Irelands Cards and Payments Industry: Emerging Opportunities, Trends, Size, Drivers, Strategies, Products and Competitive Landscape

Synopsis
The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights on Ireland's cards and payments industry, including:
Current and forecast values for each category of Ireland's cards and payments industry, including debit cards, and credit cards.
Comprehensive analysis of the industry's market attractiveness and future growth areas
Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing Ireland's cards and payments industry
Detailed analysis of the marketing strategies adopted for selling debit and credit cards used by banks and other institutions in the market
Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards
The competitive landscape of Ireland's cards and payments industry 

Summary
Irish payment cards registered positive growth during the review period (2009-2013), recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.75%, to reach 6.3 million cards in circulation by the end of 2013. Improvements to banking infrastructure such as the increased installation of point-of-sale (POS) terminals in merchant outlets drove the growth. In terms of transaction value, payment cards valued EUR49.1 billion (US$65.1 billion) in 2013, after registering a review-period CAGR of -0.22%. However, it is expected to expand over the forecast period (2014-2018), at a CAGR of 3.23%. In terms of transaction value, debit cards accounted for a 77.9% share in 2013, which is expected to rise further over the forecast period.
In terms of the number of cards in circulation, the debit cards market accounted for 68.3% of the overall payment cards in 2013. The debit cards market is expected to continue to dominate over the forecast period, with its share reaching 74.0% in 2018.
During review period, the debit cards market registered a CAGR of 8.48%. Over the forecast period, the debit cards market expected to register a CAGR of 3.78% in terms of the number of cards in circulation, from 4.6 million in 2014 to 5.3 million in 2018. In terms of transaction value, the debit cards market registered a review-period CAGR of 1.08%, and is expected to record a forecast-period CAGR of 4.51%.
The increase in debit card usage is due to the switching of payment methods for goods and services, from checks to debit cards. The National Payments Plan initiative in 2013, e-Day, will further encourage the use of debit cards over checks. This will encourage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which accounted for 60% of Ireland's total check usage to use debit cards. Furthermore, rising credit card debt shifted consumer's preference towards debt-free financial products, and supported the growth of debit cards. 
Scope
 This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Ireland's cards and payments industry.
It provides current values for Ireland's cards and payments industry for 2013, and forecast figures for 2018.
It details the different economic, infrastructural and business drivers affecting Ireland's cards and payments industry.
It outlines the current regulatory framework in the industry.
It details the marketing strategies used by various banks and other institutions. 
It profiles the major banks in Ireland's cards and payments industry. 
Reason To Buy
 Make strategic business decisions using top-level historic and forecast market data related to Ireland's cards and payments industry and each market within it.
Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities within Ireland's cards and payments industry.
Assess the competitive dynamics in Ireland's cards and payments industry.
Gain insights in to the marketing strategies used for selling various card types in Ireland.
Gain insights into key regulations governing Ireland's cards and payments industry. 
Key Highlights
 Irish payment cards registered positive growth during the review period (2009-2013), recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.75%, to reach 6.3 million cards in circulation by the end of 2013. Improvements to banking infrastructure such as the increased installation of point-of-sale (POS) terminals in merchant outlets drove the growth. In terms of transaction value, payment cards valued EUR49.1 billion (US$65.1 billion) in 2013, after registering a review-period CAGR of -0.22%. However, it is expected to expand over the forecast period (2014-2018), at a CAGR of 3.23%. In terms of transaction value, debit cards accounted for a 77.9% share in 2013, which is expected to rise further over the forecast period.
The banking sector transformed and adopted new technologies during the review period, which helped enhance customer experience by simplifying and speeding up many banking activities. Allied Irish Banks (AIB) took a vital step via its Learn About Banking (LAB) store. LAB is a high-street learning and research store which enables customers to understand the benefits of new banking technology. It collects feedback from users to understand their preferences and improve the service.
Mobile money is emerging as a popular alternative payment instrument in Ireland. Many banks offer the service, which only requires a recipient's mobile number to enable a funds transfer. Ulster Bank added the Pay Your Contacts function to its service portfolio in October 2013. Pay Your Contacts is a smartphone app that saves the users financial details once during installation. Via the app, users can send money to anyone in their contact list, provided the recipient also has the app. Similarly, Permanent TSB introduced a MobileMoney service in June 2014, and AIB launched its Me2U mobile money app in January, 2014. 
Banks are increasingly establishing a presence on social media, as its penetration is increasing rapidly. Banks are using social media to communicate the benefits of their latest services, promote upcoming offerings, provide regular updates on business progress, and garner customer support. AIB has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Boards.ie, Flickr, Google+, and Slideshare. However, this presence alone is not enough;it must be used effectively. Therefore, AIB has generated separate accounts on Twitter and Facebook, AIB and AskAIB, one which is very much the bank's corporate face, and one dedicated to customer queries. The bank also uses Flickr and YouTube to share images and videos of sponsored events and instructional videos.
A large number of customers, primarily within the high-income bracket, are engaged in philanthropic activities. To cater these customers, banks have introduced programs whereby customers can donate a percentage of their total credit card expenditure to charitable programs. Bank of Ireland (BOI) offers the Affinity Credit Card which donates to the customer's choice of associated colleges such as the University College Dublin (UCD), University of Limerick, the National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth, NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork (UCC).