Cards Market Report 2026

The cards market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $352.07 billion in 2025 to $377.27 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to expansion of banking penetration, increasing consumer reliance on card-based payments, growth of organized retail establishments, rising government benefit card programs, advancements in card security technologies.

The cards market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $513.22 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing shift toward digital-first banking, rising adoption of virtual and tokenized cards, growing focus on personalized card offerings, expansion of cashless economies, increasing integration of cards with digital wallets. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing adoption of contactless and digital cards, rising use of private label and loyalty cards, growing demand for secure payment authentication, expansion of multi-functional card offerings, enhanced focus on fraud prevention technologies.

The growing demand for credit cards is expected to drive the expansion of the cards market during the forecast period. Demand for consumer credit products often becomes more pronounced during periods of economic uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when delayed payments and job losses increased reliance on credit to manage everyday expenses. Rising outstanding credit card balances indicate that consumers are increasingly using credit cards to cover routine financial needs. For example, in August 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a US-based non-governmental organization, the number of open credit card accounts in the United States reached 578.35 million in the second quarter of 2023, while total outstanding credit card balances exceeded US $1.03 trillion for the first time on record, reflecting a quarter-over-quarter increase. Therefore, the rising demand for credit cards is contributing to the growth of the cards market.

Major companies operating in the cards market are introducing eco-friendly products, such as debit cards manufactured using recovered ocean-bound plastic (ROBP), to address the growing demand for sustainable payment solutions. ROBP-based debit cards are designed to reduce environmental impact by repurposing plastic waste collected before it reaches oceans. For instance, in February 2024, Federal Bank, an India-based private sector bank, launched RuPay-backed NCMC Wallet Debit Cards. These contactless debit cards allow users to make quick payments at NCMC-enabled locations such as metro stations and buses by simply tapping the card on a reader. The cards support stored-value payments of up to ₹2,000, in line with RBI regulations, enabling seamless and digitized travel payments across multiple transport modes. To use offline NCMC functionality, customers must activate the contactless feature through mobile banking, internet banking, or IVR and load funds via metro customer care centers or linked savings accounts. Once activated and loaded, users can tap the card at entry and exit points, eliminating the need for separate tickets while viewing available balances directly on terminal screens.

In January 2024, Visa Inc., a US-based payment card services corporation, acquired Pismo for an undisclosed amount. Through this acquisition, Visa aimed to strengthen its core banking and issuer processing capabilities by leveraging Pismo’s cloud-native platform. The move supports Visa’s strategy to enable a broader range of card types and emerging payment methods while enhancing scalability and flexibility for financial institutions. Pismo is a South America-based provider of cloud-native issuer processing and core banking solutions.

Major companies operating in the cards market are JP Morgan Chase & Co., The Bank of America Corporation, Bank of Baroda Ltd., Citibank NA, Wells Fargo & Company, American Express Company, United Services Automobile Association, Capital One Financial Corporation, Barclays US, Visa Inc., BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., Mastercard Incorporated, HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Limited, Discover Financial Services, SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited, Axis Bank Limited, The PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Total System Services Inc., Navy Federal Credit Union, Green Dot Corporation, NetSpend Holdings Inc., UniRush LLC, Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the cards market in 2025. Western Europe was the second largest region in the global card market share. The regions covered in the cards market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the cards market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The card market consists of revenues earned by entities that are engaged in storing, processing, and transmitting payment card data. This market covers issuing and acquiring banks, card processing and issuing companies, and others. Revenue generated from the card market includes all processing and service fees levied by banks and financial institutions for processing card-based payments. It excludes interest charged by banks on payment cards. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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