USA Payments Industry Forecast Snapshot: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sector Impact

USA Payments Industry Forecast Snapshot: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sector Impact

Summary

The Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, dubbed COVID-19, is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting millions of people globally. The contagious Coronavirus, which broke out at the close of 2019, has led to a medical emergency across the world, with the World Health Organization officially declaring the novel Coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

The US’ GDP is anticipated to decline in 2020 due to the economic disruption caused by the outbreak of this virus. There has been a sharp rise in the cancellation of flights, hotel bookings, and major events.

To help combat the Coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump approved a relief bill on March 19, 2020. The bill offers free COVID-19 testing, provides unemployment insurance, increases spending on health insurance for the poor, and grants $1bn in food aid. Following this, on March 20, the US government announced the rollout of a $1tn economic stimulus package. The package includes direct payments to individuals under a certain income threshold, $200bn in loans to airlines and distressed industry sectors, and $300bn in bridge loans for small businesses.

This report focuses on the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on both the economyand the cards and payments industry in the US. Based on our proprietary datasets, the snapshotprovides a detailed comparison between pre-COVID-19 forecasts andrevised forecasts of total payment card, debit card, and credit and charge card transactions by value and volume. It also offers information on measures taken by the government to combat Coronavirus.

Scope

- In a major boost, the US Federal Reserve announced on March 16 a cut in its benchmark interest rate to near 0%, in order to prevent liquidity crunch in the market.
- Coronavirus has affected the US travel and tourism industry adversely. According to Tourism Economics, US travel and tourism could potentially lose at least $24bn in foreign spending in 2022 in the wake of the crisis.
- When shopping in-store, consumers will shift from cash-based payments to digital payment tools, particularly mobile wallets - again, to avoid exposure to disease vectors.

Reasons to Buy

- Make strategic decisions using top-level revised forecast data on the US payment industry.
- Understand the key market trends, challenges, and opportunities in the US cards and payments industry.
- Receive a comprehensive insight into payments market in the US.