Recently published research from Timetric, "Greece's Cards and Payments Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Trends, Size, Drivers, Strategies, Products and Competitive Landscape", is now available at Fast Market Research

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/14/2014 --Greece was the most severely affected country by the eurozone crisis, mainly as a result of government overspending, tax evasion and a budget deficit that eventually spiraled out of control. The crisis also affected the entire banking system; most banks faced liquidity problems and loan defaults, which had a direct impact on the card payments channel.
In terms of the number of cards in circulation, the prepaid and debit card categories registered healthy growth at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 15.44% and 3.29% respectively during the review period (2009-2013). With the Greek economy anticipated to recover slowly over the forecast period (2014-2018), the prepaid and debit card categories are expected to grow at a healthy pace and register CAGRs of 21.80% and 4.62% respectively, while the credit and charge card categories continue to decline, albeit more slowly than during the review period.
A well-developed mobile market and the growing popularity of smartphones have led to robust growth in mobile payments (m-payments), which posted a review-period CAGR of 41.55%, increasing from EUR26.2 million (US$36.3 million) in 2009 to EUR105.0 million (US$139.2 million) in 2013. Over the forecast period, the value of m-payments is anticipated to further increase from EUR149.2 million (US$201.2 million) in 2014 to EUR803.0 million (US$1.1 billion) in 2018, at a CAGR of 52.32%.
Banks such as National Bank of Greece (NGB), Alpha Bank and Eurobank Ergasias are partnering with merchants and online retailers to offer secure payment facilities, enabling customers pay online or via mobile phones linked to bank accounts. As a result, e-commerce recorded a review-period CAGR of 43.75% and grew from EUR962.3 million (US$1.3 billion) in 2009 to EUR4.1 billion (US$5.4 billion) in 2013. It is anticipated to post a forecast-period CAGR of 32.94% to reach EUR18.0 billion (US$25.4 billion) by the end of 2018.

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Report Highlights

- In terms of the number of cards in circulation, Greece's card payments channel posted a review-period CAGR of -2.92%, decreasing from 15.6 million cards in 2009 to 13.9 million in 2013, and is expected to post a forecast-period CAGR of 4.17% to reach 16.6 million cards in 2018.
- In terms of number of cards in circulation, Greece's card payments channel was dominated by the debit cards category in 2013, accounting for 74.3% of the channel. The second-largest channel share was held by credit cards 20.9%, followed by prepaid cards with 4.5%. The charge cards category held the smallest channel share of 0.3%.
- In terms of number of cards in circulation, the prepaid cards category is expected to register the highest forecast-period CAGR of 21.80%, while the debit cards category is expected to register the second-highest CAGR of 4.62%. However, the credit and charge card categories are expected to decline at forecast-period CAGRs of -5.64% and -4.16% respectively.

Companies Mentioned in this Report: National Bank of Greece, Eurobank Ergasias, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, HSBC, Citibank Greece, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa, American Express

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