Visa (VS) and MasterCard (MC) credit card activity ramped up in the first quarter, as Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) on U.S.-issued credit and charge cards jumped 9.5% year-on-year (Y/Y) in the first quarter of 2014 (1Q/2014), according to CardData. VS’ U.S. credit card GDV was up 10.2% to $281 billion, while MC’s U.S. credit and charge card GDV increased 8.1% in 1Q/2014 to $145 billion. The first quarter growth was a pickup for MasterCard, the highest level over the past five quarters.
Purchase Dollar Volume (PDV) for MC credit and charge card programs increased 8.1% Y/Y to $138 billion in 1Q/2014. VS 1Q/2014 PDV grew 10.6% to $269 billion. The average credit/charge card purchase ticket for MC increased from $85.45 one-year ago to $91.33 in 1Q/2014. Meanwhile, the average VS U.S. credit card purchase ticket rose from $85.82 one-year ago to $88.32 in 1Q/2014.
VS Cash Dollar Volume (CDV) for U.S. credit cards edged up 1.4% Y/Y to $12 billion, while CDV for MC soared 8.1% Y/Y in 1Q/2014 to $7 billion. One-year ago CDV for VS was approximately $12 billion and for MC it was approximately $6 billion.
For 1Q/2014 VS had an estimated 286 million Cards-In-Force (CIF) and MC had 181 million CIF. VS longer reports CIF on a quarterly basis. At year-end 2013, VS had 288 million U.S. CIFs.
MC had 147 million credit/charge card accounts in the U.S. as of March 31, 2014, while VS had an estimated 215 million credit card accounts in the U.S., according to CardData.
Based on PDV, excluding American Express and Discover, VS retains a 66% share of the U.S. credit card market.
RAM Research projects U.S. credit card GDV will grew 9.6% in the second quarter to $466 billion.
+NOTES:+
VISA – Regional total volume, payments volume and cash volume, and the number of payments transactions, cash transactions, accounts and cards for cards carrying the Visa, Visa Electron and Interlink brands. Card counts include PLUS proprietary cards. Nominal and constant dollar growth rates over prior years are provided for volume-based data.
Payments volume represents the aggregate dollar amount of purchases made with cards carrying the Visa, Visa Electron and Interlink brands for the relevant period; and cash volume represents the aggregate dollar amount of cash disbursements obtained with these cards for the relevant period and includes the impact of balance transfers and convenience checks; but excludes proprietary PLUS volume. Total volume represents payments volume plus cash volume.
Visa payment products are comprised of credit and debit programs, and data relating to each program is included in the tables. Debit programs include Visa’s signature based and Interlink (PIN) debit programs.
The data presented is based on results reported quarterly by Visa’s financial institution clients on their operating certificates. Estimates may be utilized if data is unavailable. On occasion, previously presented information may be updated.
MASTERCARD – MasterCard’s GDV represents purchase volume plus cash volume and includes the impact of balance transfers and convenience checks; “purchase volume” means the aggregate dollar amount of purchases made with MasterCard-branded cards for the relevant period; and “cash volume” means the aggregate dollar amount of cash disbursements obtained with MasterCard-branded cards for the relevant period. The number of cards includes virtual cards, which are MasterCard-branded payment accounts that do not generally have physical cards associated with them.
The MasterCard payment product is comprised of credit, charge and debit programs, and data relating to each type of program is included in the tables. Debit programs include MasterCard-branded debit programs where the primary means of cardholder validation at the point of sale is for cardholders either to sign a sales receipt or enter a PIN. The data include information with respect to transactions involving MasterCard-branded cards that are not processed by MasterCard and transactions for which MasterCard does not earn significant revenues.
Information denominated in U.S. dollars is calculated by applying an established U.S. dollar/local currency exchange rate for each local currency in which MasterCard volumes are reported. These exchange rates are calculated on a quarterly basis using the average exchange rate for each quarter. MasterCard reports period-over-period rates of change in purchase volume and cash volume on the basis of local currency information, in order to eliminate the impact of changes in the value of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar in calculating such rates of change.
+RESOURCES:+
For more data on the U.S. Visa and MasterCard credit card market access CardData®. For information and commentary on the U.S. Visa and MasterCard credit card market visit the searchable CardFlash® Library of more than 58,000 articles published since 1995. Custom RAM Research® projects on the U.S. Visa and MasterCard credit card market are available exclusively through CardWeb.com.®
