Latest figures confirm the smart payment card remains the most popular way to pay in many parts of the world and is the secure payment method of choice when it comes to non-cash payments.
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Collated annually by the Smart Payment Association (SPA), using data from SPA Members and Market Monitoring Advisory Council Members,1 analysis shows the volume of smart payment card shipments increased by 5 percent to 2.75 billion in 2019 – an increase of 141 million units on 2018.
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Growth figures by region
The increase in volumes was driven by strong global demand:
- Largest demand in the United States due to the renewal of 2015-16 issuance
- Double digit growth in all Latin America regions
- Shipment growth above 20 percent in the North Asia-Pacific market mostly due to EMV Dual Interface migration
- Steady growth nearing 10 percent in the Africa, Balkans and Middle-East region
- Single digit growth in mature the EU market
- Significant reduction in shipments to India – reflecting the normalization of the market following the completion of the country’s mandated migration from older magstripe debit and credit cards to more secure EMV cards
Continued increase of contactless
In 2019, SPA reports 59% of total shipments had contactless functionality, a rise of 14 percent on the previous year. This continued increase is driven by growing awareness of the speed and convenience of this payment option, and the rapid deployment of broader ‘enabling’ contactless Point of Sale (PoS) infrastructure.
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