The latest cards research, Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2022, reveals that the number of card-accepting merchant outlets rose by an impressive 7 million in 2016 to 61 million. Double-digit growth was recorded across Asia-Pacific, central and eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa.

Despite recent strong growth, all three regions continue to be underserved in terms of card acceptance and are expected to remain the engines of global growth, driving the total number of outlets worldwide to 85 million by 2022.

According to RBR’s report, regulatory factors are playing an increasingly important role in expanding card-acceptance networks. In Kazakhstan, legislation requiring all merchants to accept card payments came into force in 2016, contributing to the 50% growth in outlets. Meanwhile, in India, growth in card-accepting merchants trebled to 45% as a result of caps on EFTPOS terminal charges and the removal of terminal taxes by the central government.

The impact of regulations on the acquiring market is set to intensify over the coming years, with merchant service charges projected to fall as a result of interchange fee caps. In addition to the European Commission’s caps, RBR also expects new regulation to lower fees in numerous less-developed markets, for example Argentina and Malaysia, making card acceptance a more attractive proposition.

Increasing focus on financial literacy and cashless payments also boosting acceptance

Growth in the acceptance networks of many developing markets has been restrained, partly by cultural preferences for cash; however, the report has found increasing support from governments and industry players, for example in Thailand and Ukraine, for promoting financial literacy and cashless payments. Such efforts are encouraging more consumers to pay regularly by card, and merchants who do not accept cards risk losing business as payment preferences diversify.

“The recent strong growth in card acceptance looks set to continue, fuelled by a combination of falling merchant fees and rising consumer demand. In addition to rapid growth in developing regions, healthy market conditions in more mature countries in western Europe have the potential to unlock new opportunities for the acquiring sector,” says Chris Herbert, RBR.

– paymentscardsandmobile.com –

ACI Worldwide, a provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, has formed a key strategic partnership with Shanghai-based bankcard company UnionPay International, a wholly owned subsidiary of China UnionPay.

ACI Worldwide together with AGS Transact Technologies (AGSTTL), India’s leading end-to-end payment solutions company, have unveiled ‘Transactions 2025,’ with in-depth insights into India’s digital payments revolution.

The report outlines the key growth drivers for digital payments in India’s burgeoning banking and FinTech industry. Additionally, it highlights the steps that financial institutions, retailers, and billing organizations can take to help them better prepare for – and respond to – shifts in the payments space.

By 2025, digital transactions in India could be worth $1 trillion annually, with four out of every five transactions being made digitally. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions are a key driver of greater financial inclusion, as the Indian payments ecosystem undergoes rapid digital transformation. Mass adoption of e-payments and a thriving fintech scene, combined with regulatory policy, are set to propel India into a leading position in the global payments landscape.

Key findings of the research:

• India’s smartphone user base will likely double to 500 million by 2020; increasingly affordable devices and data will spur safe, fraud-resistant digital transactions based on biometrics and multi-factor authorization, as well as an explosion of consumer services via mobile internet.
• Based on India’s current growth trajectory, the country could boast a $1 trillion market for digital transactions by 2025, with cash to non-cash ration reversing (4 out of 5 payments made digitally).
• The user base for digital transactions in India is currently close to 90 million, but could triple to 300 million by 2020 as the use cases for digital transactions grow and new users from rural and semi-urban areas enter the market.
• Initiatives such as UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payments are driving greater interoperability between banks, independent of acquirer, payment provider or mobile app.
• Connected devices (Internet of Things) will further drive payments digitization – in India and globally – with around 30 billion connected devices anticipated globally by 2025.
• Cyberattacks cost India an estimated $4 billion annually, and could rise to $20 billion by 2025, with the digitization of payments presenting new challenges for cybersecurity.

India going Digital“India is undergoing an incredible transformation driven by the rapid digitalization of payments,” said Manish Patel, Vice President, ACI Worldwide. “The findings of our new research reinforce our view that flexible, scalable and reliable technology will be critical to the future of payments in India as the market continues to experience incredible growth.”

