Global Card Networks Are Thriving, Though Domestic Systems Could Pose a Threat

The number of card-accepting merchant locations around the world reached a record high of 88 million in 2021, up 2% over 2020 as measures to fight the pandemic helped stoke consumer usage of payment cards rather than alternatives like cash, according to research released Monday by London-based research firm RBR. Indeed, the number of card-accepting terminals rose 5% last year, reaching 134 million worldwide, according to RBR’s latest report.

At the same time, the share of point-of-sale terminals worldwide capable of accepting contactless transactions reached 82% last year, a new high driven by infection fears and other factors, according to the report. “[T]he second year of the pandemic was overall a positive one for global card acceptance. A controversial view that cashless payments are ‘more hygienic,’ combined with government mandates and incentives such as tax breaks, provided a boost,” the firm says in a release about its report.

The global networks Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. together account for three-quarters of all stores globally, behind China-based UnionPay, Discover, and Japan’s JCB, all of which have a stronger foothold in Asia, the report says. Setting China aside, Visa and Mastercard are accepted at 96% of outlets, giving the two network giants near universal coverage, though this percentage is unchanged from 2020.

Terminal coverage is a primary driver of the spread of card acceptance. Here, the number of deployed devices is enjoying strong momentum, as RBR forecasts an increase to 165 million hooked up in 109 million stores worldwide within five years. One perhaps unexpected driver is government mandates in some places to install terminals. Greece, for example, is one such country, RBR reports.

But the surge in terminals may not necessarily deliver the boost in transactions the international card networks might expect, RBR warns. The firm’s research points out that domestic “cashless payment methods” in some countries might instead be the beneficiaries of such technologies as QR codes.

“The pandemic provided a real boost to global card acceptance across all regions. We could see disruption to future growth, however, if more merchants and consumers opt to transact via QR codes and smart phones, rather than with international scheme cards and EFTPOS terminals,” says Daniel Dawson in a statement. Dawson headed up the research for RBR’s report, “Global Card Payments and Forecasts to 2027.”