The cards industry across most Asian markets is growing steadily, driving the need for new functionality from card management systems.

In the report Card Systems in Asia: Market Trends and Software Providers, Celent looks at card trends in nine Asian markets, and estimates IT spending on card systems. The report also profiles 13 vendors of card management systems, including nine global vendors and four regional vendors. The profiles provide an overview of the vendors’ Asian market presence as well as their products’ features, functionality, and technology.

Celent estimates that IT spending for card management systems in these nine Asian countries (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand) will grow at an estimated CAGR of 6.7% to US$ 2.7 billion in 2015, from US$ 2.2 billion in 2012.

“Major IT trends include building prepaid card systems, supporting the mobile cards market, and moving to open platforms,” says Hua Zhang, Analyst with Celent’s Asian Financial Services Group and coauthor of the report. “It’s important that vendors are aware these trends.”

“APAC countries should keep a close eye on the cards business from a regulatory point of view,” adds KyongSun Kong, Analyst with Celent’s Asian Financial Services Group and coauthor of the report. “Vendors entering the Asian cards market need to consider the specific environment in each country.”

This report features a survey of Asian banks on market and technology trends in Asian cards and provides recommendations for financial institutions and vendors that are considering expanding their business in this field.