Charge cards remained a negligible category in Colombia in 2025. These financial cards do not have a strong tradition in the country, with relatively few issuers present and usage mainly confined to a narrow base comprising larger corporations and more affluent urban consumers. This situation is unlikely to change over the forecast period given the increasing popularity of credit cards, which offer much greater flexibility when it comes to repayments.

The growth of charge cards is being supported by expanding acceptance, with American Express benefiting from a deal with FrenchSys, and JCB and China UnionPay also profiting from partnerships. Corporate activity is also playing a key role in the expansion of charge cards, including MICE and business tourism.

While card issuance drops, transaction volume rose in 2025 as spending on travel and entertainment recovered. Charge cards benefited from a focus on travel and premium benefits rather than everyday purchases, with rapid activation and integration into Apple Pay and Google Pay driving use. Improving online purchase journeys and expanding merchant acceptance should help to support the continued growth in transaction volume, despite an ongoing decline in the number of cards issued.

Charge cards in Mexico saw growth across metrics in 2025, with this form of financial card appealing to consumers seeking disciplined debt management. There has been a noticeable increase in interest among employees and companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. Key player American Express has recently responded by launching the Business Platinum Card, making charge cards more accessible and relevant to business owners seeking structured financial solutions.

Charge cards is entirely focused on the commercial segment, in which it is increasingly struggling to compete with commercial credit and debit cards. Nonetheless, charge cards remain important in commercial payment cards overall.

Charge cards in the United Arab Emirates saw circulation fall through the review period, including 2025. The overall contraction in the number of charge cards in circulation reflected the weaker demand in the personal space and stagnation in the possession of commercial products. Consumers and corporate entities alike leaned more heavily on credit cards and digital wallets. For consumers, limited merchant acceptance of charge cards, compared to credit cards, reduced their appeal, while businesse

Charge cards saw further decline across metrics in the UK in 2025 due to lower merchant acceptance and inflexible repayment structures. Users and businesses are increasingly moving to debit card systems, with charge cards becoming ever more obsolete.

Charge cards is seeing growth driven by rising disposable incomes in major urban centres and the aspirations of high-net-worth individuals and young urban professionals to signal their financial status. Average spend per card continues to be supported by the use of charge cards for luxury retail purchases, international travel, stays in premium hospitality, and bespoke lifestyle services.

Similar to credit cards, while the number of charge cards in circulation in Australia decreased in 2025, transactions increased, as local consumers continued to value cashless payments and welcome the option to pay full payment for goods during times of financial constraint. Moreover, charge cards do not incur interest and offer higher spending limits, making them useful for commercial purposes.

Charge cards in Singapore saw the number of cards in circulation rise further in 2025. The performance of this financial cards category reflected a broader shift in consumer behaviour towards cashless and credit-based spending. Growth was driven by several factors, including the continued popularity of card-based payments and the growing reliance on unsecured credit for everyday expenses. Despite a slight slowdown in overall card billings, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reported a ris

While the number of charge cards in circulation stagnated in Austria in 2024, charge card transactions saw good growth. This follows the general, ongoing trend from cash to card payments, where there is still a lot of potential in Austria in comparison to many other Western Europe countries. However, debit cards remain the most popular, over both charge cards and credit cards. That said, the growth of contactless payments in general is helping to support all cards — including charge cards. These

As local households grappled with challenging market conditions in 2024, the transaction value of charge cards in South Africa struggled to return to pre-pandemic levels. This situation was exacerbated by the national prime rate remaining above 11%, despite two consecutive cuts of 25 basis points in the last quarter of the year. High- and mid-income earners were particularly affected, as they faced greater pressure on disposable incomes due to rising repayments on substantial loans, leaving limi

As in credit cards, perhaps the biggest story in the charge cards landscape in the US in 2024 was Capital One’s announcement in February that it was planning to purchase Discover Financial Services. Discover is one of the few truly international networks that plays at major scale, and an acquisition by Capital One would be a blockbuster deal. There are a number of factors that must be taken into account, and it remains possible that regulatory scrutiny will ultimately prove to be too negative fo

