March 16, 2006
ePaynews: By 2009, 747 million payment cards will be in issue in Europe, and will be used for 39.4 billion transactions at a total value of EUR 3.2 trillion, according to Datamonitor. In 2004, the average payment card in Europe was used over 50.1 times, up from 47.7 in 2000, with a reverse decline in average transaction value indicating that cards are being used for more small-value purchases. During 2004, 29.4 billion consumer payment card transactions were made in Europe, up from 20.9 billion in 2000, with the number of cards in issue growing from 440 million to 584 million.