STUDY REPORT ON

THE GLOBAL PAYMENT

CARDS INDUSTRY

A rewards, earning and

giving based token!

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STUDY REPORT ON THE
GLOBAL PAYMENT CARDS
INDUSTRY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION ONE: GLOBAL MARKET LANDSCAPE 2

1.1 Market Regions 2

1.2 Growth and Growth Projections 7

1.3 Drivers 8

1.4 Trends In The Global Market 9

1.4 SWOT Analysis of the Global Market 10

SECTION TWO: MARKET ANALYSIS 12

2.1 Market Segmentation 12

2.1.1 Customers (Kinds of users) 12

2.2 The Relationship between Digital Currency and Payment Cards 17

2.3 Transaction Fees on Payment Cards and what the Fees they Contain 19

SECTION THREE: TOP MARKET PLAYERS 21

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SECTION 1: SECTION 1: GLOBAL
MARKET LANDSCAPE

1.1 Market Regions

In 2016, there were 6.59 billion Private Label payment cards in circulation globally.
The global payment card industry was relatively resilient to the financial crisis of 2008-09, as evidenced by the 8.4%
growth in card transactions volume which increased to 132.1 billion transactions in 2009 (as compared to 122.0
billion transactions in 2008 as shown in the exhibit below).

Cards represent one of the most preferred non-cash payment instruments, with an estimated 40% of the global
non-cash payments being routed through cards. Based on a regional comparison, Asia-Pacific has been one of the
fastest growing regions in terms of card usage. Cards transaction volumes grew by 18.1% during 2008-09 within
Asia-Pacific, compared to North America and Europe which grew 4.7% and 7.3% respectively for the same period.
Developing nations in AsiaPacific and Latin America are increasingly replacing their cash transactions with debit
and credit cards, which is driving the card industry growth in the region.

The payment card industry consists of all the organizations which store, process and transmit cardholder data,
most notably for debit cards and credit cards. The security standards are developed by the Payment Card Industry
Security Standards Council which develops the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards used throughout
the industry. Individual card brands establish compliance requirements that are used by service providers and
have their own compliance programs.

As of 2014, the United States uses a magnetic stripe on a card to process transactions and its security relies on
the holder’s signature and visual inspection of the card to check for features such as hologram. This system will
be outmoded and replaced by EMV in 2015. EMV is a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit
cards (IC cards or “chip cards”) and IC card capable point of sale (POS) terminals and automated teller machines
(ATMs), for authenticating credit and debit card transactions. It has enhanced security features, but is still suscep-
tible to fraud.

Global card purchase volume grew 5.8 percent to $20.606 trillion in 2016, according The Nilson Report. Visa,
UnionPay, MasterCard, JCB, Diners Club/Discover, and American Express brand general purpose cards generated

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257.17 billion purchase transactions at merchants in 2016, an increase of 13.3 percent, or 30.21 billion more than
in 2015. These transactions included all commercial and consumer credit, debit, and prepaid cards.
UnionPay debit cards were the most popular payment product based on purchase volume, followed by Visa credit
cards, Visa debit cards, UnionPay credit cards, MasterCard credit cards, MasterCard debit cards, American Express
cards, JCB cards, and Diners Club/Discover cards.

Visa cards generated 54.06 percent of all purchase transactions on general purpose cards worldwide. Debit cards
with the Visa brand continued to account for the most purchase transactions with a share of 34.82 percent, followed
by Visa credit cards with 19.23 percent.

