The Future of Debit Cards: A Global Perspective

In a new report, " " Celent looks at banks key opportunities and challenges across the globe. The report is based on interviews with over 40 banks, networks, and regulators across 20 countries from Latin America, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.

Despite significant market disparities across the world, Celent points out that there is considerable room for growth for regular debit and pre-paid debit card products in both developed and developing countries. The report also discusses the recurring challenges faced by banks, including the need to end subsidizing debit cards in a number of countries, to drive customers away from the ATM, and to resist merchants and regulators assaults against the interchange fees.

Among the future trends anticipated, Celent expects further consolidation among regional and domestic debit networks, with Visa and MasterCard benefiting from the trend. Meanwhile, the rising clout of Visa and MasterCard will face an increasing amount of resistance from merchants and regulators. "What Visa and MasterCard debit products may achieve defies the imagination, from helping to bank large segments of the global population currently unbanked, to improving the fate of cash-based economies. However, defending and strengthening the interchange fees will be paramount to achieving these goals" comments

Celent expects more merchants to support the development of their own debit networks, the resilience of signature debit in the U.S., and a migration of fraud at the point-of-sale from EMV-compliant countries to magnetic-stripe signature-based debit card markets such as the U.S.

The 29-page report contains 20 figures.

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of Celent Communications' Retail Banking research service can download the report electronically by clicking on the icon to the left. Non-members should contact info@celent.com for more information.