MasterCard: Prepaid is Fastest-Growing GDV Category as Digital Payments Grow Worldwide (Sept. 12, 2013)
Prepaid accounted for the strongest growth rate in gross dollar volume (GDV) for all payment card types during the first half of this year for MasterCard Worldwide, as prepaid card use cases expanded worldwide, the network told investors yesterday. MasterCard saw 19 percent growth in gross dollar volume in prepaid cards worldwide during the first half of 2013 and overall rising market share for MasterCard-branded prepaid cards, Gary Flood, MasterCard president, global products and solutions, said Sept. 11 at the company’s annual Investor Day at its Purchase, N.Y., headquarters. Prepaid growth is particularly strong in Italy and the U.K., where prepaid telecom and co-branded prepaid card programs have taken off. Commercial card GDV grew 17 percent during the first half of this year, followed by debit cards, with 12 percent GDV growth and consumer credit cards, with 10 percent GDV growth.
Prepaid is also a key part of MasterCard’s collaboration with government entities, banks and merchants in Nigeria, where it’s helping to drive financial inclusion on a broad scale. Digital payments in emerging countries will see explosive growth in the next few years, MasterCard said, as 85 percent of the world’s transactions are still based on cash or checks, but the expansion of mobile devices is driving widespread adoption of mobile payments.
MasterPass, MasterCard’s digital wallet, is gaining momentum, MasterCard execs said. More than 22,000 merchants so far have adopted MasterPass, which is live in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia, and will roll out to Brazil, Belgium, France, Italy, Singapore, Sweden and Spain by the end of this year.
At its Innovation Showcase in conjunction with Investor Day, MasterCard demonstrated new technologies, including a 3D virtual fitting room, wearable payment devices and QkR, a payment app in pilot with Legends Hospitality, which provides concessions at Yankee Stadium, among other venues, enabling stadium audience members to order and pay for their food from a mobile device.
