Research shows prepaid gaining ground

Research and consulting firm RBR studied the prepaid card market in 66 countries recently and reported that between 2009 and 2011, the number of prepaid cards grew to 321 million, a 32 percent increase. RBR also noted that while great potential for development is seen for the prepaid market, projections indicate prepaid cards will comprise 5 percent of all cards globally by 2017, only 1 percent higher than prepaid's current 4 percent share.

The six countries with the most prepaid cards together make up 87 percent of the total market worldwide. The top countries for prepaid card use are the United States, Iran, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia and Italy. However, in these countries prepaid cards remain niche products, for example, in the United States the cards are used primarily to make welfare payments; in Italy they are typically used by people who have limited access to traditional banking.

The most dramatic rise in prepaid use between 2009 and 2011 was in Russia, where the cards rose from 7 million to 37 million during that time. But the total value and volume of prepaid card payments fell during the same period. Other countries enjoying significant increased prepaid card use are Pakistan, India and Indonesia. For more information, visit RBR's website at www.rbrlondon.com.

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