Credit and Debit Card Market Share by Network and Issuer

If you ask the average American which credit cards are the most common, they'll probably tell you that Visa and Mastercard dominate the market.

But to what degree is that true? Which credit card network has the highest market share? Which issuers are most popular?

We dug into the most recent data from the Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, major credit and debit card issuers, and the Nilson Report, the premier collection of financial data, to get you the answers.

Bank of America boasted the largest debit card market share of any issuer in 2023 by purchase volume, with $468 billion worth of transactions taking place on its cards, according to the Nilson Report.

Chase was the largest credit card issuer by market share that year, with $1.2 trillion in transactions occurring on cards it issued -- which includes consumer, small business, corporate, and other cards -- according to the Nilson Report.

Read on for information on credit and debit card market share by network, issuer, and more.

The payment card landscape

Credit, debit, and prepaid card usage is on the rise. Credit card purchase volume amounted to $19.6 trillion in 2023, a 3.5% increase from the previous year. Purchase volume on debit cards was $17.725 in 2023, a 8.6% increase from 2022, according to The Nilson Report. Those are global numbers.

There were 17.45 billion credit, debit, and prepaid cards in circulation worldwide as of the end of 2023. UnionPay cards made up 56% of total cards, Visa composed 25%, Mastercard made up 17%, and American Express held slightly less than 1%. Discover comprised less than half a percent.

How many Americans have debit and credit cards?

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta:

• 232.7 million adults in the U.S. (90%) had a debit card in 2023.
• 190.4 million adults (82%) had a credit card in 2023.

How many cards do Americans have?

Not only do most adults in the U.S. hold a debit or credit card or both, but many adults hold more than one. There were 2 billion general purpose credit and debit cards in circulation in the U.S. in 2022, including prepaid debit cards, according to the Nilson Report. 827 million of those cards were credit cards and 1.2 billion were debit cards.

That's about eight cards per person, although many of those cards were prepaid cards (think of how many gift cards you receive and buy for others over a year).

The average number of credit cards per person varies by source.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta breaks down the number of credit cards per person among those who have a credit card as follows:

The Nilson Report found that Americans with a credit card account had on average 4.9 credit cards, which could be across multiple accounts. Experian estimated in 2024 that Americans on average hold 3.9 credit cards. A survey from Motley Fool Money in 2023 found that most respondents have between one to three credit cards.

Debit and credit card purchase volume

The purchase volume on general purpose credit and debit cards in the United States in 2022 was $10.4 trillion, per the Nilson Report. That's up 11% from 2021. Credit cards accounted for $5.6 trillion while debit and prepaid cards accounted for $4.9 trillion.

The Federal Reserve reports that the value of card payments grew faster from 2018 to 2021 than any other previous three-year period. That's a reflection of not only inflation, but more Americans turning to credit and debit cards for purchases. 157 billion purchases were made using a credit or debit card in 2021, up from 132.7 billion in 2020, per the Federal Reserve.

Americans have spent more on their credit cards than their debit cards over the past 20-plus years, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

Average credit and debit card transaction values

The average credit card transaction in 2021 was $96, while the average debit card transaction was $43, according to the Federal Reserve.

That aligns with numbers from The Nilson Report, which found that the average credit card transaction in 2022 was $99 and the average debit card transaction was $49.

Here's how the average credit card transaction value breaks down by network:

• America Express: $150
• Mastercard: $94
• Visa: $91
• Discover: $58

Credit card market share by cards in circulation

There are 1.3 billion Visa credit cards in circulation worldwide and 1.1 billion Mastercard credit cards.

Visa accounts for 37% of all credit cards in circulation, while Mastercard makes up 32% of all credit cards.

Discover and American Express lag behind. There are 141 million American Express cards and 71.5 million Discover credit cards in circulation around the world. American Express comprises 4% of all credit cards in use, while Discover makes up 2%.

