Eighth Annual Closed Loop Prepaid Market Assessment

Eighth Annual Closed Loop Prepaid Market Assessment

Both Public and Private Sector Closed-Loop Loads Continue to
Drive the Market Forward

Boston, MA -- The closed-loop prepaid market, which consists of 16 segments, grew to $261.2 billion in 2010, up 13 percent from $230.3 billion in 2009. Mercator Advisory Group's new report, the Eighth Annual Closed-Loop Prepaid Market Assessment, documents the dollars loaded onto closed-loop prepaid cards or access devices in 2010. It closely reviews segments that have demonstrated growth and those that have seen changes driven by changes in technology, consumer behavior, and the economic environment.

Mercator Advisory Group defines a closed-loop card as one that can be redeemed only at the issuer's designated locations. Examples include a retailer's card that can only be used at its own store, or government benefit cards that can only be used at select retailers linked into the government's electronic benefits transfer (EBT) network.

In 2010, Mercator Advisory Group was able to gather more data than in previous years, which means this report can present an even clearer picture of the market.

"Growth in the closed-loop prepaid market has been driven by the In-Store Gift Card segment, which continues to grow and develop as retailers move from thinking about prepaid cards as a plastic version of paper gift certificates to a multi-functional promotions and sales tool," says Ben Jackson, senior analyst in Mercator's Prepaid Advisory Service and author of the report. "The economy is also another driver, as loads onto cards for government nutrition assistance programs continue to grow."

The Eighth Annual Closed-Loop Prepaid Market Assessment report is the first of the annual trilogy of closely followed prepaid benchmark reports (Open-Loop, Closed-Loop, and Prepaid Market Forecast) that provide a thorough analysis and documentation of the growth and development of the prepaid industry. It benchmarks the load, growth, and market dynamics for all closed-loop prepaid solutions. This includes a review of the dollars loaded on closed-loop prepaid products in 16 different market segments.

Highlights of the report include:

New Information and updates on the size shape, and growth of the prepaid market

Updates on the dynamics between open-loop and closed-loop cards based on a record year of available data for analysis

Factors causing the increase of closed-loop, in-store prepaid cards in the space and the segments with the most growth

One of the 19 figures from the report:

The report contains 24 pages and 19 exhibits.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits.

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About Mercator Advisory Group
Mercator Advisory Group is the leading, independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com.