• November 19, 2009

After exceeding $1 trillion for the first time in 2008 and subsequently suffering through a dismal 2009, the global commercial payment card market is poised to rebound in 2010, according to Packaged Facts. Commercial payment cards are used in the business sector in lieu of checks and other forms of payment for expenses.

Packaged Facts forecasts that total global commercial payment card purchase volume will grow 9% over the 2009 level of $917 billion to back above $1 trillion in 2010. Growth will be driven by a corporate need to reduce costs and increase efficiencies through the adoption of card programs that can deliver on that promise, according to the report. It is also likely that growth will be more from new commercial card clients rather than an expansion in purchasing volume from existing clients.

The U.S. will remain the single biggest economy providing opportunities in the commercial card payment space, especially when considering the penetration rate of commercial card payments versus paper and electronic forms is at about 3% in the U.S. But with global commercial card payment volume estimated to be just 1% of total global commercial consumption, it will be emerging economies that will provide the greatest growth prospects overall. --Tanya Irwin