funds can be spent, will pay dividends in the longer term.

The research found that while the US will account for over 43 per cent of global transaction values in 2026, there are other significant opportunities emerging. China is seeing increasing prepaid use, and as international tourism recovers, prepaid cards for travel money can benefit. 

The report also highlighted emerging markets as a key area of interest and recommended that platforms form partnerships now in order to best exploit future opportunities.

-- BERNAMA