MasterCard debit cards had a at 9.4 million, an increase of 10.1 per-

13.30 percent share, overtaking cent.
MasterCard credit cards, which had a Visa added 141.4 million cards (up 4.8
12.87 percent share. percent), MasterCard added 136.9 mil-
lion cards (up 8.9 percent), American
UnionPay credit cards had a 7.59 per- Express declined by 7.9 million cards
cent share, and UnionPay debit cards (down 6.7 percent), and Diners Club/
had a 7.32 percent share. Discover declined by 1 million cards
(down 1.7 percent).
American Express had a 2.81
percent share, followed by JCB cards The US has the world’s largest payments
with 1.15 percent, and Diners Club/Dis- market, and one of the highest levels of
cover cards with 0.91 percent. card penetration. In 2014, the US ac-
counted for 86.0% and 87.7% of North
Debit and prepaid cards accounted for America’s transaction value and volume
55.44 percent of purchase transactions, respectively.
isa purchase transactions were 64.42
percent debit, up from 63.91 percent. Electronic payments have steadily
MasterCard purchase transactions were gained ground in the US, and in terms
50.82 percent debit, up from 49.99 per- of transaction volume they have over-
cent. UnionPay purchase transactions taken the once-dominant cheques.
were 49.08 percent debit, up from 46.90 Payments made to merchants world-
percent. wide totaled 227.08 billion in 2015.
Credit, debit, and prepaid cards in cir-
culation worldwide totaled 11.15 billion
at the end of 2016, up 9.4 percent from
2015. Of all cards in circulation, 77.37
percent were debit, up from 75.89 per-
cent.
Debit cards in circulation grew by 894.8
million compared with a 67.1 million
increase for credit cards. UnionPay add-
ed the largest number of cards at 683
million, an increase of 12.6 percent; JCB
had the second largest increase in cards,

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Middle East & Africa Market Shares of Purchase Volume 2016
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Diners Club cards generated $327.86 billion in purchase volume for goods
and services in 2016 from cards issued in the Middle East & Africa. This was up 12.4% from the prior year.

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Europe Market Shares of Purchase Volume 2016
Credit, debit, and prepaid cards issued in Europe generated $2.765 trillion in purchase volume in 2016. Visa held a
66% market share followed by Mastercard with 31%, Amex with 3%, and Diners Club with less than 1%.

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Middle East & Africa Market Shares of Purchase Volume 2016
Credit, debit, and prepaid global brand general purpose cards issued in Latin America and the Caribbean generated
$599.27 billion in purchase volume at merchants in 2016.

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Purchase Volume Worldwide 2015 vs. 2025
Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, and Discover/Diners Club are the global
brand general purpose cards. By 2025, purchase volume for goods and services by cards with these
brands is expected to reach $54.891 trillion.

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4 Affluent U.S. Consumers Remain a Key Target Market Because affluent consumers tend to use their credit cards
frequently, spend large amounts of money, and pay on time, they are an important target market for credit card
companies, particularly during turbulent economic times.

Credit card companies market to luxury consumers by offering access, concierge services, security, and exclusivity.
World Elite MasterCard, for example, entices affluent households with an on-call personal travel advisor, luxury
benefits and amenities, and VIP promotions.

Although emerging luxury markets are expanding rapidly in places like China, the U.S. luxury market remains the
world’s largest. According to the Federal Reserve Bulletin, there are 11.53 million millionaire households in the
United States.

1.4 SWOT Analysis of the Global market

STRENGTHS
1. Profitability: In good economic times, credit card issuers are amazingly effective at generating profits.
2. Low maintenance: It is a low maintenance industry. Each company in the industry offers similar services so it’s not
difficult to retain customers.
3. Credit card use irresistible: Credit card users may not care for individual companies, but they love their plastic.
There is an ever increasing number of payment card users.

WEAKNESSES
1. Expensive to set up a company in this industry: Due to the high market capital and innovation required in setting
up a payment card company, rate of entry of new market player in the industry is reduced. This reduces the compet-
itiveness and innovative level of the industry.

OPPORTUNITIES
1. Expansion: There is huge scope in market expansion for Payment Card companies. The company doesn’t have a
very strong global presence and can get competitive in global markets.
2. Innovative Schemes: Another opportunity that presents itself for Payment Card companies is the innovativeness of
the schemes that are offered to attract more customers.
3. Increase in usage of debit cards: Increasing the penetration of debit cards in emerging economies is a great oppor-
tunity too. Emerging economies have a lot of debit card users as debit cards are used a lot to withdraw cash and this
can be tapped by Payment Card companies

THREATS
1. Alternate Payment Options: Increase in popularity of payment options such as digital currency and cardless trans-
action poses a huge threat to the adoption of payment cards.
2. Negative press: Customer complaints about these methods of payment and series of lawsuits against giants in the
industry has reduced the growth rate of this industry.

