Dublin, Feb. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The “Australia Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook – Q1 2026 Update” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
The Australia prepaid card and digital wallet market is expected to grow by 9.9% on annual basis to reach US$26.01 billion in 2026. The prepaid card and digital wallet market in the country has experienced robust growth during 2021-2025, achieving a CAGR of 12.4%. This upward trajectory is expected to continue, with the market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% during 2026-2030. By the end of 2030, the prepaid card and digital wallet market is projected to expand from its 2025 value of USD 23.67 billion to approximately USD 35.71 billion.
Australia’s prepaid-card sector is being shaped less by “new card products” and more by how prepaid value is distributed, controlled, and protected inside a payments environment where cards are the default and regulators are actively intervening on payment costs and scam risk. The practical implication is that prepaid is increasingly judged by digital usability (tokenised/wallet-ready), governance (AML/scam controls), and acceptance economics (surcharging/interchange settings) rather than plastic issuance volume.
Over the next few years, competitive advantage in Australia is likely to concentrate among issuers/program managers that can: deliver prepaid issuance digitally and at low servicing costs; evidence strong controls against scams/AML and consumer protections; and operate within a tightening policy environment on card fees and surcharging. The RBA’s ongoing review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging is a key system-level driver of this shift.
Current state of prepaid card competition
- Australia’s prepaid ecosystem is competitive but structured around distribution, compliance, and acceptance rather than solely on the “number of issuers.” Prepaid value commonly rides the same rails as the RBA’s current review of surcharging and interchange, making regulatory settings a direct competitive variable.
- The market also operates under heightened scrutiny for scams and AML violations, which underscores the importance of governance maturity for program managers and issuers. As a result, operational capability (monitoring, controls, dispute handling) increasingly differentiates credible providers from marginal ones.
Key players and new entrants
- Key participants span banks, retailers, and specialist program managers/processors that enable gift, incentive, and controlled-spend programs. Australia also has an active fintech layer offering corporate cards and spend controls that function like prepaid in how value is managed and restricted.
- New entrants tend to enter via partnerships and licensing pathways rather than building full-stack issuance independently, because regulatory expectations (AML/CTF, monitoring, consumer protection) increase time-to-scale. AUSTRAC’s recent scrutiny of payments firms reinforces that governance is not optional for challengers operating at volume.
Accelerated shift toward “wallet-ready” prepaid use (tokenisation and mobile acceptance)
- Prepaid value in Australia is increasingly designed for use via mobile wallets and contactless rails, rather than as a standalone physical prepaid card. In practice, this means prepaid programs (especially gift/incentive and controlled-spend) are being built to work cleanly in tap-to-pay journeys and online checkout flows, reducing reliance on physical distribution and activation journeys.
- Card payments dominate everyday spend, and mobile wallet usage has risen sharply over recent years (as highlighted in submissions into the RBA’s current review, which reference RBA survey-based calculations on the growth of mobile wallet usage). This “default-to-card-and-wallet” consumer behaviour pushes prepaid products to be wallet-compatible to remain relevant in e-commerce and omnichannel retail.
- This will intensify: prepaid programs that are not digitally provisionable will look operationally dated (higher friction, higher servicing cost, weaker engagement). Expect more prepaid propositions to be marketed and managed as “digital balances” with card credentials, rather than as cards first.
Scam and fraud pressure are forcing tighter controls on prepaid and gift-card values
- Australian scam conditions are increasing scrutiny on value-transfer instruments (including prepaid/gift cards), leading to stronger controls such as improved verification, transaction monitoring, merchant rules, and consumer warnings at the point of purchase. This is not theoretical. Scamwatch and the National Anti-Scam Centre continue to publish material showing the scale and evolution of scam harm affecting Australians.
- Scam losses and scam-enabled purchasing journeys (especially during peak retail seasons and online shopping surges) have become a policy and operational priority. This creates pressure on retailers, issuers, and program managers to harden controls while maintaining a usable customer experience.
- This will intensify: expect increased “cost of control” (KYC/verification, monitoring, chargeback handling, customer support) and tighter program governance requirements. Programs that cannot demonstrate strong controls may face partner risk aversion (merchants and issuers becoming less willing to support them).
Card-cost and surcharging reforms are reshaping the economics of prepaid acceptance
- Australia is in an active policy cycle on merchant card payment costs and surcharging, which directly affects prepaid usage wherever prepaid rides standard card rails. The RBA’s July 2025 consultation proposes significant changes, including removing surcharging on most debit/credit card payments and lowering interchange fees; it also raises transparency expectations around interchange.
- The RBA’s view is that, as card usage has risen and cash has fallen materially over time, surcharging is less effective and harder to enforce, motivating a rethink of the framework. Industry submissions (including from FinTech Australia and the Australian Banking Association) indicate real business-model implications across payments providers if surcharging is constrained or removed.
- This will intensify as reforms are implemented: if reforms proceed, prepaid programs may benefit from simpler consumer pricing at checkout, but issuers/program managers may face pressure to adapt pricing models as interchange and surcharge settings change. Expect a stronger emphasis on efficiency, routing/acceptance strategy, and merchant value propositions.
Corporate spend control and “account-linked card” propositions are expanding the prepaid-like space
- Australian businesses are increasingly adopting card-based spend controls (virtual and physical cards, limits, merchant-category controls) that operate like prepaid in practice, especially for expense management and controlled disbursements. Providers such as Airwallex promote multi-currency business cards with configurable controls, reflecting demand for governance and real-time management.
- Firms are prioritising cost control and auditability for distributed workforces and subscription-heavy operating spend. At the same time, compliance expectations are rising: AUSTRAC activity (including recent enforcement scrutiny of payments firms) keeps AML governance and transaction monitoring on the executive agenda.
- This trend should intensify in B2B, particularly around virtual cards and policy-based controls (e.g., limits by category/time/vendor). But compliance capability will become a gating factor provider with weaker governance will find scaling harder as counterparties demand stronger assurance.
Key Attributes:
| Report Attribute | Details |
| No. of Pages | 159 |
| Forecast Period | 2026 – 2030 |
| Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2026 | $26.01 Billion |
| Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 | $35.71 Billion |
| Compound Annual Growth Rate | 8.2% |
| Regions Covered | Australia |
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f49s5m
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- Australian Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Market
