Virtual Cards Market Research, 2032
The global virtual cards market size was valued at $415.1 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $2,403.3 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 21.5% from 2024 to 2032. Virtual cards is digital payment cards issued by financial institutions for online or contactless transactions. They provide a unique card number, expiration date, and security code, enhancing security by preventing exposure of the actual physical card details.
Market Introduction and Definition
A virtual card, often known as a digital card, is a type of electronic payment system that works like physical bank cards, which serves as a token for online purchases and electronic payments. It has all the features, such as a unique card number, expiration date, and CVV code, but it exists only electronically. It can be used anywhere that accepts physical credit cards, and all charges will appear on the user’s credit card account statement. It often allows secure online transactions as it mitigates the risk of exposing the underlying credit/debit card details to the vendor. Moreover, it is created for a single online transaction and is valid for a maximum of 48 hours. The credit limit and validity period may vary from bank to bank.
Furthermore, virtual cards market size can facilitate businesses to rationalize payments to suppliers and vendors and can also be used to pay employees and independent contractors. For instance, businesses may set up instant payouts to virtual debit cards, so employees are paid hastily. Thus, these cards deliver increased security, convenience, and control for both consumers and businesses, thereby making them a valuable tool in the digital payment landscape.
Key Takeaways
The virtual cards market share study covers 20 countries. The research includes a segment virtual cards market analysis of each country in terms of value ($Billion) for the projected period 2023-2032.
More than 1,500 product literature, industry releases, annual reports, and other documents of major virtual card industry participants, along with authentic industry journals, trade associations' releases, and government websites, have been reviewed to generate high-value industry insights.
The study integrated high-quality data, professional opinions and analysis, and critical independent perspectives. The research approach is intended to provide a balanced view of global markets and to assist stakeholders in making educated decisions in order to achieve their most ambitious growth objectives.
Key market dynamics
Virtual cards market, which offer a secure and convenient alternative to conventional payment methods, have gained significant popularity across numerous industries, which in turn, contribute to the virtual cards market growth. The virtual cards market growth is also driven by factors such as rise in adoption and acceptance of digital payment solutions, growing need for improved security measures in financial transactions, and increase in integration of virtual cards with mobile wallets. However, data privacy & security concerns, high development and maintenance costs of virtual cards market, and connectivity and technical issues in digital payment mechanisms restrain the development of the virtual cards market. In addition, the growing virtual cards market trends towards touchless payments over physical payments and the rapid innovation in payment Tokenization Technology are expected to provide ample virtual Cards Market Opportunity for the virtual cards market growth during the forecast period.
Rise in integration of digital payment transactions and virtual cards market is a considerable development in the financial technology landscape, which drives demand for the virtual card industry. The integration between virtual cards and mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, enables users to make contactless payments at physical stores, in-app purchases, and online E-commerce Transactions with ease. According to a report published by MasterCard Payment Index in May 2021, about 93% of the surveyed consumers preferred emerging payment trends such as biometrics, digital currencies, and QR codes in addition to contactless payment. Therefore, payment providers are frequently implementing multiple pay and shop solutions for consumers. In addition, governments across the world are constantly promoting companies that deliver secure payment solutions to improve their offerings, resulting in a significant growth prospect for the virtual cards industry.
Patent Analysis: Global Virtual Card Market
The patent landscape of the global virtual card industry reveals a dynamic field, driven by security enhancements, integration with digital wallets, and the adoption of advanced technologies such as AI and blockchain. Further, key players are continuously innovating to address challenges and capitalize on the growing demand for secure, convenient, and efficient payment solutions. For instance, in March 2024, American Express filed a patent for facilitating an immediate instrument through a virtual card market. The method involves generating a card number, transferring it to a user device, receiving authorization requests, and generating statements. This innovation also directs rationalizing and secure payment processes.
The U.S. typically has the largest number of patent filings, owing to rise in virtual card market growth users and the extensive market potential for the foreign-based financial service virtual cards industry in the country. For instance, in June 2022, Mastercard filed a patent for accelerated virtual card payments in B2B transactions. This groundbreaking development may considerably reduce the time and effort to complete such financial deals. The U.S. patent application, US20220188805, reveals a method for accelerating instant payment of invoices depending on automatic and intelligent predictions that a buyer is likely to approve an invoice from a supplier without any input from the buyer. The method includes automatically obtaining a virtual card number related to a payment account of the supplier and introducing electronic processing to make the payment to the supplier for the invoice depending on the virtual card number and the payment card network without any need for suppliers to abstract virtual card data or other payment information.
Market Segmentation
The virtual cards market is segmented into product type, end-user, industry vertical, and region. By product type, the market is divided into B2B virtual cards, B2C remote payment virtual cards, and B2C POS virtual cards. By end-user, the market is bifurcated into businesses and individuals. On the basis of industry vertical, the market is categorized into media and entertainment, hospitality, consumer goods, energy and utilities, advertising, education, and others. Region-wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.
Regional/Country Virtual Cards Market Outlook
The U.S. emerged as the largest market for the global virtual cards in 2023, as consumers prefer to shop with businesses that provide virtual cards market options at the point of sale. Furthermore, the growing use of digital payment systems, the existence of major companies, and the deployment of cutting-edge technologies like 5G/4G are factors anticipated to contribute towards the growth of the virtual cards market in this region. Moreover, the rapid rise in innovations in fintech and payment technologies has made it easier to issue and use virtual cards, integrating them seamlessly into digital wallets and mobile payment systems, which is expected to drive virtual cards market growth.
