Card fraud losses incurred by banks and merchants up to USD 22 bln

Fraud losses occur from counterfeit cards at the point of sale and automated teller machines (ATMs), card-not-present (CNP) transactions (made online or via mail, telephone, a social network, or mobile app), fraudulent applications, lost and stolen cards, and other smaller categories.

The US accounted for 38.7% or USD 8.45 billion of gross card fraud losses worldwide, while generating only 22.9% of total global purchase and cash volume.

Losses to card issuers reached USD 15.72 billion or 72% of gross fraud losses worldwide. Merchants and acquirers lost the remaining USD 6.12 billion or 28% of the total. Issuers absorbed the majority of fraud losses last year. Issuer losses occur mainly from counterfeit credit and debit cards used at the point of sale and ATMs.

Fraud losses to merchants and their acquirers occurred overwhelmingly from CNP transactions, and the problem is aggressively worsening. Losses to CNP fraud exceeded USD 5.65 billion in 2015, with growth in nearly every country. In the US, CNP already accounts for more than 50% of total fraud losses. By 2020, card fraud worldwide is expected to total USD 31.67 billion.