22nd Annual U.S. Open-Loop Prepaid Card Market Forecast, 2025-2029

Javelin Strategy & Research continues its ongoing series on trends in the open-loop prepaid market. Javelin forecasts increasingly strong growth in the majority of open-loop prepaid verticals, including the largest categories of general-purpose open-loop cards, payroll and benefit cards, and business and expense cards. As with each Javelin prepaid forecast, economic conditions play a prominent role in the outlook for individual products, and trends will be graded against comparisons with overall economic activity. Increases in benefits and effects from a regulatory perspective and from program management continue to advance products such as benefit cards and general-purpose cards, which can offset higher-interest credit spending or less tax-advantaged healthcare spending. Conversely, macro factors such as political uncertainty and lower cost-of-living adjustments moderate the growth of products such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and campus cards. 

Javelin’s consumer sentiment research highlights that American buyers maintain a positive view of the prepaid market as a whole, with strong usage and loads and upward trends in intent to buy. The research highlights healthy spending patterns in prepaid cards and the frequency of purchases in the highest-volume categories as gifts and for self-use.

Key questions discussed in this Prepaid Payments report: 

• What do the load volume and growth of the total open-loop market look like?
• Which segments are primed for outsized growth, which will moderate, and which will lag behind?
• What specific factors affect the growth of each open-loop prepaid product? 

Companies Mentioned: 

American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, Comerica, Fifth Third Bank, Fiserv, Grazzy, Green Dot, Mastercard, Money Network, Netspend, PayPal, Target, U.S. Bank, Venmo, Visa, Walmart, Western Union, Zelle