The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) has released its 2024 Q3 Data Dashboard, providing insights into current trends in the credit and debit card markets. According to the data, interchange rates, which are part of the fees retailers pay for processing credit cards, have remained stable at under 2% for nearly ten years. This finding challenges claims that processing costs are increasing.
Consumer preferences indicate that transaction safety and security are paramount when choosing a credit card. A significant 80% of consumers rated these factors as "highly important." Credit and debit cards also report the lowest fraud rates among common payment systems. In cases where fraud occurred, 96% of credit card users reported that the fraudulent activity was either blocked or refunded.
Credit cards offer essential benefits such as rewards, flexibility, and strong protection against fraud. As companies enhance security measures, credit cards continue to be a preferred payment method for many consumers due to their convenience and reliability.
"We believe investing in new technologies and legislating national data security standards will create a stronger payment system," stated EPC representatives.
For more details on these findings, the EPC's Q3 Data Dashboard is available online.