Research

U.S. consumer credit card spending reached an all-time high in 2012. Unfortunately for issuers, this volume isn’t producing much interest income. Consumers are choosing not to carry balances, which is why many credit card banks are struggling to...

Capturing a greater share of the business market is a smart strategy, considering that businesses typically generate more revenue and profit than retail banking customers. While consumers have come to expect free banking, business customers are ...

New research from Mercator Advisory Group examines mobile payment opportunities for U.S. credit issuers

Questioning the interest of corporations in mobile banking services has been consigned to the past. Now bankers ask "what, how, and when," rather than "if," but commercial mobile access will require significant resources over the coming three to...

Virtual currency has evolved far past its humble beginnings as an in-game currency. The more than 47 million adult virtual currency users purchased $4.65 billion worth of virtual currency in 2012, and spend on virtual currencies is expected to m...

New research from Mercator Advisory Group overviews the payment card market in Mexico.

The fact that 88.5 million Americans attempted to open an account online or with a mobile device in the past 12 months underscores how far digital account opening has come in a few short years. Nonetheless, its potential remains largely untapped...

In 2012, online retail payments reached 7.4% ($318 billion) of all retail transactions. The thriving online market is an increasing target for fraudsters, particularly with EMV, or “Chip and PIN,” expected to significantly curtail card fraud at ...

Customer identification programs are the first line of defense to prevent money laundering, fraud, and other criminal activity, but they can do more to help prepaid program managers. Program managers have the opportunity to use the identificatio...

Despite numerous attempts, mobile payments have struggled to become legitimate alternatives to plastic card-based payment systems. This Mercator Advisory Group Research Note analyzes the array of benefits that mobile payments offer merchants in ...