Payment Card Technology Spending to Reach $13.6 Billion by 2029

A new study from Juniper Research has found that spending on card technology by card issuers will rise significantly. It predicts that spending will jump from $9.8 billion globally in 2024 to $13 billion in 2029.

This 39% growth will be driven by banks and other card issuers attracting new customers with differentiated card types. By using premium options such as metal or wooden cards, banks can differentiate themselves in the highly congested banking market. The research found that in an increasingly competitive banking market, card manufacturers must offer a broad range of solutions, which allow banks and other issuers to choose offerings that match their wider positioning and objectives.

The research found that payment card shipments will stagnate over the next five years, falling by 2% globally between 2024 and 2029. As levels of financial inclusion significantly rise, fewer new accounts are opened reducing organic growth. However, the advent of new card types will help to offset this. For example, metal cards are expected to see an increase in annual shipments of 178% over the next five years, reaching almost 200 million annually by 2029.

"Banks need to create custom card programs that can target specific user bases, to sustain their growth. For card manufacturers, this means both developing distinctive card offerings and offering services such as modern card issuing platforms to provide a comprehensively effective user experience. If banks fail to introduce new offerings, they will rapidly lose out to more distinctive competitors,” explained research author Nick Maynard.