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Section 2: Market Analysis

2.1 Market Segmentation

2.1.1 Customers (kinds of users)
In a 2016 survey, payment processor TSYS asked over 1,000 consumers which payment form they prefer. Forty per-
cent chose credit cards, while 35 percent selected debit cards, and only 11 percent specified a preference for using
cash. Consumers’ preference for credit cards increased by 5 percent over the same survey’s results from 2015, while
the results for debit cards fell by 6 percent.

The survey also found that debit cards were the preferred method of payment for smaller, everyday transactions
at supermarkets, gas stations and convenience stores, while credit was the choice for more expensive purchases,
including those at department stores and restaurants, and for travel reservations.

In recent years, the percentage of people who use their credit cards as their sole payment method (rather than to
finance purchases) has risen dramatically. More than half of all credit card holders use their cards for everyday
spending.

According to the FINRA 2016 Investor Education Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study, 52 percent of
respondents reported always paying their credit cards in full in 2015, representing an increase of 11 percent com-
pared to the same study in 2009.

Bank of America’s 2017 Trends in Consumer Mobility Report shows that P2P mobile payments are becoming
mainstream, especially among younger Americans.

While only 36 percent of total respondents said they used P2P payments, 62 percent of millennials said they used
them, and 34 percent of Gen Xers. And among those who do not currently use P2P payments, nearly half predict-
ed they’d do so in 2017.

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P2P payments are seen as “less annoying” than other forms of payment. For example, 51 percent of respondents
found paying via check to be a pain, while 38 percent were annoyed by delayed checks or checks that are never
cashed.

Of those who use P2P payments, 68 percent said the payment was convenient and saved time, and 48 percent
were motivated because friends were using it.

2.1.2 Services (Services that you can use payment cards to pay for)
The prevalence of debit card usage has continued on its trajectory of growth, reflected by the increasing spread of
ownership in the United States.

In recent years the use of debit cards has become so widespread that their volume has all but overtaken cheques
and, to some extent, the use of physical cash as a payment method. The results of a survey carried out in April
2016 in the U.S. showed that Americans used debit cards mainly to pay for groceries and automatically recurring
purchases.

Global card purchase volume for goods and services (excluding cash advances on credit cards and cash with-
drawals on debit cards), grew 5.8 percent to $20.606 trillion in 2016, according to a press release from The Nilson
Report.

UnionPay debit cards were the most popular payment product based on purchase volume, followed by Visa credit
cards, Visa debit cards, UnionPay credit cards, MasterCard credit cards, MasterCard debit cards, American Express
cards, JCB cards, and Diners Club/Discover cards.

Visa, UnionPay, MasterCard, JCB, Diners Club/Discover, and American Express brand general purpose cards
generated 257.17 billion purchase transactions at merchants in 2016, an increase of 13.3 percent, or 30.21 billion
more than in 2015. These transactions included all commercial and consumer credit, debit, and prepaid cards.
Visa cards generated 54.06 percent of all purchase transactions on general purpose cards worldwide. Debit cards
with the Visa brand continued to account for the most purchase transactions with a share of 34.82 percent, fol-
lowed by Visa credit cards with 19.23 percent.

MasterCard debit cards had a 13.30 percent share, overtaking MasterCard credit cards, which had a 12.87 percent
share.

UnionPay credit cards had a 7.59 percent share, and UnionPay debit cards had a 7.32 percent share.
American Express had a 2.81 percent share, followed by JCB cards with 1.15 percent, and Diners Club/Discover
cards with 0.91 percent.

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When consumers worldwide reach into their wallets for a payment card, more than half
of the time, they use a Visa card.

