Australia Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - Q1 2026 Update

Accelerated shift toward “wallet-ready” prepaid use (tokenisation and mobile acceptance)

• Prepaid value in Australia is increasingly designed for use via mobile wallets and contactless rails, rather than as a standalone physical prepaid card. In practice, this means prepaid programs (especially gift/incentive and controlled-spend) are being built to work cleanly in tap-to-pay journeys and online checkout flows, reducing reliance on physical distribution and activation journeys.
• Card payments dominate everyday spend, and mobile wallet usage has risen sharply over recent years (as highlighted in submissions into the RBA’s current review, which reference RBA survey-based calculations on the growth of mobile wallet usage). This “default-to-card-and-wallet” consumer behaviour pushes prepaid products to be wallet-compatible to remain relevant in e-commerce and omnichannel retail.
• This will intensify: prepaid programs that are not digitally provisionable will look operationally dated (higher friction, higher servicing cost, weaker engagement). Expect more prepaid propositions to be marketed and managed as “digital balances” with card credentials, rather than as cards first.

Scam and fraud pressure are forcing tighter controls on prepaid and gift-card values

• Australian scam conditions are increasing scrutiny on value-transfer instruments (including prepaid/gift cards), leading to stronger controls such as improved verification, transaction monitoring, merchant rules, and consumer warnings at the point of purchase. This is not theoretical. Scamwatch and the National Anti-Scam Centre continue to publish material showing the scale and evolution of scam harm affecting Australians.
• Scam losses and scam-enabled purchasing journeys (especially during peak retail seasons and online shopping surges) have become a policy and operational priority. This creates pressure on retailers, issuers, and program managers to harden controls while maintaining a usable customer experience.
• This will intensify: expect increased “cost of control” (KYC/verification, monitoring, chargeback handling, customer support) and tighter program governance requirements. Programs that cannot demonstrate strong controls may face partner risk aversion (merchants and issuers becoming less willing to support them).

Card-cost and surcharging reforms are reshaping the economics of prepaid acceptance

• Australia is in an active policy cycle on merchant card payment costs and surcharging, which directly affects prepaid usage wherever prepaid rides standard card rails. The RBA’s July 2025 consultation proposes significant changes, including removing surcharging on most debit/credit card payments and lowering interchange fees; it also raises transparency expectations around interchange.
• The RBA’s view is that, as card usage has risen and cash has fallen materially over time, surcharging is less effective and harder to enforce, motivating a rethink of the framework. Industry submissions (including from FinTech Australia and the Australian Banking Association) indicate real business-model implications across payments providers if surcharging is constrained or removed.
• This will intensify as reforms are implemented: if reforms proceed, prepaid programs may benefit from simpler consumer pricing at checkout, but issuers/program managers may face pressure to adapt pricing models as interchange and surcharge settings change. Expect a stronger emphasis on efficiency, routing/acceptance strategy, and merchant value propositions.

Corporate spend control and “account-linked card” propositions are expanding the prepaid-like space

• Australian businesses are increasingly adopting card-based spend controls (virtual and physical cards, limits, merchant-category controls) that operate like prepaid in practice, especially for expense management and controlled disbursements. Providers such as Airwallex promote multi-currency business cards with configurable controls, reflecting demand for governance and real-time management.
• Firms are prioritising cost control and auditability for distributed workforces and subscription-heavy operating spend. At the same time, compliance expectations are rising: AUSTRAC activity (including recent enforcement scrutiny of payments firms) keeps AML governance and transaction monitoring on the executive agenda.
• This trend should intensify in B2B, particularly around virtual cards and policy-based controls (e.g., limits by category/time/vendor). But compliance capability will become a gating factor provider with weaker governance will find scaling harder as counterparties demand stronger assurance.

Competitive Landscape of the Australian Prepaid Card Market

Current state of prepaid card competition

• Australia’s prepaid ecosystem is competitive but structured around distribution, compliance, and acceptance rather than solely on the “number of issuers.” Prepaid value commonly rides the same rails as the RBA’s current review of surcharging and interchange, making regulatory settings a direct competitive variable.
• The market also operates under heightened scrutiny for scams and AML violations, which underscores the importance of governance maturity for program managers and issuers. As a result, operational capability (monitoring, controls, dispute handling) increasingly differentiates credible providers from marginal ones.

