The United States was a big market for American Express in 2021 in terms of credit cards, making up nearly **** of all issued cards that year. This was a slight increase from the previous year, as the number of issued credit cards outside of North American country decreased over time. The source stopped reporting this regional split since 2022, however.

India Credit Card: Number of Transaction: Volume: POS: American Express Banking Corporation data was reported at 6,383,027.000 Unit in Aug 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6,396,000.000 Unit for Jul 2018. India Credit Card: Number of Transaction: Volume: POS: American Express Banking Corporation data is updated monthly, averaging 2,393,186.000 Unit from Apr 2011 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 85 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,396,000.000 Unit in Jul 2018 and a record low of 0.000 Unit in Aug 2013. India Credit Card: Number of Transaction: Volume: POS: American Express Banking Corporation data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Reserve Bank of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Monetary – Table IN.KAI016: Credit Card Statistics: by Bankwise.

Whilst AmEx was offered on many United States websites, its market share was relatively higher in Brazil than in other countries up to 2025. This according to estimates based on website tracking and the technologies used within them, focusing solely on Payment Acceptance and Payment Processing. Note that the percentages, especially, are estimates due to categorization. Nevertheless, it provides an insight in the high use of American Express in the United States but also the importance of the card brand in, for example, Asia. According to estimates, over ** percent of merchants in India with at least one Payment Acceptance or Payment Processor technology until February 2024 had American Express on their website.

Visa's U.S. market share increased during the coronavirus pandemic, mostly as Americans used more debit cards. This is according to estimates based on the transaction volume of general purpose credit and debit cards issued in the United States. Visa's market share strengthened as time went by, moving from a roughly ** percent market share in 2007 to more than ** percent by 2022. This is likely because of the growing use of debit cards in the U.S. — causing the market share of American Express to decline. Debit cards grow faster than credit cards in the U.S. The number of cards issued by Visa reveals a growth disparity between their debit cards and their credit cards. The number of Visa issued debit cards in circulation in the U.S. in Q2 2023 had increased by *** percent when compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth figure was *** percent for U.S. Visa issued credit cards during the same period. By the second quarter, the United States had over *** million debit cards from Visa against roughly *** million Visa credit cards. Who uses debit cards in the United States? A three-year survey stated more than ***** out of 10 respondents from the United States owned a debit card in 2021, with only ** percent actually having used one. Women were much more likely than men to own such a payment card. Gen Z — or the age group 15 to 24 years in this survey — was less likely to own a debit card than their older counterparts, although their ownership of debit cards was much higher when compared to Gen Z credit card ownership.

Visa was processed more than both Mastercard and American Express combined, in both South Africa and the UAE, while transactions in Nigeria were much smaller. This is according to estimations calculated by Statista from numbers that first tried to establish the market size of domestic POS and online markets, and that were then used to calculate the market share of specific payment methods and brands. For this statistic, the focus is exclusively on the three major card brands - Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The Middle East and Africa did not receive much coverage, with only four countries being reported. Out of these, South Africa and the UAE stands out as Visa and Mastercard both account for about **** of all the payments in those countries, regardless of cash or digital.

American Express and Diners Club credit cards were responsible for *** percent of all Australian credit card payments in June 2023. The two companies are competing with Visa and Mastercard; the major credit card providers in Australia.

Credit card debt in the United States has been growing at a fast pace between 2021 and 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall amount of credit card debt reached its highest value throughout the timeline considered here. COVID-19 had a big impact on the indebtedness of Americans, as credit card debt decreased from *** billion U.S. dollars in the last quarter of 2019 to *** billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2021. What portion of Americans use credit cards? A substantial portion of Americans had at least one credit card in 2025. That year, the penetration rate of credit cards in the United States was ** percent. This number increased by nearly seven percentage points since 2014. The primary factors behind the high utilization of credit cards in the United States are a prevalent culture of convenience, a wide range of reward schemes, and consumer preferences for postponed payments. Which companies dominate the credit card issuing market? In 2024, the leading credit card issuers in the U.S. by volume were JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express. Both firms recorded transactions worth over one trillion U.S. dollars that year. Citi and Capital One were the next banks in that ranking, with the transactions made with their credit cards amounting to over half a trillion U.S. dollars that year. Those industry giants, along with other prominent brand names in the industry such as Bank of America, Synchrony Financial, Wells Fargo, and others, dominate the credit card market. Due to their extensive customer base, appealing rewards, and competitive offerings, they have gained a significant market share, making them the preferred choice for consumers.

About one out of four of all Mastercard credit cards issued worldwide were found within the United States, as of the first quarter of 2025. The value inside the U.S. grew noticeably over the past few years. By mid-2023, the number of credit cards issued in the United States grew by more than ** million when compared to the same period in 2022. Compared to Visa credit cards, Mastercard is issued relatively more often outside the U.S. than inside the country. Mastercard in the United States A sizable share of Americans use Mastercard credit cards regularly. Mastercard and Visa dominate the purchase card market, both in the United States and worldwide. Other leading credit card companies are Chase, American Express and Discovery. Credit card market One way that credit card companies earn money is by collecting a fee. These fees include interest on balances and transaction fees, both of which depend on the number of purchase transactions.

In 2024, Visa still had the majority of all general purpose card payments within the Latin America region - although its market share remained relatively unchanged. Mastercard followed, accounting for about ** percent of the purchase volume in the region that year. This is somewhat of a decline of its position as between 2018 and 2019 MasterCard's market share increased in favor of that of American Express. In 2024, Brazil was the Latin American country with the highest number of credit cards.