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UnionPay had the largest percentage increase of cards at 683 million, an increase of 12.6 percent; JCB had the
in purchase transactions. Combined, UnionPay second largest increase in cards, at 9.4 million, an increase of
credit and debit card purchase transactions at 10.1 percent.
merchants grew 32 percent in 2016.
Visa added 141.4 million cards (up 4.8 percent), MasterCard
Debit and prepaid cards accounted for 55.44 added 136.9 million cards (up 8.9 percent), American Express
percent of purchase transactions, up from 54.64 declined by 7.9 million cards (down 6.7 percent), and Diners
percent in 2015. Visa purchase transactions Club/Discover declined by 1 million cards (down 1.7 percent).
were 64.42 percent debit, up from 63.91 per-
cent. MasterCard purchase transactions were Penetration of card payments
50.82 percent debit, up from 49.99 percent.
UnionPay purchase transactions were 49.08 The penetration of card payments as a proportion of total global
percent debit, up from 46.90 percent. personal consumption spend was around 41% in 2015, up from
26% in 2007, as shown in chart 1. Penetration levels vary by
Credit, debit, and prepaid cards in circulation country with generally higher adoption in developed markets
worldwide totaled 11.15 billion at the end of such as Canada (72%) and the U.S. (57%) whilst emerging
2016, up 9.4 percent from 2015. Of all cards in economies such as Mexico and Russia have penetration rates of
circulation, 77.37 percent were debit, up from only around 10%. Interestingly, card penetration rates remain
75.89 percent. relatively low in Europe at around 33% with Spain, Germany
and Italy all large underpenetrated countries. Over the long
Debit cards in circulation grew by 894.8 million term there seems little reason why penetration rates cannot rise
compared with a 67.1 million increase for cred- towards 60-70% given that some countries are already at these
it cards. UnionPay added the largest number levels.

Source: Bernstein, Global Payments report, October 2016

Chart 1: Growing card penetration of global purchases

Source: Nilson, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and

Bernstein analysis, October 2016. E=estimates
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Growth of ecommerce
One clear factor driving an accelerating rate of conversion from cash to card payments is the growth of ecom-
merce (online sales), as shown in chart 2. Card payments account for almost 90% of global online transactions
and, therefore, further growth of online retailing will drive greater use of cards. Whilst many may assume that
ecommerce is already well penetrated, the fact is that even in developed markets the actual share of online retail
remains low compared to offline. In the US, for example, the proportion of total retail sales from online retailing is
just under 10% leaving plenty of scope for growth.
Chart 2: E-commerce sales growth looks set to continue

Source: Retail Indicators Branch, US Census Bureau. Citi Research estimates as at 17 November 2016. Ecommerce
= online sales, e=estimates

Secondly, merchant acceptance of cards as a form of payment has been a limiting factor to growth, particularly
but not solely in developing economies. For example, the US has five to six times the number of electronic point of
sale terminals per capita than the rest of the world and thus there remains a good opportunity to drive penetra-
tion higher in other regions as the number of terminals expands.
Mobile point of sale (mPOS) technology
Chart 3: Number of mobile points of sale providers globally

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Source: mPOS world and Bernstein analysis. CAGR = Compound annual growth rate
This trend is accelerating due to innovation in mobile point of sale technology, as shown in chart 3. This allows
retailers to receive payments via tablets and other mobile devices that have the appropriate software. Such tech-
nology can be a game changer for merchant acceptance globally due to its low cost and ease of use for small to
medium-sized retailers.

Moreover, the number of companies developing low cost mobile payment platforms has grown rapidly in recent
years. At the end of 2016 there were estimated to be around 330 such companies worldwide compared to only a
handful as recently as 2010. With around a third of those companies focused mainly on emerging markets it is
likely that both merchant acceptance and the use of cards will continue to grow at a healthy rate.
Prepaid cards

Finally, the increasing prevalence of prepaid cards is also contributing to growth of paperless payments. Pre-paid
cards can exist in a physical form such as retail store gift cards or pre-funded debit cards but can also exist in the
form of virtual wallets such as those used by Starbucks where the customer stores credit on a mobile phone.
According to the World Bank, approximately 38% of the global adult population does not have a bank account
while even in the US it is thought that around 7% of households lack access to basic banking facilities. Therefore,
there is a clear opportunity for pre-paid cards to help bridge that gap and consumers are becoming increasingly
aware of the alternative options available to them.