Key players and new entrants

• Key participants span banks, retailers, and specialist program managers/processors that enable gift, incentive, and controlled-spend programs. Australia also has an active fintech layer offering corporate cards and spend controls that function like prepaid in how value is managed and restricted.
• New entrants tend to enter via partnerships and licensing pathways rather than building full-stack issuance independently, because regulatory expectations (AML/CTF, monitoring, consumer protection) increase time-to-scale. AUSTRAC’s recent scrutiny of payments firms reinforces that governance is not optional for challengers operating at volume.

Recent partnerships

• Recent competitive moves in Australia skew toward partnerships that strengthen rails, controls, or distribution rather than “brand-only” launches. The RBA consultation process itself is triggering ecosystem coordination as networks, fintech bodies, and banks position around possible changes to surcharging and interchange.
• In parallel, industry bodies are pushing newer evidence and category narratives (e.g., gift/prepaid industry reporting and advocacy), which support more standardised discussions with merchants and regulators. Where partnerships form, they increasingly prioritise compliance assurance and checkout experience.

Mergers and acquisitions

• There have been fewer headline-prepaid M&A events in the last 12 months than partnership- and regulatory-driven change. The more material “consolidation pressure” is that economic and compliance-based providers with weaker unit economics or weaker governance capability face higher barriers to renewal with issuers and merchants.
• If reforms reduce the ability to surcharge and compress interchange, consolidation incentives may increase, as smaller programs seek scale efficiencies through shared processing, shared compliance tooling, or acquisition by larger platforms. This is particularly relevant for providers exposed to high service costs (fraud ops, customer support, disputes).

How the competitive landscape is expected to evolve (next 2-4 years)

• Competitive intensity is likely to rise around (1) acceptance economics and (2) governance quality. If the RBA proceeds with reforms that remove most surcharging and reduce interchange, pricing and product design will need to adjust, and the advantage will skew toward providers that can operate profitably with lower per-transaction economics.
• At the same time, scam and AML expectations will continue to increase operational requirements, raising the minimum viable capability for prepaid programs. Over time, this typically favours providers with mature monitoring, clear KYC/verification approaches, and strong merchant/issue trust.

Regulatory changes

• The most consequential development is the RBA’s Review of Retail Payments Regulation's focus on merchant card payment costs and surcharging (July 2025 consultation), including proposals to remove surcharging on most card payments, lower interchange, and increase interchange transparency.
• In parallel, AUSTRAC has continued to advance AML/CTF rulemaking work (including exposure draft materials) and has demonstrated an enforcement posture toward payments firms, reinforcing governance expectations for any scaled prepaid or stored-value-adjacent program.

Overview of Prepaid Cards and Digital Wallet Market

Prepaid Card Market Analysis

• Metrics Assessed: The study examines the prepaid card market through various lenses, including transaction value, transaction volume, average transaction value, load value, and the total number of cards in circulation.
• Card Types: A distinction is made between open-loop and closed-loop prepaid cards, providing insights into their respective market shares and growth trajectories.
• Usage Categories: The report segments the prepaid card market into various categories such as general-purpose cards, business and administrative expense cards, travel forex cards, and meal cards.
• Business Segmentation: Further segmentation is provided based on business size and type, including small-scale businesses, mid-tier businesses, enterprise-level businesses, government entities, and retail consumers.
• Sector-Specific Applications: The analysis extends to specific sectors utilizing prepaid cards, including transit and toll payments, healthcare and wellness services, social security and other government benefit programs, fuel purchases, utilities, and more.

Digital Wallet Market Insights

• Key Segments: The digital wallet market is dissected across five primary spending categories: retail shopping, travel, entertainment and gaming, dining establishments, and recharge and bill payments.
• Performance Metrics: For each segment, the report evaluates transaction value, transaction volume, and average transaction value, offering a granular view of consumer spending behaviors.
• Retail Spend Breakdown: An in-depth analysis is provided for retail spending via digital wallets, covering categories such as food and grocery, health and beauty products, apparel and footwear, books, music and video, consumer electronics, pharmacy and wellness, gas stations, restaurants and bars, toys, kids and baby products, services, and other miscellaneous categories.

