Nigerian CommunicationWeek

Payment Card Use Grows, Driven by Government Initiatives, Consumer Demand

The number of merchant outlets accepting card payments worldwide grew 13 percent in 2017 to reach 69.2 million by year-end, according to the RBR report, Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2023.

Card acceptance grew fastest in Asia-Pacific and central and eastern Europe, driven in part by new regulations. For example, the Indian government has placed caps on POS terminal charges and put pressure on banks to recruit merchants.

Interchange fee regulations are also having a follow-on effect on merchant service charges, according to the report. As fees paid by acquirers to issuers fall, merchants become less willing to pay higher fees themselves. Reduced fees then encourage merchants to begin accepting cards.

This is most commonly the case in the European Union, where interchange fees were capped in 2015. It also applies in Brazil, where a cap on debit card interchange fees was announced in March, and in Malaysia, where interchange fees have been capped since 2015.

According to the report, the number of outlets that accept cards is forecast to grow at an average rate of 8 percent per year through the end of 2023, ultimately reaching 111.7 million.

Significant growth could come from markets in Asia-Pacific, central and eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa as ongoing financial inclusion initiatives boost card issuance and acceptance.

“Merchants across the world are being persuaded of the benefits of accepting cards, even for low-value payments,” said Daniel Dawson, who led the RBR study. “As consumers increasingly expect to be able to pay by card, the number of outlets where they can do so will continue to grow.”

Still, RBR said, acceptance in many developing markets remains limited by geography — for instance, where a country comprises a large number of islands or has large remote, rural areas, as in Indonesia and the Philippines — or the lack of infrastructure.

Exit mobile version