2.2 The Relationship between Digital

Currency and Payment Cards
Bitcoin payments are analogous to a wire transfer or
cash transaction, where payment is ‘pushed’ directly
from one party to another, without going through an-
other financial institution. Payment processing is ex-
ecuted through a private network of computers, and
each transaction is recorded in a blockchain, which is
public. Bitcoin is based on peer-to-peer technology and
relies on the blockchain and the cryptography securing
it, without any third party oversight.
By contrast, credit card transactions entail the buyer ef-
fectively authorizing the seller to ‘pull’ a payment from
their account, passing through several financial inter-
mediaries in the process. For example, a typical Visa
transaction involves four parties: the merchant, the ac-
quirer (the financial institution that enables payments
to the merchant), the issuer (the card holder’s bank),
and the individual cardholder.
When making a bitcoin transaction, it is not necessary
to provide personal identification information such as
your name and address. Bitcoin transactions are made
using an anonymous alphanumeric address that change
with every transaction and a private key. Payments can
also be made on mobile devices by using quick response
(QR) codes.
While credits cards are stored physically in a wallet, bit-
coin transactions are sent to and from electronic wallets,
which can be stored on your computer, smartphone, or
in the cloud.
Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and can only re-
funded by the receiving party -- a key difference from
credit card transactions that can be canceled. This
means there are no charge-backs for merchants when
taking payment via bitcoin. A charge-back is the de-
mand by a credit-card provider for a retailer to cover
the loss on a fraudulent or disputed transaction.
Bitcoin merchants also save on credit card fees that can
range anywhere from 0.5% to 5%, plus 20 to 30 cents
for each transaction made. Bitcoin payments can be
sent and received at a very low cost or none at all, as
bitcoin fees are based on the amount of data sent.
For merchants, the advantages of receiving bitcoin are
obvious. Payments made using the virtual currency save
substantially on processing fees and eliminate the risk
of charge-backs. For shoppers the advantages of pay-
ing with bitcoin include greater simplicity in placing the
transaction, user anonymity, no interruptions from in-
termediaries (for example your account being frozen as
a result of a fraud alert), and very low transaction fees.
Credit cards offer important beneficial features such as
the ability to borrow money, protection against fraud,
reward points, and vastly wider acceptance among
merchants.
However, using credit cards carries the risk of incurring
late fees, interest charges, foreign transaction fees, and
potentially adverse effects on your credit score.

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There are payment cards that can be used to combine card payments and digital currency payments.
Digital Currency Debit Cards
Just like other credit cards, cryptocurrency debit cards
are loaded with funds from linked digital eWallets and
can be used wherever a credit card is accepted. In the
U.S, most card type systems are available in US dollars,
British Pounds, and Euros. Digital currency debit cards
like Coinbase’s allows users to buy digital currency
units or pull Bitcoins from their digital wallets directly,
hence saving customers the need to keep their digital
wallets separate from the card’s wallet.
TokenCard
TokenCard is a deposit-less Ethereum token-based
debit card & platform. TKN is a special kind of Ethere-
um token. It’s an asset backed token where the assets
represent an accumulation of different ERC20 tokens
over a period of time.
Bitcoin Debitcard
Bitcoin debit cards include the Cryptopay Debit Card,
SpectroCoin VISA Debit Card, Bitwala Visa Debit Card ,
Shift, and bitpay.
Bitcoin Debit Card Features
It’s easy to load your Bitcoin Debit Card with funds
from your Bitcoin wallet and spend virtual or tradition-
al currencies anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
A BTCexpress bitcoin debit card works online, offline,
and internationally, making it simple for customers to
use bitcoin at millions of businesses around the world.
There is no verification process to purchase a Bitcoin
Black Card. The process is simple, just tell us where to
ship your card, pay with bitcoin online, and your card
will be on it’s way.
Advantages Of Bitcoin Debit Cards
Anonymous and secure online purchases and with-
drawals of funds at any ATM worldwide can be done
with a bitcoin debit card. It’s also possible to quickly
and easily create a shopping cart to accept Bitcoin
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payments on your website. There is no id/no credit
check required to obtain the debit card.
XAPO
Xapo is a Switzerland-based company that provides a
bitcoin wallet combined with a cold storage vault and
a bitcoin-based debit card. Xapo was founded by CEO
and entrepreneur Wences Casares. Xapo serves major
markets like China, Japan, Canada, and the U.K.
XAPO card price are slightly above average, at $15
USD/EUR/GBP. Like Wirex, you also have to pay for a
“virtual” card, this time, $2.50. And there are monthly
service fees for all their cards, even the virtual ones,
so you get two monthly fees. There is also a 1% card
loading fee as well.
According to Bloomberg, which reported on TenX’s
plans, the company will offer a Visa card tied a digi-
tal currency app. This arrangement is intended to let
consumers make ordinary purchases at coffee shops
and elsewhere using a card backed by bitcoin or other
digital assets. Here are more details:
TenX is pitching its debit card as an instant converter
of multiple digital currencies into fiat money: the dol-
lars, yen and euros that power most everyday com-
merce. The company said it takes a 2% cut from each
transaction and has received orders for more than
10,000 cards. While transactions are capped at $2,000
a year, users can apply to increase the limit if they
undergo identify verification procedures.
TenX, however, is hardly the first company with ambi-
tions to increase bitcoin’s footprint in the marketplace
by piggy-backing on existing card networks. In 2014,
the bitcoin storage company Xapo announced a Mas-
tercard tied to digital currency wallets, but the credit
card giant immediately disavowed the partnership.
Since then, Xapo has created a bitcoin-backed debit
card that works with Visa.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco-based digital currency exchange, Coinbase, launched the Shift Card, which lets us-
ers pay with bitcoin using the Visa network. From a merchant’s perspective, however, the transaction is no differ-
ent from a regular Visa transaction since all of the bitcoin-related elements occur behind the scenes.