The two biggest credit card issuers in the United States generated more than ********* of the overall market's purchase volume in 2023. (JPMorgan) Chase led the ranking for several years in a row, reaching a purchase volume of *** trillion U.S. dollars during that year. The bank also ranked as the top merchant acquirer in the United States. American Express, or AmEx, followed closely, with a purchase volume of slightly over *** trillion U.S. dollars.

German card scheme Girocard lost half its market share to Visa and MasterCard in 2020, but had recovered by 2021. Although the source does not mention explicitly why this sudden change occurred, German consumers did increasingly use both credit cards as well as Buy Now, Pay Later since the coronavirus pandemic. As Girocard is a debit card scheme - not credit card - it is not involved in either of these two payment methods.

UnionPay's global market share grew faster than that of MasterCard, whilst Visa's worldwide market position declined. This does not imply that Visa's transaction volume worldwide declined: It increased by roughly ** billion purchases between 2021 and 2022. Compared to the number of transactions from UnionPay and MasterCard, however, Visa's transactions did not increase as much - leading to a declining market share.

As of 2022, the share of South African card holders with Visa was ** percent, with its major competitor MasterCard being slightly behind at ** percent. Moreover, American Express was also available in South Africa, however, with only a *** percent share of card holders.

The market share of domestic card brand RuPay did not reach the same heights in India as either Visa or Mastercard. Visa, especially, is popular in the Asian country, with a market share in 2023 of ** percent, an increase of ******percentage points from the previous year. Mastercard's market share grew by **** percentage points during the same timeframe. The share of cash in India declined significantly since COVID-19, whereas digital wallets became the most used in-store payment method. Noticeable is the growing use of credit cards for offline payments.

The market distribution between Visa and domestic scheme Interac in Canada remained relatively unchanged over the years. This balance is something unique to Canada, as in most other countries the market shares of card brands did change notable during the observed timeframe. Between 2017 and 2023, the most popular Canadian in-store payment method were credit cards.

Nearly four out of 10 global card transactions in 2023 took place with a Visa-branded card. Roughly *** billion purchase transactions worldwide involved Visa payment cards that year. That would equal approximately **** billion Visa transactions per day in 2023. Note that all figures provided are estimates on general-purpose cards. While the source does not add additional information on this term, it may include debit and credit cards both. Visa's official figures on credit cards alone claim the company processed ** billion transactions in 2022. How big are Visa credit cards on a country-by-country basis? Visa does not share credit card figures for individual countries. Instead, it only looks at the United States against the rest of the world. The U.S. was home to one out of 3 of all Visa credit cards issued worldwide in late 2022. Website trackers hope to add more information on the market size of individual payment providers between different countries. The number of U.S. websites offering Visa as a payment method was far higher than those from other countries in 2022. Where is Mastercard bigger than Visa? Visa was not automatically the largest card provider in every country. Mastercard and Visa had varying market shares across ** European countries in 2021. Mastercard held market shares of ** percent and ** percent in the Netherlands and Sweden, respectively. Mastercard was also bigger than Visa in Brazil, making up nearly half of all card payments in the Latin American country. Visa and Mastercard combined take up the majority of transactions within most individual countries. They rarely face competition from domestic card schemes.

According to a report released by PPRO, Visa dominated the card scheme landscape in the United Arab Emirates in 2024, capturing the majority market share at ** percent. Mastercard followed closely behind with a ** percent share. E-commerce market in the UAE The United Arab Emirates is considered a powerhouse in the region, with the e-commerce market size forecasted to reach ** billion U.S. dollars by 2025. This growth can be attributed to the country's efforts to diversify its economy and decrease reliance on oil exports. Consumers in the UAE have access to a wide range of online shopping websites, including popular platforms like Amazon and Groupon. As of the third quarter of 2022, approximately **** percent of internet users in the UAE engaged in online purchases, while around ** percent of online consumers did online grocery shopping. Additionally, consumers are increasingly shifting towards everyday e-commerce spending in business, government, and education sectors. Payment preferences among consumers The availability of secure and reliable online payment gateways is crucial to ensure a seamless and trustworthy shopping experience for consumers. The most popular online payment method among consumers in the UAE in 2023 was payment by card, accounting for approximately ** percent of online transactions, with Visa emerging as the prevailing card scheme during that period. This indicates a high level of trust and convenience in using cards for online purchases. In that year, Wallets came second, accounting for ** percent of the total online transactions.

Mastercard's market share in Brazil increased by *** percentage point between 2022 and 2023, whilst Visa's market share also increased. The two card brands are responsible for ***** out of 10 card payments in either an offline or online environment in the South American country. Domestic scheme Elo from São Paulo did become more popular as time went by - coinciding with a general increase of both debit cards and credit cards in Brazilian POS payments.

According to the data provided by PPRO, most e-commerce transactions in 2022 in Thailand were settled with Visa cards, accounting for ** percent. This was followed by Mastercard which accounted for ** percent of e-commerce transactions.

Domestic scheme NETS leads the market for card payments in Singapore, ahead of both Visa and Mastercard. NETS is Singapore's domestic network for debit cards, originally set up by a consortium of banks. Whilst the leading card scheme in the country, NETS does not have a similar dominance as, for example, Dankort in Denmark or UnionPay in China. Nevertheless, it is relatively unusual for an in-market local card scheme to be ahead of either Visa and Mastercard. Singapore's most popular POS payment methods somewhat reveals why some of the major card schemes are relatively close to each other, as credit cards, cash, and debit cards all vie for the top position in the country.