Plastic Cards as an account access device will continue to diminish

Implications: - Plastic Cards as access devices to various types of payment accounts will continue to be important but will increasingly give way to alternative access methods - These alternative access methods will include devices such as smart-card enabled devices such as cell phones, watches or other devices and contactless technologies such as key fobs. - This phenomenon creates opportunities for new entrants to disintermediate traditional players and, to a degree, influence payment account selection at the point of sale.

Analysis: Diminishing importance of plastic cards as payment access devices will create new challenges for issuers with respect to branding, loyalty and usage.  New entrants with alternative payment technology (such as cell phones) will, to a degree, be able to influence payment method selection at the point of sale through convenience, account hierarchy or rewards programs.  These new entrants may also be able to enable non-traditional payment networks to become more widely accepted.