Unsurprising, none of these cards appears to have caught on beyond a handful of hyper-niche users. The primary
reason is likely that there is no real advantage to using them: Why go to the trouble of acquiring a card and fund-
ing it with bitcoin when you can just use a credit or debit card instead? And while it could provide a way to pay
for those without bank accounts, such people already have an alternative—it’s called cash.

For ordinary consumers, a bitcoin-Visa card has an obvious drawback in that it doesn’t offer rewards points like
any regular Visa card worth its salt will do. And for merchants, the “2% cut” TenX plans to take is no better than
what they must pay out already.

As for the credit card companies, they are lukewarm at best. They may allow bitcoin companies access to their
networks to process payments, but would no doubt them off if digital currency comes to present any sort of threat.
Visa, which not reply to a request for comment about the TenX launch, is also conspicuously absent from any
bitcoin-related marketing efforts.

2.3 Transaction Fees on Payment Cards

and what the Fees they Contain

Credit card holders are typically charged foreign transaction fees when they
purchase items while overseas or when they make purchases that use an
overseas bank to process the transaction.

Because banks have to convert the money spent into U.S. dollars so they can
charge your account. That
conversion costs money, and some card-issuing banks pass that cost along to
consumers in the form of foreign transaction fees.

Foreign transaction fees vary between issuers and cards, but most foreign
transaction fees are about 1 to 3 percent of each qualifying transaction. The
overall fee is often comprised of two fees: One from the payment networks
and one from the card’s issuing bank.

Visa and Mastercard, which handle the transactions between foreign

merchants or banks and U.S. card issuing banks, typically charge a 1
percent fee for each foreign transaction. Then, card-issuing banks may tack
on their own charges, usually an additional 1 or 2 percent, leaving total for-
eign transaction fees at 2 or 3 percent, depending on the card and co-brand-
ed payment network. American Express doesn’t use the Visa or Mastercard
payment system, but on its foreign transaction fee-charging cards, the net-
work typically tacks on its own foreign transaction fee of 2.7 percent.

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 FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEES: WHICH CARDS HAVE THEM
Issuer Issuer fee MC/Visa fee Total fee Foreign ATM fee

American 2.7% N/A 2.7%

Express 2.7% foreign
currency withdrawal fee on some
accounts

Bank of 2% 1% 3%
America $5 usage fee for each non- Global ATM Alliance part-
ner, plus 3% currency conversion fee for each with-
drawal, regardless of ATM type

Barclaycard 2% 1% 3% 3% currency conversion fee

Capital One None 1%, but not 3% 3% currency conversion fee for some accounts
passed on to
cardholders
Chase 2% 1% 3% $5 per withdrawal, plus 3% currency conversion
fee. Fees waived on some accounts
Citi 2% 1% 3% 3% currency conversion fee for some accounts
Discover None N/A None None
HSBC None None None 3% currency conversion fee for some accounts
Pentagon None 1%, but not None None
Federal passed on to
cardholders
Credit
Union
USAA None None None None
U.S. Bank Not disclosed Not disclosed 2% of each foreign 2% of each foreign ATM advance in U.S. dollars,
purchase in U.S. 3% of each foreign ATM advance in a foreign
dollars, 3% of each
foreign purchase in
currency
a foreign currency
Wells Fargo 2% 1% 3% $10 or 5% of each transaction, whichever is
greater

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above shows which credit card company is the most popular in each country based on Google
search data from Google Trends. It does not reflect the number of cards issued, nor transaction
volume, simply the volume of searches for each company.

