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Debit card growth slows 6/24 BS&T Americans made $1.2 trillion worth of debit card purchases in 2007, which translated into $12.5b in interchange income, according to Pulse’s 2008 Debit Issuer Study. The study by Oliver Wyman & Pulse reports a decrease in debit transaction growth: 14.4% for 2007 compared to an 18% growth rate for 2006. While Cindy Ballard, Pulse, acknowledges that the decline in debit transaction growth is indicative of ‘a little bit of maturing in the market,’ she points out that there are new avenues for debit usage - such as business debit, bill pay & low-ticket environments (e.g., fast food outlets) - that may see greater growth. Ballard cites the performance of the best-in-class issuers, defined by Pulse as the top 25% in each performance measurement. Although overall growth rates are down, these star performers exceeded the study’s averages with more than 20% higher debit card penetration & 30% more transactions per active cardholder per month. JPMorganChase is among the banks looking to pump new life into the debit business. Uniquely positioned in the debit card sector - JPMC is both a card issuer & a transaction processor, in addition to possessing a proprietary platform for an end-to-end debit solution - the bank is making strides in 2 areas of debit: government benefits through stored-value cards & payroll cards for the private sector, says Frank Dombroski, JPMorgan. JPMC’s debit products now are in use in a number of new forms & venues. In 5/08, the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment began paying unemployment benefits via a JPMC-issued Visa debit card. Another JPMC debit deployment is the ‘every day is payday’ payroll card for temporary employees of Nursefinders, a nurse staffing agency in Arlington TX. After completing a work shift, the cardholder is credited with the salary earned in as little as 2 hours after submitting an approved time card. JPMC offers new payroll card functionality called card portability, which enables cardholders to ‘carry’ the card with them from one employer to the next. It allows cardholders to add funds (such as tax refunds) to their accounts from sources other than their employers. The bank is working to improve the technology around its debit cards. ‘We have a host of initiatives, most around convenient bill pay, more convenient access (i.e., ATM points) & mobile technology.’ JPMC is leveraging debit to penetrate the unbanked market. Within the next year, the financial giant will launch multipurse card functionality that will help those without a credit history build one. ‘Start the client with a debit card, then build a credit history to help them become banked.’