China’s UnionPay has edged out Visa to become the number one debit card in the world, accounting for $40.03 for every $100 in transactions (compared to $38.78 for Visa) in 2022, according to new figures by credit and debit card industry monitor Nilson Report.
UnionPay debit card payments reached $160 billion last year, compared to $155 billion for Visa and $85 billion for MasterCard. The big two US giants outranked the Chinese bank card issuer in credit card transactions, accounting for $87 billion and $65 billion, respectively, compared with $53 billion for UnionPay. Credit cards are more tightly regulated in China – UnionPay’s main market, than they are in the US. Visa’s lead on credit cards gave it a larger overall market share in credit and debit cards of 39 percent compared to UnionPay’s 34 percent.
UnionPay debit card payments reached $160 billion last year, compared to $155 billion for Visa and $85 billion for MasterCard. The big two US giants outranked the Chinese bank card issuer in credit card transactions, accounting for $87 billion and $65 billion, respectively, compared with $53 billion for UnionPay. Credit cards are more tightly regulated in China – UnionPay’s main market, than they are in the US. Visa’s lead on credit cards gave it a larger overall market share in credit and debit cards of 39 percent compared to UnionPay’s 34 percent.