International purchase transactions (PTX) for Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards grew by 20.8% year-on-year (YOY) in the fourth quarter (4Q/18), compared to 15.8% YOY for 2017. International PTX for credit cards increased 14.8% YOY in 4Q/18, compared to 9.3% YOY for 2017. International PTX for debit cards rose 23.8% YOY in 4Q/18, compared to 21.7% YOY for 2017. (International data exclude U.S. market.)
In the fourth quarter gross international payment (credit + debit) card PTX for Visa and Mastercard came in at 44.40 billion, compared to 41.14 billion for the prior quarter and 36.75 billion in the year ago quarter, according to CardData.
Average International PTX
The average purchase transaction for international credit and debit cards combined is US$44.00.
For 4Q/18 international credit card PTX for Visa and Mastercard came in at 19.49 billion, compared to 18.42 billion for the prior quarter and 16.99 billion in the year ago quarter.
The average purchase transaction for international credit cards is US$80.01.
For the first quarter international debit card PTX for Visa and Mastercard came in at 24.47 billion, compared to 22.72 billion for the prior quarter and 19.76 billion in the year ago quarter.
The average purchase transaction for international debit cards is US$29.91.
Visa PTX
Visa’s 4Q/18 international credit card PTX rose 12.3% YOY, compared to 6.4% YOY in 2017. Visa reported international credit card PTX of 10.50 billion, compared to 10.0 billion for 3Q/18 and 9.35 billion for 4Q/17.
Visa’s 4Q/18 international debit card PTX rose 18.8% YOY, compared to 18.4% YOY for 2017. Visa reported international debit card PTX of 15.99 billion, compared to 14.96 billion for 3Q/18 and 13.46 billion for 4Q/17.
Mastercard PTX
Mastercard’s 4Q/18 international credit card PTX rose 11.2% YOY, compared to 13.7% YOY in 2017. Mastercard reported international credit card PTX of 8.50 billion, compared to 8.43 billion for 3Q/18 and 7.64 billion for 4Q/17.
Mastercard’s 4Q/18 international debit card PTX rose 34.5% YOY, compared to 29.4% YOY for 2017. Mastercard reported international debit card PTX of 8.48 billion, compared to 7.76 billion for 3Q/18 and 6.30 billion for 4Q/17.
Visa + Mastercard International Payment Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 20897 million
4Q/16: 31732 million
4Q/17: 36746 million
4Q/18: 44406 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Visa + Mastercard International Payment Card PTX
Visa + Mastercard International Credit Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 12517 million
4Q/16: 15498 million
4Q/17: 16985 million
4Q/18: 19491 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Visa + Mastercard International Credit Card PTX
Visa + Mastercard International Debit Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 8380 million
4Q/16: 16239 million
4Q/17: 19761 million
4Q/18: 24465 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Visa + Mastercard International Debit Card PTX
Visa International Credit Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 6506 million
4Q/16: 8781 million
4Q/17: 9345 million
4Q/18: 10496 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Visa International Credit Card PTX
Visa International Debit Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 4134 million
4Q/16: 11367 million
4Q/17: 13457 million
4Q/18: 15985 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Visa International Debit Card PTX
Mastercard International Credit Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 6011 million
4Q/16: 6717 million
4Q/17: 7640 million
4Q/18: 8995 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Mastercard International Credit Card PTX
Mastercard International Debit Card Purchase Transactions
4Q/15: 4246 million
4Q/16: 4872 million
4Q/17: 6304 million
4Q/18: 8480 million
Additional (Current & Historical) Quarterly Mastercard International Debit Card PTX
All Data Revisions as of 04/08/19
Source: Visa; Mastercard; RAM Research; CardData