Credit Card Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034

This report describes and explains the credit card market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period, and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global credit card market reached a value of nearly $608.71 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.01% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $608.71 billion in 2024 to $935.19 billion in 2029 at a rate of 8.97%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.25% from 2029 and reach $1.39 trillion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the Rising influence of monetary policies and central bank decisions, availability of low-cost credit cards, growing rewards and loyalty programs and growing adoption of buy-now-pay-later schemes. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were stringent regulatory policies and rising consumer debt.

Going forward, the rise in e-commerce, growth in contactless payments, rising smartphone penetration and growth in international travel will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the credit card market in the future include fraud and cybersecurity concerns and high interest rates.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the credit card market, accounting for 32.09% or $195.31 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the credit card market will be Asia-Pacific and Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 11.65% and 9.99% respectively. These will be followed by North America and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 8.55% and 7.94% respectively.

The global credit card market is fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 9.71% of the total market in 2023. Capital One Financial Corporation was the largest competitor with a 4.60% share of the market, followed by American Express Company with 0.65%, JPMorgan Chase & Co with 0.64%, Citigroup Inc with 0.62%, Bank of America Corporation with 0.60%, Synchrony Financial with 0.56%, Bank of China Limited with 0.54%, UBS Group AG with 0.52%, Barclays plc with 0.50% and U.S. Bancorp with 0.48%.

The credit card market is segmented by type into reward card, credit builder card, travel credit card, balance transfer card and other types. The reward card market was the largest segment of the credit card market segmented by type, accounting for 40.92% or $249.09 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the credit builder card segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the credit card market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 11.13% during 2024-2029.

The credit card market is segmented by card type into base, signature and platinum. The base market was the largest segment of the credit card market segmented by card type, accounting for 53.24% or $324.07 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the platinum segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the credit card market segmented by card type, at a CAGR of 12.46% during 2024-2029.

The credit card market is segmented by service provider into Visa, Mastercard, Unionpay and other service providers. The Visa market was the largest segment of the credit card market segmented by service provider, accounting for 37.14% or $226.04 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the Unionpay segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the credit card market segmented by service provider, at a CAGR of 12.95% during 2024-2029.

The top opportunities in the credit card market segmented by type will arise in the reward card segment, which will gain $132.4 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the credit card market segmented by card type will arise in the base segment, which will gain $128.34 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the credit card market segmented by service provider will arise in the Visa segment, which will gain $106.91 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The credit card market size will gain the most in the USA at $74.26 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the credit card market include focus on enhancing financial services through strategic partnerships and innovation, focus on elevating luxury and exclusivity with premium metal credit cards, focus on empowering small businesses with tailored financial solutions and global sourcing benefits and focus on enhancing travel experiences with exclusive rewards and cost-saving benefits.

Player-adopted strategies in the credit card market include focus on expanding business capabilities through partnership and focus on expanding manufacturing capabilities through innovative product launch.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the credit card companies to focus premium metal cards to target high-spending consumers, focus on expanding tailored credit card solutions for business users, focus on developing specialized travel credit cards, focus on the credit builder card segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships for distribution expansion, focus on developing competitive and flexible pricing strategies, focus on targeted digital marketing campaigns, focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations, focus on targeting consumer segments with tailored solutions.

Major Market Trends

• Enhancing Financial Services Through Strategic Partnerships and Innovation
• Elevating Luxury and Exclusivity With Premium Metal Credit Cards
• Empowering Small Businesses With Tailored Financial Solutions and Global Sourcing Benefits
• Enhancing Travel Experiences With Exclusive Rewards and Cost-Saving Benefits