Bankrate reports that for the first time in recent history, credit card transactions are becoming more prevalent than debit card in the U.S.
According to The Nilson Report, a payments industry newsletter, credit cards increased their market share in purchase volume over debit and prepaid cards to 53.59 percent in 2014, up from 52.95 percent in 2013. Debit cards and prepaid cards held 42 percent and 4 percent market share last year, respectively.
Consumers retreated from credit cards, either voluntarily or involuntarily, during the recession when debit became the preferred payment method. What will be interesting to track are how current industry changes may impact this trend going forward. Including, will consumers use debit as much for mobile transactions, will debt – adverse millennials impact the credit to debit card use ratio, and will faster ACH payments have impact on credit and debit payments equally.
Overview by Sarah Gratto, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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