Abstract
Boston, MA - October 9, 2009 -- Over the past 20 years or so, Central
and Eastern European (CEE) countries have been making strides in building
market economies and integrating themselves into the European Community.
Modern banking systems, among other things, have been established in many CEE
countries and are being established in others. A major theme of the banking
market in CEE in the 1990s had been the privatization of previously
state-owned banks and foreign banks moving into the region and taking control
of local banks.
Today, foreign banks, which now control over 70% of banking assets in the
region, are increasingly shifting their strategic focus from acquiring local
banks to developing and promoting modern banking products and services to the
large consumer base across different countries. Payment cards, most of which
ATM-turned-debit cards, are now very popular in many CEE countries. Markets
for relatively newer payment products and technologies, such as credit cards,
online and mobile payments, are also developing quickly in the region. At the
end of 2008, about 262.8 million credit and debit cards were in circulation in
18 countries in the CEE region. These cards generated over 1.6 billion payment
transactions worth more than US$110 billion during the year.
There is still tremendous growth opportunity for payment products and services
in the CEE region. However, the global economic downturn has taken its toll on
the development of banking and payments markets in the CEE region, forcing
banks to reconsider their strategic priorities and business plans in a much
more challenging environment.
“CEE countries' payment card markets have lots of potential in
developing their various. But some countries' heavy reliance on Western
capital has put them in a less than desirable situation in today' s global
economic downturn and credit crunch.” Terry Xie, Director of Mercator
Advisory Group' s International Advisory Service and principal analyst on the
report comments. “Banks will have to find ways to develop products
and services that could meet the growing consumer needs within the
region.”
The Central and Eastern European Payment Card Markets: 2009 report from
Mercator provides an overview of the latest developments in the CEE payment
card markets. Beside a high-level overview of the economic development in the
CEE region with a focus on its banking industry, the payment card market in
the region as a whole is discussed in more detail regarding its growth, market
characteristics, product-mix, card usage, acceptance, adoption of new card
technology (EMV), as well as banking penetration and the potential for prepaid
card products. Country-by-country profiles of the payment card markets are
also provided.
Highlights of the report include:
- Partially thanks to the infusion of western capital and banking expertise,
CEE countries have become the fastest-growing and most dynamic payment card
markets in Europe and represent major opportunities for a variety of payment
products.
- CEE markets continued to record fast growth in 2008. But due to the
impacts of the global economic downturn and credit crunch, the growth is
expected to slow down in 2009 and 2010.
- Despite the geographical proximity, CEE payment markets often display
vastly different characteristics. Payment industry participants must adapt
their offerings to each market, and cope with these varied conditions.
- Debit cards still dominate in the region. But credit cards are quickly
gaining popularity in some countries. Prepaid cards have a lot of potential
especially in the government and benefits sector.
- Looking forward, improving card acceptances at merchants and promoting
segment-specific payment products among consumers will play central roles in
the growth of the overall CEE payment card markets.
One of the 8 Exhibits included in this report:
This report contains 35 pages and 8 exhibits.
Companies covered in this report include: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of
Macedonia, Russia, and Ukraine.
