Mercator: Total prepaid load to double by 2013

As part of it Seventh Annual Prepaid Card Forecast, Mercator Advisory Group predicts that the total dollars loaded onto prepaid cards will reach $672 billion by 2013, more than doubling the $330.03 billion load volume in 2009. The reason this surge will take place is because of increased government activity in the prepaid sector, as well as growing consumer adoption of prepaid cards, according to Mercator.

In addition, Mercator reported it had to reevaluate several open-loop prepaid card segments to reflect actual 2009 statistics that proved higher than Mercator's predictions. Despite federal legislation affecting the prepaid card industry, Mercator now believes that, by 2012, the open-loop prepaid card market as a whole will surpass the closed-loop gift card market in load volume by $60 billion.

"Having now performed six prepaid forecasts, Mercator Advisory Group has found that the diversity of the prepaid market allows it to grow at this blistering pace, as government agencies, corporations, and consumers all find new uses for these cards," said the report's author Tim Sloane, Vice President of Client Services and Director of Mercator's Prepaid Advisory Service.

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