Charge cards in the Czech Republic remained a niche category in 2025. Circulation and transactions remained on a downward trajectory at the end of the review period. Stringent application criteria and the requirement to pay off balances in full every month continued to limit interest in charge cards. Increasingly, usage is limited to larger companies and, to a lesser extent, affluent consumers. Moreover, usage levels among core consumers are in long-term decline due to the preference for alterna

In 2024, charge cards in Israel was impacted by still-high interest rates. In January the interest rate was reduced by 0.25%, bringing it to 4.5%. Despite this minor decrease, no further reductions are anticipated in the near term, leaving interest rates at historically high levels. This persistent environment of elevated rates is influencing consumer payment behaviours. Further, rising living costs have been prompting Israeli consumers to exercise caution in their spending. Many individuals are

Charge cards affected by the discontinuation of personal charge cards in Greece in 2024. However, this came as no surprise, after a long period of decline. With the agreement between the major systemic bank Alpha Bank (the sole issuer) and Diners Club (the sole operator) ending in 2024 and not being renewed, there remains no active personal charge card scheme in Greece. The first big blow for the category came in 2019 with the withdrawal of American Express from Greece, and the category kept dec

Charge cards remained niche in Hungary in 2024. Currently, only commercial charge cards are offered for top corporate managers and there are no indications to re-launch personal charge cards, as the last products were pulled from the market during 2012 and remain absent. The sales generated by charge cards are also expected to decline, due to the popularity of commercial debit cards over charge cards. This situation is not expected to change over the forecast period.

The charge card category in Romania is dominated by the commercial sector. Leading players have adopted a business-to-business marketing approach to maintain their positions. Banks are hesitant to invest in promoting and expanding the usage of charge cards due to other more profitable products in their portfolios. Personal charge cards face limited prospects as consumers fail to see a clear advantage over credit cards, and issuers are not actively promoting or innovating in this domain.

Charge cards in Italy has fared well in 2024, with volume and current value transactions rising at robust rates and growth in circulation numbers anticipated to be up slightly on 2023. With the recent spike in inflation having now largely subsided and other key macroeconomic indicators remaining broadly favourable, increased confidence and spending among consumers and businesses have had a positive influence on the category’s performance. Moreover, as with financial cards in general, usage level

In 2024 the market size for charge cards in Portugal remained small, with issuers much more focused on credit cards. Only a few players offer charge cards to clients with these cards seen as secondary and complementary products to their main offering. In Portugal, charge cards are only available to businesses, primarily used for employee expenses.

Charge cards in Poland in 2024 saw the continued decline of personal charge cards, which are now becoming a niche. Pekao was a leading issuer in 2023; however, in 2024 personal charge cards are no longer in the bank’s offer for individual clients. In the review period, Pekao offered, for example, Visa Concerto or Eurokarta personal charge cards, but these are no longer available. PKO Bank Polski is another former issuer that has stopped issuing personal charge cards. In other banks, these cards

Charge cards continued to represent a relatively niche payment method in the Netherlands in 2024, as Dutch consumers predominantly prefer debit cards and cash for everyday transactions. This preference is deeply rooted in cultural habits that favour straightforward and low-cost payment methods.

Charge cards in Canada faced challenges to growth in 2024. High prices of groceries, as well as gas and rent, most Canadians struggled to meet their monthly financial needs. Credit card outstanding balances soared, despite the efforts of the Bank of Canada to control inflation and reduce interest rates. Given the nature of charge cards, where the balance must be paid in full every month, and the economic strife suffered by many consumers, charge cards lost much of their attraction in terms of pe

Charge cards is a niche category in the Norwegian financial cards and payments landscape where debit cards and credit cards dominate. Charge cards are considered less flexible than credit cards and issuers/operators, with less well-known brands compared to the leading banks, which are household names in Norway. Charge cards were hit hard by the pandemic and thus far have not recovered. Indeed, charge card transactions in 2024 remain well below pre-pandemic levels despite making a moderate recove