Business regulations and rising financial literacy among consumers are boosting card usage globally, while merchant card acceptance is also set to surge by 40 per cent to 85 million outlets worldwide by 2022.

This is according to new research from RBR, which found that the number of card-accepting merchant outlets rose by seven million in 2016 to 61 million. Double-digit growth was recorded across Asia-Pacific, central and eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa, with growth expected to continue over the coming years.

According to RBR’s report, regulatory factors are playing an increasingly important role in expanding card-acceptance networks. In Kazakhstan, legislation requiring all merchants to accept card payments came into force in 2016, contributing to the 50 per cent growth in outlets. Meanwhile, in India, growth in card-accepting merchants trebled to 45 per cent as a result of caps on EFTPOS terminal charges and the removal of terminal taxes by the central government.

RBR also found that growth in the acceptance networks of many developing markets has been restrained, partly due to preferences for cash. However increasing support from governments and industry players to promote financial literacy and cashless payments.

Chris Herbert, RBR card and payments expert, said: “The recent strong growth in card acceptance looks set to continue, fuelled by a combination of falling merchant fees and rising consumer demand. In addition to rapid growth in developing regions, healthy market conditions in more mature countries in western Europe have the potential to unlock new opportunities for the acquiring sector.”

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