The commercial credit card market for mid-to large corporates in regions outside of North America has been in a generally strong growth mode for the past several years. In these markets, spending growth remains underpinned by corporate cards, used mostly for travel and entertainment (T&E), as well as virtual cards used to settle with travel management companies, although some additional penetration into other verticals has occurred in both Europe and Asia Pacific. The consequent spending volume in corporate cards is closely tied to travel budgets and general corporate adoption, therefore the pandemic is causing a major spending downturn in 2020. The utilization of purchasing cards (P cards) and non-travel virtual cards are more directly tied to broader economic activity, the growing use of electronic payments methods, and replacement of checks and cash in the payables process.

Mercator Advisory Group’s latest research report, Commercial Credit Cards: International Markets Review and Forecast, 2019-2024, provides a detailed review of the commercial credit card markets in four broad regions, including Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, as well as Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Each regional breakdown includes an analysis of how the pandemic impacts spend during 2020-21, as well as recovery expectations through 2024.

“The pre-pandemic growth trajectory was quite good overall across these regions, although still mostly dependent on business travel,” commented Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service, author of the report, “so regaining that momentum is going to require a greater emphasis on card rails utilization in payables, while also re-capturing travel spend as it returns.”

This report is 18 pages long and has 10 exhibits.

Companies and other organizations mentioned in this report include: American Express, BC Card, Conferma Pay, Diners Club, Express Technology Services, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), International Monetary Fund (IMF), JCB, LianLian DigiTech Co. Ltd, Mastercard, National Payment Card System (NSPK), Union Pay, Visa