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The amount of funds consumers loaded onto closed-loop prepaid cards in 2007 grew to $179.6 billion, up 5% from the $171.2 billion loaded in 2006, Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator Advisory Group notes in its fifth annual closed-loop market assessment released last week. The total loaded onto prepaid cards–both open and closed-loop–was $218.3 billion last year, up 10.3% from $197.9 billion in 2006. The amount of funds loaded on open-loop cards total $38.8 billion in 2007, up 45.3% from $26.7 billion in 2006. The amount of funds companies loaded onto closed-loop cards for employee and business-partner incentives declined 3%, to $6.9 billion from $7.13 billion. Funds that companies loaded on closed-loop gift cards used for consumer incentives grew by 26.5%, to $4.01 billion from $3.17 billion, the report says. Growth in consumer-incentive cards offered by merchants and manufacturers likely will continue to grow, even in tough economic times, says Tim Sloane, director of Mercator's debit advisory service. "It is likely merchants and manufacturers will continue to increase incentives to get consumers to buy," Sloane says. The report also suggests that digital media closed-loop card loads grew by 40.7%, to $3.8 billion last year from $2.7 billion in 2006, while funds consumers loaded onto cards distributed at third-party stores grew by 35.5%, to $5 billion in 2007 from $3.69 billion.
