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Summary of our market study
The global prepaid card market has seen significant trends and growth from 2020 onwards. According to Worldpayglobal data, by 2022, e-wallets will dominate online payment methods worldwide, accounting for 49%, compared with just 29% in Europe.
Worldwide, their use in physical outlets is expected to remain relatively stable at around 3.4% in 2020, with a slight increase expected in North America, Europe and Latin America.
In physical outlets, there is also a clear shift towards e-wallets, with growth forecast from 25.7% in 2020 to 43% by 2026.
Regionally, the Middle East and Africa lead the way in prepaid card use, with a market share of 4% online and 6.2% in outlets in 2020.
The French prepaid card market reflects this diversity and accessibility, with key players such as Nickel de62 million in sales, and showing strong, steady growth with around 3.6 million accounts at September 30, 2023, representing a 25% increase on the same period in 2022.
Cashless payments have also increased, reaching 30.6 billion transactions in 2022, with bankcards the first choice of French consumers, rising from 56.9% to 59.6% of cashless transactions.
Contactless payments have also increased, accounting for 61% of proximity card payments in 2022.
demand trends and emerging trends
The French prepaid bankcard market, reflecting a global trend towards alternative payment methods, shows a growing pree-wallets and regular use of debit and credit cards.
The use of e-wallets in France, while not as dominant as worldwide, still represents a significant share of almost 30%.
The market is gradually moving away from traditional bank payments towards digital wallets. However, bankcards continue to dominate cashless transactions in France.
Demand for prepaid bankcards meets a variety of consumer needs. They are ideal for parents who want to teach their children about financial management from an early age. What's more, these cards are becoming highly appreciated gifts, in line with the popularity of gift cards.
In France, the prepaid card landscape stands out for its diversity and accessibility. Sought-after for their convenience and control over spending, these cards appeal to a wide audience, including the unbanked and those concerned about the security of online transactions.
France has seen a growth in non-liquid means of payment, particularly since the health crisis, with card payments now accounting for over 60% of all cashless payments. French consumers have a high level of confidence in non-liquid means of payment, with bankcards being the most reliable and widely used, while prepaid cards enjoy a high level of trust (89%). This confidence is underpinned by the steady number of e-money establishments, which has tripled between 2014 and 2021.
The increasing use of contactless payments is growing in France, reaching 60% in volume by 2022. The preservation of anonymity when making a purchase is also a factor in the development of these cards.
The various costs associated with prepaid bankcards, from management fees to withdrawals, foreign transactions and card loading, are decisive factors in consumer choice. The market offers a wide range of products, from standard prepaid offers to more specific products such as payroll.
The prepaid banking card landscape is dotted with a wide variety of players, from classic banks to neobanks
- Nickel - Nickel, founded by Hughes Lebret, is one of the most advanced players in this field. The company belongs to the BNP Paribas group and is present in Germany, Spain, Belgium and Portugal.
- Revolut - Neobank pioneer Revolut continues to symbolize the neobanking revolution.
- N26 - Pioneering neobank N26 has attracted attention for its user-friendly platform.
- PCS - prepaid card specialists like PCS offer a plethora of options, from PCS Chrome to PCS Black, all tailored to different consumer habits and needs.
- Transcash - focused on financial inclusion Transcash has positioned itself as a facilitator of financial inclusion, with its Access and Max offers aimed at people outside the traditional banking sphere.
- Veritas - Priority to cardholder security
- La Banque Postale - La Banque Postale, with its historical roots and modern vision, did not hesitate to enter the prepaid market.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market overview and definition
According to the Banque de France,prepaid bank cards are payment cards that store electronic money. Prepaid cards are defined as "cards that allow you to have a limited amount of money at your disposal". They are reserved exclusively for private individuals, and some of them are linked to a payment account rather than a real bank account. One of the major differences is that with these accounts, there are no authorized overdraft facilities. Gift cards", "reloadable cards" or "cards for protected persons" are prepaid cards, and the term "reloadable card" has most recently replaced "prepaid bank card". They can be multi-purpose, or have a specific use.
There are many reasons why a consumer might use a prepaid card rather than a more conventional card. Here is a non-exhaustive list:
- For children's education: There is no minimum age for using a prepaid card. This means that parents who want to start educating their children in money management can offer them without risk, as there is no overdraft.
- For gifts: They're a great gift idea, just like the gift cards offered by major retailers.
- Abroad: They can be used anywhere in the world, which means fewer complications in the event of theft.
