In 2025, chip and PIN, swipe, and mail and telephone order payments fell to 44% of global card spending, from 49% in 2024. Card spending as a whole still grew by 4%, to US$ 47.3 trillion, but that growth came from payments made online and via contactless. The latest Global Cards and Payments study from Datos Insights shows how the shift is playing out across regions and payment types.
Almost Every Terminal in the Americas Accepts Contactless, Yet Only 38% of Purchases are made this way
Contactless card spending grew strongly in 2025, and contactless took a larger share of card purchases worldwide than in 2024. Growing digital wallet adoption and expanding acceptance on public transport drove that growth.
Europe remains far ahead, with contactless accounting for the large majority of card purchases. The Americas tell a different story as while contactless payments are accepted at almost every terminal in the region, only 38% of card purchases there are contactless. Lower contactless card penetration in the USA accounts for much of this.
Online Marketplaces Push E-Commerce to Almost a Third of Card Spending
Online card spending grew strongly again in 2025, driven by the expansion of online marketplaces, and e-commerce took a larger share of card volume than in 2024. A larger share of credit card spending happens online than of debit or prepaid card spending. Online penetration is highest in the Americas and lowest in Asia-Pacific. In several markets, account-based payment methods continue to hold back online card spending.
Fewer Trips Between the USA and Canada and Tariffs Slowed Cross-Border Growth in the Americas
Cross-border card spending grew strongly in 2025, and Europe has by far the highest cross-border penetration of any region.
Growth slowed in the Americas, however, as travel between the USA and Canada fell and tariffs curbed business spending in the USA. Globally, cross-border volume is forecast to grow faster than card spending as a whole through to 2031.
QR Codes, softPOS, and mPOS Are Holding Back Traditional Terminals
Nine in ten EFTPOS terminals worldwide accept contactless payments, but the traditional terminal faces growing competition. QR payments, softPOS, and mPOS devices saw strong uptake in every region in 2025, particularly among small businesses, and this has held back the expansion of traditional terminals. Brazil had the highest terminal density of any market, as more small businesses entered the formal economy and began accepting cards. Even there, terminal growth continues to be held back by the rapid expansion of Pix, the country’s account-based mobile payment system.
Cards Make Most Cashless Payments but Carry a Small Share of the Money
Payment cards accounted for most of the cashless payments made worldwide in 2025, but only a small share of cashless volume, because they are used for everyday, low-value purchases. Credit transfers, mostly used for high-value business and salary payments, accounted for the vast majority of volume. That balance is moving away from cards. Their share of cashless transactions fell from 71% in 2021 to 62% in 2025, as instant payment systems competed with cards at the checkout in every region.
Account-to-Account Payments Are the Main Brake on Future Card Growth
Card spending is forecast to reach US$ 60.9 trillion by 2031, with e-commerce and contactless expected to take a growing share of card volume.
Account-to-account payment systems are expected to be the main brake on that growth, and they compete with cards in the same places that card growth comes from. At the checkout the competition is instant payments, and online it is systems such as UPI in India, iDEAL in the Netherlands, and BLIK in Poland. How well cards hold their position online and at the contactless terminal will decide how fast card usage grows from here.
To dive deeper into these trends and find out more about our research, click here or contact Daniel Dawson at [email protected].
