CardTrak.com - Most Trusted Source of Credit Cards Since 1986

By Karen Shuggart, CardTrak.com

Americans made $598.8 billion in purchases and cash advances on VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit and debit cards during the third quarter of this year. Through September 30th, consumers charged more than $1.7 trillion on major credit cards and signature debit cards this year. By year-end, Americans will have charged more than $2.4 trillion on major plastic cards during 2004, compared to $2.1 trillion in 2003. Based on year-to-date figures from CardData (www.carddata.com), VISA has a 53.6% market share with $924 billion in volume. Second place MasterCard holds a 29.2% market share with $503 billion in gross dollar volume. Third ranked American Express has captured 12.9% of the U.S. market this year with $221 billion in volume, while Discover holds a 4.3% share with $73.9 billion in volume.