Asian card spending in Europe soars

This news coincides with the release of exclusive JCB research into how European retailers can tap into Asian spending power that is projected to hit US$32.6 trillion by 2026.

The research, presented in the whitepaper ‘Building Foundations For Growth’ includes a survey conducted by JCB Card Brand Awareness survey with Rakuten Research Inc. of JCB cardmembers from the four Asian territories of China, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea, and exclusive proprietary spend data based on offline and online spend by some 130 million JCB cardmembers.

According to European retailers that accept the JCB card, on average half of their customers were international, with one merchant stating that 100% of its customers came from outside the EU.

These findings highlight the wider growth potential for European merchants offered by Asian holders of international debit and credit cards. But despite more people travelling across the globe more frequently and foreign purchases increasing, retailers are still unsure of how to utilise this new revenue stream.

The specialist data and insights in this JCB report aim to help European merchants understand the nuances of each market and prepare for an ever-growing visitor segment.


Key spending patterns and behaviours of cardmembers in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand (Source: JCB Card Brand Awareness survey and proprietary spend data)

• China
- Austria saw year-on-year increase in spend of 48%, with the average transaction value rising by 264%
- 44% of JCB cardmember respondents took their card abroad to buy high priced purchases
• Japan
- Japanese outbound travel increased 2% worldwide in January 2019 year-on-year
- Average transaction value rose 60% in December in Spain
• South Korea
- 34.6% of cardmembers who travelled in 2017 used an international brand card 2-3 times
- Average transaction value up 85% in Austria for February 2018 year-on-year
• Taiwan
- Average transaction value up in Italy by 245% for November 2018 year-on-year
- They are incentivised to take a card abroad because of benefits/discounts and the services at the destination
• Thailand
- 38.5% of cardmembers who travelled in 2017 used their card for payment abroad 2-3 times
- Increase in average transaction value in Germany of 37% for 2018


Overview of how high net-worth individuals among JCB Asian cardmembers are choosing to spend their money in Europe. (Source: JCB Card Brand Awareness survey and proprietary spend data)
• France
- 2018 Average Transaction Value Per Year = €275.80
- Of all JCB Chinese spend in France in 2018, 42% went to one merchant. The same merchant took home 31.5% of total South Korean JCB spend and 26% of Thai spend

• Italy
- 2018 Average Transaction Value Per Year = €271.40
- One third of Thai JCB visitor spend in 2018 was allocated to luxury designer retail outlets, high end department stores and luxury watch stores

• Austria
- 2018 Average Transaction Value Per Year = €188.60
- 12% of Chinese JCB visitor spend, 15% of Taiwanese and 24.5% of Thai spend went to one luxury retailer. One watch retailer took 5% of Thai visitor spend

• Germany
- 2018 Average Transaction Value Per Year = €173.60
- 13% of aggregated spend for Thai JCB cardmembers went to one German airline

• Spain
- 2018 Average Transaction Value Per Year = €159.40
- 27% of Thai JCB visitor spend went to a luxury watch store

• United Kingdom
- 2018 Average Transaction Value Per Year = €125.26
- One luxury retail store took more than 10% of Chinese JCB visitor spend, while Thais made 18% of their purchases at one specific luxury department store


Mr. Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director, JCB International (Europe) Ltd., said, “It will be fascinating to see the changes in Asian purchase behaviour over the next few years as customers’ expectations of their shopping experience change in the light of new payment technology and expanding ecommerce opportunities.

“At JCB, we have experienced a growth of 45% in the last four years, and now have a current user base of 130 million cardmembers worldwide. In response to this increase, we’re looking at technology and behavioural trends that can enhance the merchant and customer experience both right now and in the not too distant future.

“Providing a seamless omnichannel customer experience including special offers, is a key factor for growth and generating loyalty with mobile-first customers who are used to very high standard of service.

“As the payments ecosystem evolves and innovative payment providers and fintech businesses further integrate with established corporates, the opportunity for a comprehensive and frictionless payments experience will only strengthen for European merchants.”