- For compulsive spenders: These cards do not allow overdrafts
- For those who don't have a bank account: You don't need to have a bank account, and no credit check is carried out before the card is issued.
Proportionally speaking, payment cards are not one of the most widely used means of payment, but two features have made them popular: come prepaid bankcards are available from tobacconists or convenience stores, and it is also possible to own a card anonymously. However, anonymity has raised many questions, and restrictions have been introduced.
The dematerialization of payment methods with the rise of FinTech and neobanks is forcing prepaid bankcards to reinvent themselves, but they are not lacking in creativity, since since the confinement due to the health crisis and the increase in online purchases, prepaid bankcards are presenting themselves as a solution for securing purchases.
1.2 A fast-growing global market
Payment methods worldwide and in Europe
Distribution of online payment methodsWorld, ****/****, as a percentage
Source: ****
When it comes to online payments, there is a notable variation in payment method preference between the global and European scales. on a global scale, the use of e-wallets is significantly higher than in Europe, where ...
1.3 A fragmented French market
Overview of the French prepaid card market
The French prepaid bank card market ischaracterized by its accessibility and diversity. These cards, which are available to everyone regardless of income or banking status, stand out for their ease of use and security. They are particularly well-suited to people who want to control ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 The French and means of payment
Distribution of payment methods
The year **** marked a continued increase in the use of non-liquid payment methods, a trend that began with the health crisis. Within the real economy, **.* billion transactions were recorded , totaling around **,*** billion euros. This represents a significant increase on ****, when there were **.* billion transactions totaling **,*** billion ...
2.2 Bank card habits
the bankcard continues to gain ground among payment methods, showing growth in **** in both number of transactions and total value, with increases of **% and **% respectively. Despite this upward trend, the total amount of fraud on cards issued in France has stabilized at *** million euros. This stabilization is mainly attributed to the ...
2.3 Other uses for prepaid bankcards: banking independence for young people, foreigners, people in financial difficulty, etc...
One of the raisons d'être of a prepaid bank card is the access it gives to people in difficulty, whether they are unbanked or bank-deprived (***).
The unbanked
In France, we have seen that in ****, *% of the population will be unbanked, which represents * million French people[***].
The unbanked
A person may ...
2.4 Other uses for prepaid bankcards: banking independence for young people, foreigners, etc...
Prepaid bankcards can therefore be a way of helping people in difficulty, for whom this method is the only way of gaining access to a payment card, but they are not the only ones for whom prepaid bankcards are of interest.
*) For young people:
As children reach adolescence, they start ...
2.5 Prepaid cards: a double-edged sword against fraud
Prepaid cards: the ideal tool for fraud?
The use of prepaid cards, while convenient, has proven to be a channel for various frauds, largely due to the anonymity they allow. Since ****, restrictions have been introduced to limit such abuses, such as money laundering.
After Sala Abdeslam used these cards in the ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A complex structure for prepaid bankcards: payment card and e-money card
The prepaid card has different statuses, and this is reflected in a report by the Banque de France, theObservatoire de la sécurité des moyens de paiement l'épargne réglementée, where the prepaid card appears in several definitions:
"The payment card is a category of payment instrument offering ...
3.2 Prepaid card production and use
Now that we've grasped the concept and category of prepaid cards, let's take a closer look at how they are produced and used:
Production
The bank card is a rectangular piece of PVC (***) containing a chip, a magnetic strip and a number of markings required for security. The main production stages ...
3.3 Main distribution channels
Prepaid cards can be distributed through various channels:
Bank: if the card is associated with a bank account Internet: after signing up with an online bank or neobank, the card is simply delivered to your home, a tobacconist's or a retail outlet. At atobacconist's or convenience store (***): Many cards, such as ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 The different prices of prepaid bank cards
Here's a summary table of different prepaid bank cards (***).
Source: ****
For the cost of a foreign currency withdrawal, some establishments add a fee based on a percentage of the amount, between *% and *%. There are also ceilings for account loading and withdrawals. Few offers allow you to top up with cheques, and ...
4.2 Different types of products
There are many different products in the prepaid bank card sector: in addition to open-circuit cards, which can fulfil the role of a real bank card, there are numerous closed-circuit or restricted prepaid cards, dedicated to a particular brand or sector. A further distinction can be made between anonymous prepaid cards ...
4.3 Prepaid bank card trends: security, service, design
Enhanced security and flexibility for prepaid cards in ****
Prepaid cards in **** offer enhanced security and flexibility for online payments and everyday transactions. Options like Skrill, Viabuy, and Nickel stand out for their adaptability to different user profiles. Skrill offers free payments in physical stores and online, with various top-up limits of ...
