All articles by Editorial
Editorial
Winners of the Prepaid Summit: Europe 2014 Conference Awards announced
Cards International, a briefing service published by Timetric, has revealed the winners of the 2014 Prepaid Summit: Europe Awards.
Country Survey: Kuwait
The cards and payments channel in Kuwait has had a good few years, mostly due to the rapidly growing demand for online shopping in the country. A push by retailers and mobile operators has likewise seen the contactless payments market grow quickly and is expected to continue
Country Survey: Ukraine
The Ukraine economy has suffered from a great deal of uncertainty in the last year due to the Russian crisis. Despite this the cards and payments market has been growing steadily since 2009. While this is expected to continue through to 2018 the conflict in the region throws doubt over the industry
Country Survey: Hong Kong
Hong Kongs explosive growth over the last few decades has been helped along by its fast-growing payments market. The Chinese territory is known for its quick adoption of new technologies and smart cards have been no different
Country survey: Slovakia
The Slovak economy remained resilient to the European sovereign debt crisis due to a sound banking system and prudent government spending. Ongoing government reforms in education, training, the labor market, taxation and infrastructure are likely to spur economic growth over the forecast period (2014-2019), which will have a direct impact on the Slovak cards and payments industry.
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Country survey: Romania
In 2012, as a result of the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone, Romanian real GDP growth slowed to 0.35%. However, it expanded in 2013 and is expected to continue to do so over the forecast period (2014?2018), increasing from 2.18% in 2014 to 3.53% in 2018. This, combined with rising per capita income and low inflation, is expected to improve consumer confidence and increase spending, resulting in a wider scope for card-based transactions. This will be further supported by rising internet penetration, the adoption of contactless payments, and the emergence of Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) cards.
Country survey: Nigeria
The Nigerian economy is among the fastest-growing in Africa, and was largely resilient to the global financial crisis, mainly due to the Nigerian government’s efforts to reduce its dependence on oil exports and improve non-oil sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and financial services. With government reforms in infrastructure sectors such as power, railways and telecommunications underway, GDP is anticipated to grow further over the forecast period (2014-2018), a positive sign for the Nigerian cards and payments industry.
Country survey: Greece
Greece was the most severely affected country by the eurozone crisis, mainly as a result of government overspending, rampant 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.
Puerto Rican cards market in recovery mode
The Puerto Rican credit card market is starting to grow again after a lengthy period of recession, Robin Arnfield reports
Country Survey: The US
Growth in card payments was slow during the review period in the US, increasing by just 1.79% between 2008 and 2012. Despite the marginal growth during that period, the US market continues to offer potential, and the arrival of several mobile wallet services will likely drive growth in m-commerce, writes CI