Credit card market share by purchase volume and brand

Among American brands, Visa leads in market share measured by global purchase volume, according to the Nilson Report. Here's how global purchase volume by credit card brand broke down in 2023:

• UnionPay credit: $6.9 trillion, 35%
• Visa credit: $6.3 trillion, 32%
• Mastercard credit: $4 trillion, 21%
• American Express credit: $1.7 trillion, 9%
• JCB credit: $320 billion, 2%
• Discover credit: $256 billion, 1%

Note: This data includes all consumer, small business, and commercial credit cards.

Looking at just the United States, the big four brands, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, accounted for $5.8 trillion in purchase volume. Here's a breakdown of those brands purchase volume in the United States:

• Visa: $3 trillion, 52%
• Mastercard: $1.4 trillion, 24%
• American Express: $1.1 trillion, 19%
• Discover: 0.3$ trillion, 5%

Credit card market share by purchase volume and issuer

Looking at purchase volume in the United States by credit card issuer reveals a different picture. Here's how purchase volume in the United States by credit card issuer landed in 2023, per the Nilson Report:

• JPMorgan Chase credit: $1.2 trillion, 21%
• American Express: $1.1 trillion, 19%
• Citi: $594 billion, 10%
• Capital One: $575 billion, 10%
• Bank of America: $494 billion, 8%

Note: This data includes all consumer, small business, purchasing, corporate, and fleet credit cards.

Credit card issuer by outstanding balance

As reported by the Nilson Report, at the end of 2023, outstanding balances on general purpose credit cards in the U.S. among the top 30 credit card issuers totaled $1.51 trillion, up 12.2% from 2022. In terms of outstanding balance, JPMorgan Chase held the largest credit card market share:

1. JPMorgan Chase: $211 billion, 18%
2. American Express: $150 billion, 13%
3. Citi: $140 billion, 12%
4. Capital One: $135 billion, 12%
5. Bank of America: $117 billion, 10%

Note: This data includes all consumer, small business, purchasing, corporate, and fleet credit cards.

Debit card market share by purchase volume and brand

Purchase volume on debit cards in the United States was $4.3 trillion in 2023, an increase of 5.8% from 2022, according to the Nilson Report.

Here's how that broke down between Mastercard and Visa:

• Visa: $3.19 trillion, 74%
• Mastercard: $1.16 trillion, 26%

Debit card market share by purchase volume and issuer

These are the top five debit card issuers by purchase volume in 2023 and their share of purchase volume among the top 50 debit card issuers. Data includes debit and prepaid cards:

1. Bank of America: $468 billion, 11%
2. Wells Fargo: $468 billion, 11%
3. JPMorgan Chase: $467 billion, 11%
4. PNC Bank: $129 billion, 3%
5. Navy FCU: $117 billion, 3%

Debit card market share by number of cards

In 2023, the top 50 largest debit card issuers had 687.7 million debit and prepaid cards in circulation, according to the Nilson Report.

These are the top five debit card issuers by card count in 2023 and their share of cards in circulation among the top 50 debit card issuers. Data includes debit and prepaid cards:

1. The Bancorp Bank: 199 million, 29%
2. Pathward: 138 million, 20%
3. Bank of America: 51 million, 7%
4. U.S. Bank: 45 million, 6%
5. JPMorgan Chase: 43, million 6%

Credit cards on the rise

The pace of credit card spending -- and debt -- has accelerated in recent years. Credit card purchase volume grew faster than debit card purchases in 2023 and credit card debt is at a record level.

Americans are projected to lean more on their credit cards in the future. The Nilson Report estimates that credit card purchase volume will rise to $6.3 trillion in 2026.

Used responsibly, the best credit cards carry big advantages over debit cards. The best credit cards can net spenders impactful rewards or cash back and provide other perks, like fraud protection or zero foreign transaction fees.

Sources

• American Bankers Association (2023). "Credit Card Market Monitor."
• Federal Reserve (2023). "The Federal Reserve Payments Study: 2022 Triennial Initial Data Release."
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (2024). "2023 Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice."
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (2023). "Payment Card Adoption and Payment Choice."
• The Nilson Report (2023). Issue 1235.
• The Nilson Report (2023). Issue 1240.
• The Nilson Report (2024). Issue 1258.
• The Nilson Report (2024). Issue 1262.
• The Nilson Report (2024). Issue 1264.