European prepaid market to hit 160 billion euros by 2017

U.K.-based PSE Consulting said the European prepaid card market is mving toward "critical mass." By 2017, the market will reach 160 billion euros (over $200 billion) in annual spend, representing six billion transactions, according to research conducted by the consulting firm.

The consultancy expects that the "Germanic region" of Europe, along with the U.K., France and Italy will collectively represent about 65 percent of spending on prepaid cards in the market in 2017; additionally, closed- and open-loop gift cards will remain the most popular card products in the region, as they will make up about 23 percent of the market.

Two other segments – general purpose, network-branded, reloadable prepaid cards used for online purchasing and corporate cards used for travel and food expenses – will account for nearly 30 percent of the market by 2017, PSE Consulting noted.

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