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05/04/2010 -
In a trend that likely extends to Canada as well, U.S. prepaid and gift card use declined in 2009 but started to rebound by the end of the year, said a recent report.According to a study by Javelin Strategy & Research, U.S. consumer usage of gift and prepaid cards fell from 66 percent in 2008 to 61 percent in 2009.
However, the uptick seen at the end of the year is expected to carry into 2010 and bring regained momentum for the industry.
"Lower costs and enhanced functionality are luring consumers back and boosting the volume and dollar value of cards they purchase," said Mary Monahan, managing partner and research director of Javelin.
Within the gift and prepaid card sector, gift cards came out on top - 56 percent of consumers reported using a gift card in the past year, while "less than half that many" used a prepaid card, said the report.
A report from payment processing magazine the Green Sheet had a similar forecast, predicting that prepaid cards would be one of the largest areas of growth for the Canadian payment processing industry in the coming year.
