Number of Payment Cards Increased by a Yearly 6.77% by September 2015

Payment cards saw progressing appetite in 2015 following the ongoing and aggressive retail campaigns of the Lebanese banks to boost demand for alternative noncash payment methods. As a result, the number of outstanding payment cards increased by a yearly 6.77% to 2.55M in the first 9 months of 2015. The share of total cards held by foreigners grew from 2.80% by September 2014 to 2.96% by September 2015. This modest improvement in foreigners’ share was witnessed in spite of the ongoing local and regional instabilities that took their toll on non-residents’ sentiment over 2015.

Debit cards remained the most preferred amongst cardholders, accounting for 51.15% of the total, as they were mainly destined for salaries’ domiciliation and daily use. Credit cards came in second with a 21.65% stake, followed by prepaid cards (21.20%) and charge cards (6.00%).

The progress of the cards’ retail market came in line with the 7.39% yearly increase in the number of ATMs that reached 1,685 by the end of September. Mount Lebanon saw the highest increase in the number of new ATMs (+11.18% y-o-y) to settle at 537 in September 2015, followed by the North region that witnessed an 8.97% yearly growth in the number of cash dispensers to 170 ATMs during the first three quarters of 2015. However, Beirut remained the most concentrated with ATMs grasping 41.36% of the total.

As for Point of Sales (POS) devices, the number of contracts signed with merchants registered a 7.99% yearly uptick to 39,715, while the total number of machines (manual and electronic) grew by 4.93% y-o-y from 30,517 by September 2014, to 32,021 by September 2015.

Total Number of Outstanding Payment Cards up to September

Number of Payment Cards Increased by a Yearly 6.77% by September 2015

Source: BDL

 

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