Over 10 billion payment cards by 2014
A Retail Banking Research study, Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts 2009-2014, projects the number of payment cards globally will reach 10.1 billion by 2014, up from 7.4 billion in 2009. According to the study, 62 percent of cards are currently debit cards, driven by conversion of ATM-only cards to include POS functionality, particularly among Asia-Pacific nations.
Of the $9.2 trillion in 2009 card payments, three world regions accounted for 94 percent of total spending: North America comprised 39 percent of card payments; Western Europe, 28 percent; Asia-Pacific, 26 percent.
The value of card payments is expected to reach $12.3 trillion in 2014, while the number of electronic funds transfer POS terminals worldwide is projected to grow to 44.5 million. For further details, visit www.rbrlondon.com.
Web hackers target small businesses
Information security and compliance solutions provider, Trustwave, released its Web Hacking Incident Database Semiannual Report, compiled by the Trustwave SpiderLabs security team. The report focuses on publicly reported incidents associated with web application vulnerabilities that have an identifiable outcome.
During the first half of 2010, 158 hacker incidents were added to the database. A noted trend among the incidents reported was a sharp increase in cyber attacks targeting the online banking accounts of small to midsize businesses.
The leading driver of web hacking incidents in the report was leakage of information, with defacement of websites ranking second. To download the report, visit www.trustwave.com/WHID2010.
Alternative payments in e-commerce
The Mercator Advisory Group's Spending Cash Online: Alternative Payment Channels for e-Commerce 2010 explores cash-based alternative online payment services that permit consumers to shop online while paying offline with cash in international markets where consumers rely on cash to pay for goods and services.
The report suggests that service providers who offer cross-border payment options or operate in multiple countries will benefit most in the long term.
Other factors that will impact the future of alternative payments include localized applications, broad distribution networks, targeting of key merchants and reasonable consumer costs. For more information, visit www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com.
Mobile payment forecast
MarketResearch.com added Mobile Payment - Advanced Technologies (NFC), Strategies and Future of Remote & Proximity Pays in U.S. to its E-Financial Services market reports.
The report found that mobile payments account for 1.7 percent of all U.S. payments, valued at $5.2 billion in 2009 or 6 percent of the global share of value. By 2015, mobile payments in the United States are projected at $56.7 billion, roughly 10.6 percent of the estimated global value.
The report indicated that over 94 percent of the U.S. population owns a mobile phone and 60 percent of those devices are equipped with a card slot.
The study predicted mobile payments will permit banks to tap micro transactions currently made by cash, which account for 20 percent of U.S. transactions. For more information, visit www.marketresearch.com.
Retail sector Q2 spending patterns
American Express Business Insights released four Q2 2010 Business Insights Spend Trends reports analyzing changing patterns in U.S. consumer and business spending to identify key year-over-year economic bellwethers in travel, dining and entertainment, luxury retail and regional spending.
Leading indicators revealed a 24 percent surge in quick-service restaurant spending compared to 12 percent for fine dining, a 9 percent increase in spending across all luxury categories and a 63 percent increase in business-class airfare.
San Francisco fared best among major U.S. cities, with a spending increase of 36 percent across all categories.
To order the reports, visit www.americanexpress.com/businessinsights.
Card market in China sees growth
In Payment Card Market in China 2010, Mercator revealed that despite the economic downturn, the "payment card market in China continued to grow fast thanks to the rapidly increasing consumer spending and the adoption of electronic payment cards among mass consumers." As of June 2010, there were 207 million credit and 2.06 billion debit cards in use in China.
According to Mercator, China's market is almost twice the size of the U.S. market, but its card spending is about one third that of the United States. For more details, visit www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com.
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