Overall, Google was able to provide data for 168 countries. Of those countries, Visa is the clear
winner, being the most popular credit card company in 123 countries. Surprisingly, American
Express (AMEX) is the most popular in 23 countries including the UK and US. Finally, Mastercard
was the most popular company in 22 countries including Canada and Australia.

Visa is the largest credit card issuer in the United States. According to CreditCards.com data,
Visa has 304 million cards in circulation in the US and 545 million cards in circulation outside
the US. Total transaction volume in the US was $1.2 trillion USD in 2014.

Mastercard has 191 million cards in circulation in the US and 576 million cards in circulation
outside the US, which actually places it ahead of Visa globally (excluding US). However, US
transaction volume is only $607 billion, around half of Visa’s total.

Finally, American Express is much smaller than the two giants with only 54.9 million cards in
circulation in the US and another 57.3 million cards in the rest of the world. However, due to the
affluence of their average customer, their transaction volume in the US is slightly higher than
Mastercard’s at around $668 billion.

So why is Amex so popular in many countries, given it’s much smaller size?
This can likely attributed to the way Google collects search trends data. Data was for total
searches for each company. And while Visa and Mastercard specialise in credit cards, American
Express offers a variety of other services including insurance, travellers cheques and other travel
and rewards services.

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 They also issue their own cards as
opposed to Visa and Mastercard
who issue their cards via banks,
building societies, retailers and
other financial services companies.

Also it should be noted that while

we looked at China Unionpay, Dis-
cover Card and other credit card
issuers, they were not included as
there were no country where they
were the most popular brand.

The reason why Unionpay was not

the most popular brand in China
is due to the fact data comes from
Google, which only has around a
9% share of the Chinese search
market and likely skews towards
expats and those with an interna-
tional focus.

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1. UNIONPAY 2. MASTER CARD
Website: http://www.unionpayintl.com/ Website: https://www.mastercard.us
Profile: In partnership with more than 1500 Profile: For 50 years, Mastercard has been
institutions worldwide, UnionPay International transforming how the world pays and gets paid.
has enabled card acceptance in 162 countries Major Products and services
and regions with issuance in 42 countries and • Safety & Security
regions. • Payment Products & Solutions
• Payment Processing
UnionPay International provides high quality, • Mastercard Advisors
cost effective and secure cross-border payment • Smart Cities
services to the world’s largest cardholder base
and ensures convenient local services to a 3 VISA CARD
growing number of global UnionPay Website: https://usa.visa.com/
cardholders and merchants. Profile: We are a global payments technology
company working to enable consumers, busi-
Major Products and services nesses, banks and governments to use digital
Services currency.
• UnionPay Card Emergency Assistance Major Products and services
Service • Payments
• Cross-border Remittance • Visa Checkout
• UnionPay Tax Refund • Visa Chip Cards
• Study Abroad Service • Mobile payments
• Global Assistant Service • Samsung Pay
• Global Travel Service • Apple Pay
• Global Concierge • Android Pay
• China Visa Application Express Service • Visa payWave
• UnionPay VIP Lounges • Travel
• Travel support
Products • Visa Signature®
• Innovative Products
• Online Payment / Mobile 4 AMEX
• Payment / IC Card Website: http://americanexpress.com/
• 0/mPOS / UnionPay Profile: We’re a global services company that
• Cross-border B2B Platform provides customers with access to products,
• UnionPay Card insights and experiences that enrich lives and
• Debit Card / Credit Card / Prepaid Card build business success.
• Commercial Card / Premier Card / •
Theme Card • Major Products and services
• Personal Cards
• Small Business Cards
• Corporate Cards
• Prepaid Cards
• Prepaid Debit Cards

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