Ninth Annual U.S. Closed-Loop Prepaid Cards Market Assessment

Aug. 28, 2012 - PRLog -- Boston, MA -- The Ninth Annual U.S. Closed-Loop Prepaid Cards Market Assessment report is the second 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. The report 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 17 different market segments.

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 a government benefit cards that can only be used at select retailers that are linked into the government's Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) network.

The closed-loop prepaid market grew to $299.1 billion in 2011, up 13 percent from $243.4 billion in 2010. This report documents the dollars loaded onto closed-loop prepaid cards or access devices in 2011.

"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 multifunctional promotions and sales tool," says Ben Jackson, senior analyst in Mercator's Prepaid Advisory Service and author of the report.

Highlights of the report include:

Detail of dollars loaded onto prepaid closed-loop cards across 17 segments

The three factors that closely affect the prepaid closed-loop

New data that shed additional light on retailer-issued cards, government benefits cards, and prepaid utilities

First time review of store returns and the load value in this segment

Shifts in the dollars loaded onto closed-loop cards for temporary assistance to needy families and the state-driven changes driving the changes

This report contains 27 pages and 19 exhibits.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group's Prepaid Advisory Service 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.