Prepaid Debit Card Market in UK

UK Prepaid Cards Market Analysis

The UK Prepaid Cards Market is expected to register a CAGR of 7% during the forecast period.

Credit and Debit cards are the popular method of payment in the UK. The rise in prepaid cards has gone hand-in-hand with the decline in credit card usage in the UK. Due to increased corporate use, prepaid cards are also seeing rapid development in the country. In addition, the UK government is pushing for the usage of prepaid cards for welfare payments. In the United Kingdom, card issuers are concentrating on developing prepaid solutions that cater to specific retail groups such as international tourists, students, and migratory workers. The prepaid card solutions that offer enhanced spending control features that allow better tracking and reporting capabilities are most favored by consumer in the UK.

The e-commerce as well as online payments and transaction are increasing drastically while instances of online fraud and scam are also increasing proportionately. Consumer are seeking greater protection from online fraud and switching to new ways to access services and goods and increasingly adopting prepaid cards as they prefer set amount of pre-loaded money rather than accessing money directly form a person's account or paying through credit card bills. Prepaid cards are mostly being used for online shopping in UK to avoid the risk of bank or credit card details being stolen by the scammers.

UK Prepaid Cards Market Trends

Commercial Prepaid Card Segment is Driving the Market

The commercial prepaid segment is projected to have a massive growth rate in the forecasted period. The increased growth rate for the commercial segment is higher compared to other categories as the adoption rate for prepaid card solutions is significantly higher for corporate clients. The prepaid solutions offer enhanced spending control features that allow the commercial users better tracking and reporting capabilities. Similarly, the UK government is also supporting the adoption of prepaid cards in various ways. As part of its support for prepaid cards, the Northern Ireland government stated that it will provide free shopping prepaid cards to adults. The government's prepaid card scheme would give 1.4 million residents in Northern Ireland over the age of 18 an extra GBP100 to spend on the high street.

UK Prepaid Spending Per Capita is One of the Highest in the World.

UK prepaid spending per capita is one of the highest in the world. It is significantly higher than the World's average prepaid spending. The non-commercial prepaid spending per capita is raising continuously due to the increased adoption of prepaid cards for e-commerce purchases and travel spending. Similarly, the increasing launch of digital particularly B2B is also one of the drivers of the increased per capita prepaid spending in the United Kingdom. New players from diverse sectors are also constantly implementing prepaid cards, especially in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. The improvement in technology with the launch of innovative card design, function, and improved security has further increased the appeal of the prepaid card in the country.

UK Prepaid Cards Industry Overview

The UK Prepaid Cards Market is highly fragmented as a large number of players are providing various prepaid cards such as gift cards, incentive cards, Corporate Payroll Cards, Travel Cards, etc. In the prepaid card market, companies are pursuing numerous strategic initiatives such as partnerships and collaborations, which are gaining substantial traction. To entice more customers, they are cooperating with other market players to offer prepaid cards with adjustable credit limits and other perks. Some of the major players in the market include Cashplus, Spree Card, Caxton, Centtrip, Revolut, etc.

UK Prepaid Cards Market Leaders

UK Prepaid Cards Market News

• In July 2021, Soldo, a startup that issues prepaid company cards to employees that are linked to an automated spending management system, has raised USD 180 million in funding. Soldo presently has 26,000 customers in 30 countries, ranging from small to medium-sized businesses to midmarket companies and huge multinationals.
• In March 2021, Cashplus, a leading fintech SME bank, added five more prominent Payroll technology platforms to its growing roster of Payments API partners. The Cashplus Payment API is a Banking as a Service offering that employs Open Banking technology to allow Payroll Software Platforms to integrate Bulk Payment functionality directly into their own Payroll, allowing their clients to make bulk payments with ease.