Business Cards in Europe

Publication Date	February 2009
Publisher	Datamonitor
Product Type	Report
Pages	30
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	DAT14520

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Summary

Introduction
As the consumer payment card markets in Europe reach maturity, issuers must look toward new segments in order to maintain growth. The business card market is one such segment: potential volumes are high and penetration remains low. This report examines the current and future size of this market and identifies the key strategies needed to take advantage of this opportunity.

Scope

The report provides data and analysis on the business card markets in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK

Market data for the business card segment and total commercial card market covers the period 2003-2012f and is segmented to the card scheme level

Data for the business population in each country provides insight into the size of the addressable market for issuers to target

Analysis of current products and strategies highlights the factors that issuers and schemes must consider if they are to succeed in this segment

Highlights

The business climate has proved challenging in H2 2008 and the outlook for 2009 looks even more challenging still as the European economies enter recession. However, the business card market holds huge potential for issuers and schemes due to the high volume of paper-based transactions.

The small business sector, which represents around 9899% of all businesses, is an important driver of economic growth and its development is supported by government. With low penetration of cards, there is a large untapped market, which offers the potential to boost the card portfolios and profitability of issuers.

Despite some differentiation, there is a high degree of symmetry between consumer and business card products. In order to drive sustainable growth in this segment, much more needs to be done to market business cards and create products that add value to business clients.

Reasons to Purchase

Understand the scale of the opportunity for issuers and schemes in the business card sector, both now and up to 2012

Gain insight into the key trends and drivers in this segment, from the issuer and business perspective

Learn which product strategies are successful in this market at the moment, and which approaches will generate growth in the future

Content

Overview
- Catalyst
- Summary
- Executive Summary
- The business card market has grown strongly across Europe
- However this segment still represents an underserved market with a great deal of potential
- Business spending is dominated by cheques, cash and other methods that are prevalent in these markets
- There is symmetry between consumer and business payment card products
- This sector holds huge opportunities but issuers must change their approach
- Despite the slowdown, Datamonitor forecasts that this market will grow
- Table of figures
- Table of tables
- Trends in Business Card Payments
- The business card market has grown strongly across Europe but is still underserved
- Business card spend has grown strongly in absolute terms and as a proportion of total commercial
- However this segment still represents an underserved market and one with potential
- The business card market is growing as a proportion of the total consumer and commercial market
- Turnover per card in the business segment is typically higher than turnover per consumer card
- Business spending is still dominated by cheques, cash and other methods prevalent in these markets
- Despite the slowdown, Datamonitor forecasts this market will grow
- The UK is forecast to maintain its lead position while Germany is expected to be the fastest growing market
- Growing this sector will require better marketing and stronger products
- This sector holds huge opportunities but issuers must change their approach
- There are two areas of growth: expanding the market as a whole and taking business from competitors
- Businesses that largely rely on other methods of payment need to realize the benefits of payment cards
- Capturing card activity from personal cards and competitors is also a major opportunity
- Issuers and schemes need to emphasize the benefits of business cards more strongly
- There is symmetry between consumer and business cards
- The need to separate business and personal expenses can be leveraged to drive growth in the market
- Focusing on added value benefits is an area in which business card issuers need to improve
- Improvements to the value proposition and product positioning are crucial
- Incentives and rewards on offer need to be better aligned with business needs
- Insurance benefits are frequently too general for some specific business needs
- Incentives such as discounts are available but may also have limited appeal
- Loyalty reward programs are also emerging in the business sector
- Fuel discounts can be particularly beneficial to businesses for which petrol is a major expense
APPENDIX
- Definitions
- Business/small business card
- Co-branded card
- Commercial card
- Corporate card
- Credit card
- Debit card (pay now)
- Deferred debit card (pay later)
- Pay later card
- Pay now card
- Private label card
- Purchasing cards
- Supplementary data
- Methodology
- Further reading
- Ask the analyst
- Datamonitor consulting
- Disclaimer
List of Tables
- Table 1: RBS business charge cards benefits in the UK, 2009
- Table 2: Fees and charges applicable to business charge cards in Germany, 2009
- Table 3: BBVA MasterCard Solred fleet credit card's fees and features, 2009
- Table 4: Value of payment card transactions segmented by total consumer and commercial, 2003-07
- Table 5: Business parc data for firms with up to 50 employees, 2003-07
- Table 6: Population by country, 2003-07
- Table 7: Consumer total cards and population in Europe top five, 2003-07
- Table 8: Average transaction value and frequency of use, 2003-07
- Table 9: Current relevant publications
- Table 10: Future relevant publications
List of Figures
- Figure 1: The UK is the largest market in terms of transaction values while Spain is the lowest, 2003-07
- Figure 2: The penetration of cards in the business card market is low, especially when compared to the consumer market, 2007
- Figure 3: Business card spend is growing faster than corporate/purchasing card spend when compared to the total consumer and commercial market, 2003-07
- Figure 4: Turnover per card in the business segment is typically higher than turnover per consumer card, 2007
- Figure 5: The use of business cards is most highly developed in France, 2007
- Figure 6: Despite the economic slowdown the value of transactions is forecast to experience a CAGR of 10% to 2012, 2007-12f
- Figure 7: The number of cards is forecast to grow at an annual average growth rate of 9.9% to reach 10.6 million cards by 2012, 2007-12
- Figure 8: Visa partners that offer discounts and rebates to business card users, 2009