Virtual Prepaid Card Market Segmentation

• Categories Analyzed: The virtual prepaid card market is segmented into key categories, including general-purpose cards, gift cards, entertainment and gaming cards, teen and campus cards, business and administrative expense cards, payroll cards, meal cards, travel forex cards, transit and toll cards, social security and other government benefit program cards, fuel cards, utilities, and other miscellaneous categories.
• Performance Evaluation: For each category, the report assesses transaction value, providing insights into the adoption and usage patterns of virtual prepaid cards across different consumer segments.

Consumer Usage Trends

The report delves into consumer behavior concerning prepaid cards, segmented by:

• Age Groups: Identifying usage patterns across different age demographics.
• Income Levels: Analyzing how income brackets influence prepaid card adoption and usage.
• Gender: Examining differences in usage trends between genders.

Report Scope

Australia Prepaid Payment Instrument Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card vs. Digital Wallet

Australia Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Segments

Australia Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast by Key Segments

• Retail Shopping (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Travel (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Restaurant (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Entertainment and Gaming (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Recharge and Bill Payment (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)

Australia Digital Wallet Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Australia Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Load Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards
• Market Share Analysis by Functional Attributes - Open Loop vs. Closed Loop
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card Categories

Australia Open Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Australia Closed Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Australia Prepaid Card Consumer Usage Trends

• By Age Group
• By Income Group
• By Gender

Australia Prepaid Card Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Australia General Purpose Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Australia Gift Card Market Size and Forecast

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Gift Card
• By Closed Loop Gift Card

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail Consumer Segment
• By Corporate Consumer Segment

Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Retail Categories

• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Gifting Occasion
• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Purchase Location

Australia Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Australia Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card
• By Closed Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card

Australia Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Australia Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Australia Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Australia Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail
• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Australia Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Australia Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Australia Fuel Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Australia Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Australia Virtual Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Virtual Prepaid Card Categories

Australia Virtual Prepaid Card Market Size by Key Categories

• General Purpose Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Gift Card - Transaction Value
• Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Teen and Campus Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Payroll Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Meal Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Travel Forex Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Fuel Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value
• Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value

Reasons to Buy

• In-depth understanding of Australia’s prepaid card and digital wallet market dynamics: Gain a structured view of market opportunity, operating models, and competitive dynamics across 80+ segments and sub-segments, spanning prepaid cards (open-loop and closed-loop), digital wallets, wallet-linked prepaid credentials, and virtual prepaid cards. Analysis focuses on how stored value is issued, funded, used, and regulated in Australia’s payments ecosystem.
• Understand Australia’s market opportunities and key trends with forward-looking forecasts (2021-2030): Assess historical performance and future outlook for prepaid cards and digital wallets using core KPIs such as transaction value, transaction volume, active users, and average transaction value, with clear separation between consumer and commercial use cases and wallet-based versus card-based spend.
• Develop Australia specific prepaid and digital wallet strategies: Identify high-growth segments and structurally resilient use cases to support market-entry, expansion, or optimisation strategies. Evaluate Australia-specific drivers, constraints, and risks, including regulation, macroeconomic conditions, and adoption patterns, to inform realistic, market-aligned strategic decisions.
• Detailed analysis of Australia’s market share by key players across prepaid and wallet categories: Understand competitive positioning through issuer and platform-level market share analysis across major prepaid card types, digital wallets, and virtual prepaid instruments. Coverage highlights how banks, fintechs, and wallet providers compete across funding sources, acceptance reach, and use case depth.
• Insights into Australia’s consumer attitudes and payment behaviour: Analyse how consumers use prepaid cards, virtual prepaid cards, and digital wallets for everyday spend, e-commerce, subscriptions, and controlled payments. Understand behavioural shifts, frequency of use, and value per transaction to support ROI optimisation, product design, and targeted go-to-market strategies.