Banks Plan to Expand Debit Card Products

The 2003 Bank Card Survey Report reveals that commercial banks plan to expand debit card product lines and invest in technology to grow their card operations. In response to a question about their most attractive growth opportunities over the next five years, respondents ranked as their first choice the replacement of checks with debit cards. About a fifth of the banks that issue debit cards reported plans to offer stored-value cards during 2003 vs. only 8 percent a year ago. Whereas large banks surveyed had not issued payroll cards this past year, 10 percent of them plan to do so in 2003. Only a few mid-sized banks plan to do so this year. Banks plan to encourage their holders of demand deposit accounts to adopt POS-debit cards, with 72 percent of large issuers expecting to succeed.