Biometric Payment Cards to Reach Milestone of 1 Million Shipped Per Year in 2024

The next-generation payment card technologies market is set for a significant ramp-up in issuance volumes over the next few years in all major regions. Global technology intelligence firm ABI Research saw biometric card shipments reach 0.29 million in 2022, with an upward trend forecast for 2028 at 37.2 million.

“While some segments of the next-generation payment card technologies market will grow faster than others, all will experience an increase in their issuance volumes over the forecast period. For biometric payment cards, many market players hope to see 2024 as the year when the 1 million issuance mark is reached. With active pilots moving to commercial launches in all regions and new programs addressing High Net Worth (HNW) clientele alongside the growing presence of neo and challenger banks in the biometric card market, this will become a reality. Ecosystem vendors are concentrating on the unified goal of readying for mass production and significant volume orders, which will be required to achieve economies of scale and lower pricing,” explains Sam Gazeley, Digital Payment Technologies Research Analyst at ABI Research.

Aside from the payment card, access control is also a forthcoming market for biometric card players, with access control and payments having an apparent synergy, leveraging contactless to perform the card function. With pilots currently operating in Richmond Airport and BNP Paribas, issuance volumes will reach over 540,000 shipments in 2028, demonstrating a good level of growth, considering the market is very much in its infancy. The primary factor holding this market back is the lack of globally recognized standards, such as EMV, within the payments industry, which oversees standards across the cards and related POS infrastructure.

The biometric card is clearly on the upward trend. What will see the market accelerate toward mass adoption is a focus from ecosystem players on continued enrollment solution development, seizing the fintech opportunity as they continually look to differentiate, and preparing for market standardization. “ABI Research still believes that the biometric card will find market success, but market uncertainties over the last few years have postponed the originally anticipated level of growth. However, while the chip shortage of the last two years saw issuer priorities shift toward securing traditional payment card stock and away from next-generation card launches, this has begun to change with the resolution of the allocation crisis and investment returning to the innovative payment card space,” Gazeley concludes.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Innovative Payment Card Technologies market data report. This report is part of the company’s Digital Payment Technologies research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights. Market Data spreadsheets comprise deep data, market share analysis, and highly segmented, service-specific forecasts to provide detailed insight into where opportunities lie.