Executive Summary: Corporate Credit Cards in the U.S.

Containing a snapshot of the overall market analysis, each Executive Summary provides a description of the scope and methodology used in the report; chapter overviews complete with statistical data; a sampling of charts and graphs when applicable; a brief look at the trends shaping the market; and projected future growth or demise of each market sector with relevant sales figures.

The report from which this Executive Summary is compiled is for Corporate Credit Cards in the U.S, and the full study abstract is as follows:
The corporate credit card market continues to excite card issuers because its potential, particularly among smaller companies, is virtually untapped. Despite the massive efforts of Visa, MasterCard and American Express (and to a dramatically lesser extent, by Discover and Diner’s Club), at the end of 2005, card issuers had captured only two percent of the $16.2 trillion commercial consumption expenditure market. Companies -- small, midsized and large -- continue to rely overwhelmingly on cash, checks and Automated Clearing House (ACH) for their remittances.

Companies have increasingly turned to corporate cards to replace more traditional labor-intensive and inefficient paper payment procedures. As with the consumer market, segmentation is pervasive, with issuers competing to provide businesses with more custom-tailored functions and payment services. Even as product-differentiation intensifies, there has been a simultaneous emphasis on one-card programs among issuers courting companies --mainly in the middle-market -- with diverse functional payment needs. This fluidity among card categories and functions is likely to make one-cards the choice for companies looking to centralize spend control and to maximize processing efficiency.

Corporate Credit Cards in the U.S., the 5th edition of Packaged Facts’ popular report, looks broadly at the commercial credit card categories, and examines more in-depth and more critically the various products in those categories, looking at the benefits, and in some cases, drawbacks to employers, employees, suppliers and issuers. Next, the report examines current legal/regulatory issues, likely to impact the future of the commercial credit card market. The report also reviews each of the major associations/companies and issuers, as well as profile commercial consumers. It assesses the current state of the market and its potential and projected growth. And finally, the report discusses the actual opportunities and obstacles on the way to increasing both market share and product acceptance.