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

Growth in off-line debit card volume in the U.S. continued to rebound in 2006, increasing 23% to more than $1 trillion. A new study has also found that issuers nationwide lost a total of $662 million to debit card fraud in 2005, a 21% increase over 2004. Of these losses, 60% resulted from ATM transactions, 37% from signature debit transactions and 3% from PIN POS transactions. Signature-based losses grew 28% in 2005, while PIN-based losses rose 17%. The study, commissioned by PULSE EFT Association by Dove Consulting, also found that debit card activation rates averaged 56% in 2006 for issuers that define "active" cards as those that have made one signature-based transaction in the last 30 days. On average, active cardholders performed 16.1 transactions per month -- 10.6 signature-based and 5.5 PIN-based. More participating institutions offered debit card rewards in 2006 (37% compared to 33% in 2005). Of those participants that offer debit rewards, 37% reward cardholders for both PIN and signature transactions, compared to 29% in 2005. Survey participants expect to grow their debit card programs by an average 17% during 2007, representing 18% growth in PIN debit volume and 16% in signature debit.