“we understand that rapid rise in internet users nationwide is spurring an increase in digital transactions. However, the Indian market unlike many Western nations is still to mature and remains threatened due to lower awareness levels,” continues Mahesh Patel, Group Chief Technology Officer, AGS Transact Technologies Limited.

“Hence, it is necessary that the rise in digital transactions remain holistic thereby supporting growth with scalable processing platform. Also, it should be accompanied by allied precautionary measures such as cyber security and fraud prevention.”

– paymentscardsandmobile.com –

Online research from Equifax, shows that using a debit or credit card with a PIN number is still the preferred method of payment for 42% of people in the UK. Contactless methods followed at 34%, with the vast majority of these respondents (31%) preferring a contactless card to using their phone or wearable technology (3%).

The survey, conducted with Gorkana, also highlighted that the majority of consumers (66%) are happy with the current £30 contactless payment limit and only 16% think it should be increased. Of the people keen to see a higher limit, 13% would like to see it increased by a maximum of £10, and 39% would like the limit to be set between £40 and £50.

When asked why they would use contactless rather than cash, 34% see the speed of the transaction as the main advantage and 21% said it’s more convenient than making a trip to a cash point. Only 16% of people feel that contactless payments are more secure than carrying cash.

The research found that 45% of consumers withdraw cash just once a month or less, yet 28% of people surveyed said they would never choose contactless payments over cash. Despite the rising popularity of using wearable technology like watches to make payments, 36% of Brits don’t expect this payment method will ever overtake cards.

“The rise in popularity of contactless and wearable payment methods is a hot topic right now but our research shows that retailers and service providers are going to have to accept a variety of payment types for some time to come,” says Sarah Lewis, Head of ID and Fraud UK at Equifax.

“Many consumers have been early adopters of contactless and wearable payments, and really value the convenience of these options, but others remain wary and prefer the more traditional means.

“Contactless payment is not without its risks and these results show that consumers are well aware of this. There has been talk about increasing the contactless payment limit but this would simply increase the incentive for criminals to steal contactless cards, resulting in higher levels of related fraudulent activity. Contactless and wearable payments will continue to grow in popularity, but the financial services industry has a lot of work to do to make customers completely comfortable with these options.”

– paymentscardsandmobile.com –

At present, financial and banking institutions in Vietnam are facing up to many challenges with a view to enhancing the security for cardholders and financial transactions. In 2017, there were many card frauds occurred, causing serious socio-economic damage. Not only that, banks deal with the warning of international card scheme that issuers have to bear the risk of issuing their magnetic stripe cards. In compliance with the requirements of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Vietnamese banks must complete the migration from magnetic stripe cards to chip cards under VCCS project by 2020.

With its 19 years of experience in developing and implementing card programs for the financial and banking sector, MK Smart understands the challenges and problems of banks in migrating to chip cards in accordance with SBV regulations. MK Smart and Infineon co-organized the workshop “Success Factor for VCCS Migration” on the morning of March 13 at Pullman Hanoi Hotel and March 15 at Riverside Palace Tp.Ho Chi Minh, to help banks migrate successfully in short period with optimal cost and satisfying all standards promulgated.

Encapsulated in a half-day seminar, experts from MK Smart and Infineon select the core issues directly related to the deployment of banks in the context of only 3-year left for the migration as regulated by the SBV, including:
• Review of the Roadmap and regulations of the SBV on the migration to chip cards in accordance with VCCS
• The role of MK Smart and Infineon in supporting banks to migrate
• Highlights of Infineon Chip products for contactless payment cards and multi-function payment cards
• Flexible migration solution packages based on budget of banks (Software; Hardware Systems and Services).
• Commitment of MK Smart and Infineon in consulting – providing and supporting banks to implement the VCCS migration.

MK Smart and Infineon expect that after the seminar, financial institutions will have more choices in accordance with their budget and card issuance capacity so that Vietnam banks could successfully migrate from magnetic stripe card to chip card under VCCS by 2020.