Growth amid political instability and economic uncertainty
Financial cards and payments saw growth in card numbers, transaction volume sand transaction value in France in 2025. However, the lower rate of inflation reduced the artificial boost to value seen in previous years. Despite the easing of inflation, the end of the review period presented challenging conditions for local consumers, with political instability and economic uncertainty in France, as well as broader geopolitical issues. In 2025, growth in financial cards and payments was largely driven by a lower frequency of payments by cheque, rising prices, and increased tourism spending as a result of a rise in the number of international visitors.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Financial Cards and Payments industry in France with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
If you're in the Financial Cards and Payments industry in France, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Financial Cards and Payments in France report includes:
- Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
- Detailed segmentation of international and local products
- Historic volume and value sizes, company and brand market shares
- Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth
- Robust and transparent research methodology, conducted in-country
This report answers:
- What is the market size of Financial Cards and Payments in France?
- What are the major trends key to understanding Financial Cards and Payments in France?
- How has COVID-19, recession and macroeconomic volatility impacted the market?
- How long will the market take to recover? What are the opportunities now?
- How will political context and shifting cultural values shape future growth?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
Financial Cards and Payments in France - Industry Overview
Growth amid political instability and economic uncertainty
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Robust growth despite negative economic and political context
Dematerialisation of luncheon vouchers and increased travel fuelling the growth of pre-paid cards
Mobile, digital and instant payments and settlement of Wero
Political instability and public debt
Inflation effect wearing off
Ongoing digitalisation
Major traditional institutions forced to cut costs
Synedis showing strong growth
Amex expands merchant acceptance
COUNTRY REPORTS DISCLAIMER
Charge Cards in France - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Increasingly broad acceptance
More merchant acceptance sustains charge cards
Favourable business travel context boosts demand
Charge cards likely to see moderate growth during the forecast period
Charge cards to take advantage of better conditions for mobile payments, digital wallets and better protected alternative payment methods
FrenchSys and others plan to further distance themselves from the CB system
CB still ahead, but competitors catching up
AirPlus corporate card standardises payment solutions across countries
Credit Cards in France - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Continued rebound despite unfavourable conditions
Paradoxical rebound despite unfavourable context
Digital developments contribute to recovery of credit cards, while BNPL grows
More favourable ground in terms of regulation and interest, maybe not for consumer confidence
Despite greater signs of vulnerability, online banks and neobank credit cards have potential for expansion
The outlook for BNPL services in France is debated
Further erosion of the leadership of CB within operators
Auchan Group, CA and BPCE stand out amongst issuers
Debit Cards in France - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
A challenging year
Minimal inflation and degraded economic and social situation result in stagnation
Digital payments play increasingly important role
Persistent uncertainty about a recovery in the short term
Many regulatory threats & technical changes expected in the very short term
Despite unclear prospects, digital and neobanks to forge ahead, as well as hybrid banking
CB’s sees strength eroded
Neobanks gain further ground on traditional players
Pre-Paid Cards in France - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Significant growth for pre-paid cards
Move to digital cards
Increased travel drives growth in closed loop pre-paid cards
Pre-paid cards to encounter both opportunities and challenges during the forecast period.
The competitive landscape for pre-paid cards is expected to remain unstable, with frequent changes and new participants entering the market.
There is continued potential for open-loop pre-paid gift cards
RATP leads closed loop pre-paid cards
Edenred tops rankings in closed loop pre-paid cards
Store Cards in France - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Consumers looking for a range of benefits
Store cards shaped by number of major trends
The weight of low consumption and cannibalisation from more contemporary options
Gloomy outlook expected but not m-commerce
Digital wallets and mobile commerce in France have room to grow
Consumer hesitancy towards incurring debt continues to limit some interesting growth opportunities
Mainstream bank issuers and retailer chains lead the way
COUNTRY REPORTS DISCLAIMER
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Financial Cards and Payments
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- ATM Cards
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- Commercial Charge Cards
- Personal Charge Cards
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- Commercial Credit Cards
- Personal Credit Cards
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- Commercial Debit Cards
- Personal Debit Cards
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- Closed Loop Pre-Paid Cards
- Open Loop Pre-Paid Cards
- Store Cards
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- ATM Transactions
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- Commercial Charge Card Transactions
- Personal Charge Card Transactions
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- Commercial Credit Card Transactions
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- Average Personal Credit Card Balance
- Average Personal Credit Card Limit
- Personal Credit Card Utilisation
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- Commercial Debit Card Transactions
- Personal Debit Card Transactions
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- Closed Loop Pre-Paid Card Transactions
- Open Loop Pre-Paid Card Transactions
- Store Card Transactions
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- Commercial Card Payment Transactions
- Commercial Electronic Direct/ACH Transactions
- Commercial Paper Payment Transactions
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- Personal Card Payment Transactions
- Personal Electronic Direct/ACH Transactions
- Personal Paper Payment Transactions
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- Commercial Electronic Direct/ACH Transactions
- Personal Electronic Direct/ACH Transactions
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- Commercial Cash Transactions
- Commercial Other Paper Transactions
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- Personal Cash Transactions
- Personal Other Paper Transactions
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- Mobile Proximity Payments
- Mobile Remote Payments
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Financial Cards and Payments
Payments are tracked based on the country of residence / account issuance and include outbound spend while excluding inbound spend.
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This report originates from Passport, our Financial Cards and Payments research and analysis database.
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