The debit card has emerged from the shadow of its older sibling, the credit card. Over the past decade, debit card has grown from accounting for 274 million transactions in 1990 to 8.15 billion transactions in 2002, to challenge the credit card as the preferred payment card in the United States. As it stands, the debit card industry is a multi-billion dollar engine that helps drive bank profits and point-of purchase consumer sales - but is also beginning to redefine traditional payment options in the business and government sectors, such as food stamps, benefits, and payroll. The debit card has arrived and is here to stay.

And yet, though it remains poised for growth, the debit card has also reached a crossroads. A recent settlement has cost VISA and MasterCard approximately $3 billion, and has dramatically reduced the fees they can charge for signature-based debit purchases. The effects of the settlement reach into every layer of the industry - from rewards incentives, to marketing programs, to future fee arrangements, and future growth. Consumer preferences for PIN- or signature-based debit will certainly influence how things unfold, and whether either debit card option will suffer or bloom in the short, mid, or long term.

Report Methodology
The information in The U.S. Market for Debit Cards is based on both primary and secondary research. Primary research involved on-site examination of the financial milieu, interviews with marketing, public relations and analysts within the financial industry and consultants to the industry. Secondary research entailed data-gathering from relevant trade, business, and government sources, including company literature. The analysis of consumer demographics derives from Simmons Market Research Bureau survey data for spring 2003.

What You’ll Get in this Report
The U.S. Market for Debit cards provides a wealth of tables, charts, information, and concise and pointed analysis to enable investors, banks, large and midsize merchants, and marketing managers the tools they need to understand and navigate the evolving debit card landscape - from its development, and the concurrent evolution of the PIN- and signature-based debit options, to issuer and merchant industry players, marketing initiatives, and breaking developments, to reasoned and well supported forecasts of future industry growth. The report addresses the following segments:

• The Market (including market size and composition, and projected market growth)
• The Marketers (including discussions of specific issuers and market shares)
• Competitive Profiles (of the card issuers, and analyses of the products they market)
• Merchant Profiles (which merchants are more likely to accept debit cards and why)
• The Consumer (usage profiles and behaviors)
• Trends and Opportunities

Scroll down to see a more detailed outline of the contents of this report.

How You Will Benefit from this Report
Financial institutions and retailers alike will find this report invaluable, as it provides a comprehensive package of information and insight not offered in any other single source. You will gain a thorough understanding of the current market for debit cards, as well as projected revenues and trends through 2008. Contributing to that understanding will be a complete analysis of the consumer for debit cards based on Simmons data.

This report will help:

• Marketing Managers identify market opportunities and develop targeted promotion plans for debit cards
• Research and development professionals stay on top of competitor initiatives and explore demand for products in the debit card arena.
• Advertising agencies working with clients in the financial industry understand the product buyer to develop messages and images that compel consumers to use debit cards.
• Business development executives understand the dynamics of the market and identify possible partnerships.
• Information and research center librarians provide market researchers, brand and product managers and other colleagues with the vital information they need to do their jobs more effectively.

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