4.4 Fintech: The evolution of prepaid card services
The future of prepaid cards in the context of fintech evolution is marked by several key trends:
Integration with digital technology: Fintechs are transforming prepaid cards by integrating advanced digital functionalities. This includes the increased use of e-wallets and mobile applications to manage funds on prepaid cards. The focus is on ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Credit card regulations
Electronic money
Directive ****/**/UC defines electronic money as monetary value stored on a smart card, such as a prepaid card, accepted by institutions other than that of the issuer. The issuer of this smart card is responsible for exchanging cash of equal value for electronic money, and for implementing safeguards against ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Market segmentation
- La Banque Postale (La Poste)
- Nickel
- PCS (Creacard)
- Veritas (Prepaid financial services)
- N-26
- Revolut
- Lydia
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- Toneo First
- Moni Monisnap
List of charts presented in this market study
- Breakdown of payment methods in physical stores
- Prepaid card share by world region and distribution channel
- Prepaid card share for selected countries
- Breakdown of payment methods, by number
- Breakdown of payment methods, by amount
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Latest news
Revolut exceeds 2 billion euros in revenues - 03/07/2024
- In 2023: revenues almost doubled to £1.8 billion (approx. €2.1 billion).
- Profits have risen to £344 million (approx. €395 million), compared with around £6 million in 2022.
- By the end of 2023, Revolut has 45 million customers worldwide, with an increase of 12 million new customers joining the neobank in 2023.
- Number of customers in France: over 3 million.
- Revolut is aiming for 50 million customers by the end of the year.
- Number of employees: over 10,000.
Revolut targets a $40 billion valuation - 24/06/2024
- - Target valuation: Over $40 billion.
- - Revolut creation date: 2015.
- - Number of Revolut customers: Approximately 40 million.
- - Number of Revolut employees: More than 9,000.
- - Customer target in France: 20 million customers.
- - Of its 40 million customers worldwide, a third come from the UK.
- - Revenues in 2022: £922.5 million (+45%)
- - Net profit in 2022: £5.8 million. - Revenue forecast**: £1.7 billion
Lydia invests 100 million euros to become a bank - 15/05/2024
- **Customer target:** 5 million customers in France within three years.
- **Recruiting:** around 400 new employees, almost doubling the current workforce of 250.
- **Since its creation in 2011, Lydia has raised around 235 million euros.
- **Number of current banking customers:** around 2 million, out of a total of 7 million users.
- **Express consumer credit in partnership with Floa (subsidiary of BNP Paribas).
Revolut: the coming of age of a British success story - 18/01/2024
- The company was founded in 2015.
- In 2018, Revolut obtained its first banking license in Lithuania.
- 25% to 30% of their business comes from the UK.
- The company was valued at £33 billion at a fundraising in July 2021.
- Revolut expects profits in excess of 300 million euros in 2023.
- The company currently has 35 million customers, a figure it plans to increase tenfold over the next 5-6 years.
- In Ireland, Revolut's adoption rate exceeds 50%.
- Nearly 9 million customers were acquired by Revolut in the space of a year.
- Currently, Revolut has almost 8 million customers in the UK, representing 12% of the population.
Revolut neobank plans to double sales in 2023 - 26/12/2023
- Revolut reported net profit after tax of €6.7 million in 2022.
- Revolut, founded in 2015, is now present in 38 countries.
- By 2022, Revolut had gained nearly 10 million customers worldwide.
- Sales increased by 45% in 2022, exceeding one billion euros.
- Revolut should have 37 million customers in 2023, including 2.5 million in France.
- Revolut's revenues should almost double compared to 2022, approaching two billion euros.
- Revolut employs 8,000 people.
Revolut to almost double sales by 2023 - 22/12/2023
- Revolut posted a net profit of £5.8 million in 2022
- The fintech's net profit in 2021 was £26 million.
- Revolut has over 35 million customers in 38 countries.
- The fintech belongs to the club of companies with sales in excess of one billion euros.
- Its revenues in 2022 reached £919 million, up 45% on 2021. Revenues are expected to almost double in 2023, with a forecast of £1.7 billion.
- The fintech has begun offering consumer loans in France ranging from €1,000 to €50,000 for a term of 7 years.
- Revolut has 2.5 million customers in France. Revolut intends to focus on organic growth rather than acquisitions.
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the prepaid bank card market | France
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