Payment Cards in Italy 2006

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION
What is this report about?
Scope of the report
Structure of the report

MARKET CONTEXT
Country overview
Demographics
Economy
Market size
Market penetration
Cards in issue
Number of transactions
Frequency of use
Value of card transactions
Average transaction values
Card acceptance
POS statistics
ATM statistics
Market structure
Retail banks
The market is consolidating
Regulatory environment
Regulatory bodies
Banking associations
Other noteworthy associations
Credit bureaux
Recent regulatory developments
Key issues
Fraud and EMV
SEPA

COMPETITOR AND PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Card scheme market shares
Pay now cards
Credit cards
Deferred debit / charge cards
Card issuer market shares
Pay now cards
Credit Cards
Deferred debit and charge cards
Competitor developments
Market consolidation picks up pace in Italy
New foreign players have entered the Italian market
Some players have also left the market
Recent alliances and partnerships
Product analysis
Revolving credit card products
Deferred debit and charge cards
Product features
Product innovation

FORECASTING THE PAYMENT CARD MARKET IN ITALY
Forecasting the pay now market
Forecasting the credit card market
Forecasting the deferred debit and charge card market
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

APPENDIX
Supplementary data
Market context
Definitions
Research methodology
Future readings
Datamonitor’s custom research capabilities
Cards & Payments Team contact details
How to contact experts in your industry


LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Population distribution by age group in Italy, 2005
Table 2: GDP per capita for selected European countries, 2005
Table 3: Inflation rates in a number of major European markets, 2001 - 2005
Table 4: Income distribution in Italy is about average
Table 5: Italian banking market statistics, 2005
Table 6: Rates and fees on a selection of Italian credit cards, December 2006
Table 7: Rates and fees on a selection of Italian deferred debit and charge cards, December 2006
Table 8: Affinity and co-branding partnerships in Italy, 2006
Table 9: Datamonitor’s forecast of the pay now card market, 2006f-2010f
Table 11: Datamonitor’s forecast of the credit card market, 2006f-2010f
Table 10: Datamonitor’s forecast of the deferred debit / charge card market, 2006f-2010f
Table 12: Population numbers and demographic splits in Italy and other major European countries, 2005
Table 13: The percentage of people over the age of 20 in the major European countries, 2005
Table 14: GDP at current prices across major European countries, 2005
Table 15: Real GDP growth rates, 2001-2005
Table 16: POS terminals and population per terminal in Italy, 2000-2004
Table 17:ATMs and population per ATM in Italy, 2000-2004
Table 18: Current relevant Datamonitor publications
Table 19: Future relevant Datamonitor publications, 2006


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Country overview of Italy, 2005
Figure 2: Italy has the fourth largest population in Europe, 2006
Figure 3: Italy is the fourth largest economy in Europe in terms of absolute GDP, 2005
Figure 4: The service sector is the most important contributor to the Italian economy, 2005
Figure 5: Italy’s economy is picking up pace again, 2001 - 2005
Figure 6: Italy has less than the average European level of cards per capita, 2005
Figure 7: Pay now cards dominate the payment card market in Italy, 2001 - 2005
Figure 8: Pay now cards account for the largest share of total plastic card transactions, 2005
Figure 9: Transactions per card per year has not grown, 2001 - 2005
Figure 10: Pay now cards account for the majority of transaction value in Italy, 2001 - 2005
Figure 11: Pay now cards have the highest average transaction value, 2001 - 2005
Figure 12: The POS network in Italy has been steadily expanding, 2000 - 2004
Figure 13: The Italian ATM network has grown slowly, 2000 - 2004
Figure 14: The three pillars of Italian banking
Figure 15: Consolidation of the Italian banking industry, 1998 - 2006
Figure 16: Regulatory overview of Italy, 2006
Figure 17: Maestro is the dominant payment scheme in Italy, 2001 - 2005
Figure 18: Maestro accounts for the majority of pay now transaction value, 2001 - 2005
Figure 19: Visa has grown in importance in the credit card market, 2001 - 2005
Figure 20: Visa continues to dominate the credit card market by transaction value, 2001 - 2005
Figure 21: Visa has the strongest presence in the deferred debit / charge card market, 2001 - 2005
Figure 22: Visa is the dominant scheme for deferred debit / charge card products by transaction value 2001 - 2005
Figure 23: Banco Posta is the leading pay now card issuer, 2005
Figure 24: Findomestic is the largest Italian issuer of credit cards, 2005
Figure 25: CartaSi is the biggest issuer of deferred debit and charge cards in Italy
Figure 26: The pay now market will experience modest growth, 2005 - 2010f
Figure 27: The credit card market is expected to grow strongly, 2005 - 2010f
Figure 28: The deferred debit / charge card market is forecast to grow steadily, 2005 - 2010f
Figure 29: SWOT analysis of the Italian payment cards market, 2005
Figure 30: Datamonitor’s core consulting capabilities