Digital Transactions: While PIN-debit transactions at the point of sale are growing at a torrid pace, the payment application faces major hurdles when it comes to future growth, according to new research from Boston-based Mercator Advisory Group. PIN debit has registered annual growth rates between 35 percent and 38 percent since 2003, outpacing the growth of its signature-based cousin, whose growth rate cooled somewhat to 18 percent in 2005 from 21 percent in 2003. But when it comes to the three emerging transaction markets - online commerce, recurring electronic bill payment, and contactless payments - PIN debit is expected to be shut out, with signature-based debit taking the lead as the preferred option. Network managers, the report concludes, may soon need to draw up plans to enter those same markets.
Read also, Consumer-use of debit, prepaid cards heats up market.
