The two big card networks reported their quarterly results yesterday. Top line revenue remains down quarter on quarter, 14% and 17% for Mastercard and Visa respectively.
Cross-border volumes did start to show some signs of recovery in the quarter though, with volumes contracting at a slower pace.
What’s supporting the recovery and what is still holding it back
Positive cross-border factors:
- Travel within the EU during the quarter was up, driven by the summer holiday period and an easing of the lockdowns
- Card not present transactions, continue to hold up well and ecommerce growth remains strong, over 20% up year on year
- An expectation that personal travel will recover faster than business travel, with personal being the bigger driver of revenues
Constraining cross-border factors:
- Travel outside the EU is still anemic
- Yields are lower within the EU than outside the EU holding back revenue growth (our data uncovers this pricing)
- A return to more lockdowns through the winter
