Online card spending to reach $6Trillion by 2021

The value of e-commerce card payments made worldwide grew 26 percent during 2015 to reach $2.7 trillion. This represented 12 percent of all card expenditure, according to Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2021, an annual survey by RBR.

RBR said that key factors driving growth include: a surge in internet penetration and smartphone holding, a rising number and range of merchants with an online presence and the convenience of making impulse buys on the move via mobile device tools such as one-click checkouts and suggested additional items that simplify the transaction process.

In the past, some cardholders have avoided purchasing goods online because of security concerns. However, confidence in the e-commerce channel is rising with implementation of measures such as the new 3-D Secure specification for cardholder authentication, which will be rolled out in the coming years.

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3-D Secure 2.0 will increase risk-based authentication, eliminating the requirement for a password for the vast majority of transactions. This update should offer further reassurance and convenience to online shoppers, RBR said.

RBR forecasts that e-commerce card spending will more than double between 2015 and 2021 to reach $6 trillion.

“The e-commerce sector will represent a growing proportion of global card expenditure with 1 dollar in 5 spent online by 2021,” said Chris Herbert of RBR. “The improving convenience and security of the e-commerce channel are key drivers of this growth.