Further, supportive government initiatives and programs for expanding the use of the digital payment ecosystem, along with the growth of e-commerce and remote transactions, support the virtual cards market growth of the virtual cards market. According to the FRB Services report in 2023, consumers in the U.S. made about one in five purchases remotely in 2022, which is more than in 2019 before the pandemic. In 2019, consumers made 13% of payments remotely. In addition, the growing payment security initiatives across the developed and developing nations promote the demand for the virtual cards market over the virtual cards market forecast period.
In May 2024, Nexi, the leading European PayTech, and its subsidiary Orderbird, a leading Point of Sale (PoS) system for independent businesses, unveiled its new Nexi Partner Portal (NPP) , a next-generation payment platform intended for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) across distinct industries in Germany, including retail and hospitality. This development represents a significant step forward in payment processing, offering ISVs a fast, efficient, and secure way to integrate card payments into their services.
In June 2023, Visa, the world’s leading digital payments provider, launched a series of payment security initiatives in Singapore as part of its updated security roadmap, directed at strengthening protection for online and in-store transactions. These initiatives are developed in collaboration with financial institutions and merchants and seek to protect the payments ecosystem, ensuring the safety of individuals and businesses. Visa’s security roadmap in Singapore is also likely to focus on numerous key areas, including the implementation of real-time fraud detection systems.
Industry Trends
In March 2024, the Japanese government began negotiations with the government with Southeast Asian countries to facilitate the joint use of QR code payment services, which would allow visitors from other countries to make purchases using their payment methods. The initiative is likely to make QR code systems compatible with each other by fiscal 2025, enabling cashless payments in distinctive countries without having to change money. Japan's move toward interoperability with other QR code payment systems seek to consolidate its ties with the region in terms of data usage and economic security.
In November 2023, the Bank of Korea (BOK) declared its plans to introduce a pilot program for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in collaboration with the country’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and Financial Services Commission (FSC) . The program is likely to involve 100, 000 citizens.
In May 2022, Australian businesses have applied for the Pacific Islands Fintech Innovation Challenge to develop market-ready, consumer-friendly digital payment solutions. It aims to address barriers faced by Pacific Island countries in implementing digital payment services and transforming the region's digital payment infrastructure. This initiative will take place in collaboration between the Australian Government's Market Development Facility and the UNCDF-led Pacific Digital Economy Programme.
Competitive Landscape
The major players operating in the virtual cards market include American Express, Bento Technologies Inc., Capital One, Citigroup Inc., DBS Bank Ltd., ePayService, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mastercard, Revolut Ltd., WEX Inc., and Wise Payments Limited. Other players in the virtual card market include Billtrust (BTRS Holdings Inc.) , HSBC, Marqeta, Inc., Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of India, Stripe, Inc., and others.
Recent Key Strategies and Developments in Virtual Cards Industry
In April 2024, Mastercard launched a new mobile virtual card app that allows virtual commercial cards to be seamlessly added to digital wallets. The innovative app is primarily designed to provide financial institutions with more options to deliver secure and sustainable contactless payment solutions.
In March 2024, American Express and Billtrust together announced a partnership that is expected to leverage automation to improve acceptance of AMEX virtual cards. The collaboration is intended to facilitate suppliers to keep pace with an increased demand for products and services, along with improving the need for faster, more efficient payment processes.
In February 2024, Mastercard and MTN Group signed a multi-market agreement that is likely to set in motion a new era of collaboration to connect millions of people and small businesses across Africa with digital tools to transact through secure mobile payments. This partnership is also set to introduce a prepaid virtual card customized for MTN’s MoMo customers, granting them access to more than 100 million acceptance points worldwide.
In September 2023, HSBC completed a partnership agreement with Oracle and Mastercard to introduce a new virtual card and digital trade finance solution to allow its customers to make supplier payments. Sitting within the Oracle Fusion Cloud enterprise resource planning, the HSBC virtual card is likely to connect to Mastercard’s global virtual card platform to rationalize and automate the B2B payment process without leaving the platform.
Key Sources Referred
International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA)
Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup (MPIW)
The Payments Association
Electronic Transactions Association (ETA)
Payments Innovation Alliance
Smart Payment Association (SPA)
CardLinx Association
Merchant Risk Council (MRC)
Key Benefits For Stakeholders
This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the virtual cards market analysis from 2024 to 2032 to identify the prevailing Virtual Cards Market Opportunity
The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and virtual cards market opportunities.
Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
In-depth analysis of the virtual cards market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.
Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.
Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.
The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global virtual cards market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.
Virtual Cards Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 Market Size By 2032 | USD 2403.3 Billion |
 Growth Rate | CAGR of 21.5% |
 Forecast period | 2024 - 2032 |
 Report Pages | 250 |
 By Product Type |
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 By End-User |
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 By Industry Vertical |
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 By Region |
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 Key Market Players | Capital One, Citigroup Inc., ePayService, Mastercard, HSBC, DBS Bank Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank, Stripe, Inc., American Express, Marqeta, Inc., Revolut Ltd., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wise Payments Limited, Bento Technologies Inc., State Bank of India, Billtrust (BTRS Holdings Inc.), WEX Inc. |
Virtual cards are digital payment cards used for online or contactless transactions, offering a unique card number, expiration date, and security code to enhance security and prevent exposure of actual physical card details.
Virtual cards enhance security by generating unique card details for each transaction or specific vendor, reducing the risk of fraud and unauthorized use.
Major providers of virtual cards include traditional banks, fintech companies, and specialized payment service providers such as American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Revolut, and Payoneer.
The total market value of the virtual cards market is $415.1 billion in 2023.
The market value of virtual cards market in 2032 is $2,403.3 billion.
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