Another key factor that ensures the continued relevance of cards in e-commerce is their appeal to a more influential consumer demographic—those with higher incomes and greater purchasing power. 

According to Statista Consumer Insights data, credit card ownership is strongly correlated with higher levels of formal education and better economic conditions compared to the general population, which in turn drives greater spending through this payment method. Consumers in this demographic tend to have more disposable income, leading to higher transaction volumes and making them key drivers of e-commerce activity.

Of course, this varies according to the region. Gaps in credit card access are particularly profound in regions like Southeast Asia. In contrast, credit card access across Latin America appears more democratized, with a broader segment of the population benefiting from credit products.

“In many Asian economies, credit cards are not available to everyone. But the spending on issued cards is very heavy, which shows that there's a consumer segment who prefers to use cards,” says Rashmi Satpute, Country Director for India at EBANX.

Credit cards will continue to play a pivotal role for these consumers, as Lindsay Lehr, from PCMI, highlights: "Credit cards remain an essential product, especially for affluent individuals who are drawn to loyalty programs and for those making cross-border purchases—this is their niche.” 

Sophisticated loyalty programs have been great at promoting credit card usage among consumers who seek additional benefits. For affluent users, these programs remain a significant factor in maintaining cards' relevance and dominance in the e-commerce space. As Lehr observes, "Loyalty programs have become increasingly aggressive, complex, and rich."

Lehr doubts whether traditional issuers will prioritize expanding credit penetration or providing broader access to underserved segments. Despite increasing competition from fintechs and neobanks, she notes, "Most traditional issuers and banks lack the appetite to innovate or expand credit offerings significantly, even though there’s undeniable opportunity in this space."

As competition from fintechs and neobanks increases, traditional issuers may eventually be compelled to adapt, but for now, cards retain their place as a premium product for high-value consumers in rising markets.

When looking at consumer behavior per vertical, it is essential to highlight four growing segments where credit cards play a crucial role: streaming, SaaS, gaming, and travel.

Streaming platforms have significantly reshaped consumer habits in recent years, simplifying access to the latest movies, television series, and music. They have accustomed many users to the convenience of online recurring payments, where credit cards excel due to their ease and security. 

Cards are the go-to payment method for this type of service in rising markets, making up 51% of all streaming transactions. In some countries, it's even more extreme – we're talking 91% in Panama and a solid 87% in both Chile and Brazil. The rest of the region is not that far behind: 77% of Latin Americans are reaching for their cards when it's time to pay for their streaming fix. All in all, we're looking at a massive USD 14 billion in online sales each year.

Software as a Service (SaaS) companies benefit considerably from credit card payments, primarily serving other businesses and some individual users. 

SaaS is also a huge market for cards in Latin America, with 81% of payments done by card, with Ecuador and the Dominican Republic as a highlight, with 92% and 91%, respectively. The region poses a USD 27.9 billion opportunity just for SaaS. India is also a market where cards are the preferred method in this vertical, with 73% of payments made that way, which accounts for around USD 10 billion.

Travel represents another significant area of credit card use since expenses are typically larger and cards give the option to pay in installments. Countries such as Costa Rica, with a 95% card share among travel online spending, and Chile and Ecuador, with 92%, show the convenience and flexibility credit cards offer in managing travel-related costs.

Africa is one of the regions with the biggest card share, with 60% of travel payments made with cards. South Africa leads with 71% of card usage for travel. In India, only 33% of card usage is for travel, because buyers prefer to pay with UPI –60% of travel transactions are paid for using the service. Still, Indian citizens can use their cards in the UPI system, too.

Last but not least, spending on Gaming has soared in rising markets, and cards have been the preferred payment method for gamers in those markets.

Gaming is the second biggest vertical in card share in the regions explored in this study, even though it’s the smallest in volume, with USD 10.8 billion total spend (far from being an insignificant amount, of course). Panama has 92% of card share, while the Dominican Republic has 91%. This is another vertical where Latin America shines, with a total of 68% card share spent on gaming.

The potential for card-based businesses in rising markets is undeniably growing, yet it comes with its own challenges. Handling card transactions in those economies involves more than just coverage: optimizing transaction performance is crucial to safeguard business revenue and secure growth. 

This requires fundamental steps, such as fostering strong ties with the local card ecosystem and deeply understanding consumer habits and preferences.

“It can be really challenging for merchants to understand what is a safe card transaction in emerging economies,” says Andy McHale, Senior Director of Product and Market Strategy at Spreedly. “The consumer behavior is different, the shopping experience can be different. Local expertise plays a key role.”

Companies can adopt different strategic approaches to enhance the effectiveness of every transaction and safeguard performance. One of the most effective—while also quite challenging—is retry attempts, which involve re-processing a card transaction initially denied by the issuer.

Currently, about 8% of all EBANX card transactions are retries, considering both merchant- and customer-initiated transactions (or, in other words, recurring and non-recurring transactions). In Mexico and Nigeria, retry rates are the highest, at 14% and 12%, respectively, in two particularly challenging markets.

More importantly, according to EBANX internal data, approximately 80% of declined card transactions in emerging markets are retriable. This encompasses declines due to insufficient funds, “not accepted” (when the card issuer declines the transaction at its discretion, based on the customer's purchasing behavior, ticket value, location, and other factors), and high-risk transactions.

The big challenge in retrying is getting the most out of those potentially retriable transactions. To begin with, companies need to know their customers and market behavior to better orient their clients to try again without incurring suspicious behavior, which can lead to new declines—or, in the case of recurring transactions, understand the best time or day of the month for charging.

“You need to segregate your strategy behind the payment,” says Arthur Queiroz, Strategic Accounts Performance Manager at EBANX. “You cannot put Mexico and Brazil in the same retry strategy as Chile or Colombia. You need to understand the reasons for declines, especially insufficient funds, which represent the vast majority of them.”

In Latin America, for instance, most people get their salaries once a month, typically in the first days, so the rise in claims of insufficient funds at the end of the month has an apparent motive. For recurring merchants, this brings some "windows of opportunity" as the best days to charge and retry transactions –usually at the beginning or middle of the month. 

Knowing the best time to bill is also important for recurring businesses since most issuers and acquirers perform system maintenance between midnight and 5 a.m., local time. Companies should observe this so as not to jeopardize their retry strategy.

To address “not accepted” transactions, which are denied at the issuer's discretion, advanced card capabilities can provide issuers and acquirers with more high-quality and detailed information about the transaction, ultimately leading to better approval rates for both MIT (merchant-initiated transactions) and CIT (customer-initiated transactions). 

Card Verify, for instance, is a powerful tool for ensuring the card is valid before submitting the transaction, while Network Tokens can make transactions safer and streamlined, improving approval rates. Card on File flags provide issuers with deeper transaction insights, refining authorization logic, fraud detection, and dispute management.

A key way to shield the approvals is implementing Trusted MID (Merchant Identification) channels, that route transactions through verified channels. These channels are made for each seller with mutual agreement between the issuer and the payment provider, making the rules more flexible for trustworthy customers. 

According to EBANX internal data, this strategy has the highest impact on approval rates for credit card transactions, increasing approvals by an average of 5 percentage points.

Working with a multi-acquirer infrastructure in each market also ensures that every feature is available, delivering seamless service continuity, and optimizing transaction success rates. This is particularly crucial in emerging markets, where much of the card industry is still not equipped with advanced card capabilities. The technological landscape in these regions is uneven, with varying levels of infrastructure and service offerings. 

Therefore, connecting with multiple partners and acquirers is essential to guarantee the availability of all these features, regardless of any single provider's technological readiness.