SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Payment card fraud losses worldwide dipped 1.2% to $33.41 billion in 2024, according to the Nilson Report, the leading trade publication covering the global payment card industry. This fraud was tied to global card volume of $51.920 trillion.
Losses to fraud are incurred by credit, debit and prepaid card issuers, merchants, processors of card payments from merchants and processors of card transactions from ATMs. Cards include those with global brands (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, Discover, JCB and Diners Club), cards usable only at ATMs or at specific retail outlets (private label) and cards that operate only on merchant networks in a specific country.
“AI tools have helped the card industry build the best fraud fighting models it has ever had," said David Robertson, Publisher of the Nilson Report. “Of course, the dollars lost to fraud remain high, but the criminals who perpetrate fraud are no longer outpacing the good guys who fight them.”
Fraud fighters are always first among card industry executives to deploy the latest artificial intelligence tools. They must because criminals are also early AI adopters, something that can be seen in the very authentic looking websites they create to dupe consumers.
Adding the latest in AI technology to the other measures taken by the card industry to harden its defenses—PINs, chips, tokenization and encryption—has enabled fraud fighters to bend the curve when measuring fraud losses as a percentage of total card sales. That metric was 6.43¢ per $100 in 2024, down from 6.58¢ the prior year. And that metric is projected to decline incrementally over the next 10 years.
A disproportionate amount of card fraud occurs in the United States. The US accounted for 26.31% of total credit, debit and prepaid card volume worldwide in 2024, but 41.87% of losses to fraud globally. The US is the top region worldwide for online purchases, which are more susceptible to fraud. It has also been the testing ground for online scams that trick consumers into providing their card account details to criminals who then sell that information on the dark web.
"The awareness of industry security practices by criminals is behind the rise in card fraud tied to social engineering scams that now plague all world regions. Consumers have become the weakest link in the fight against fraud” said Robertson.
Organized crime will continue to pursue opportunities in the payment card industry. The Nilson Report projects that fraud losses will be $41.06 billion by 2030, tied to total card volume of $70.731 trillion. By 2034, projected card fraud losses of $48.50 billion will be tied to total card volume of $84.755 trillion. Over the next 10 years, cumulative card fraud losses are projected to total $407.60 billion.
ABOUT THE NILSON REPORT
For more than 55 years, the Nilson Report has been the most respected provider of data and news about the payment card industry. Available worldwide by subscription only, the Nilson Report surveys more than 2,000 financial institutions and other payment card businesses to produce statistics about card issuers, card networks, merchant acquirers and technology providers. This business intelligence is not available from any other source. The Nilson Report does not accept advertising of any kind. No company can pay to be featured in the Nilson Report.
For more information about our publication, to start a free trial subscription or to request an interview with David Robertson, contact: Lori Fulmer, lfulmer@nilsonreport.com.
SOURCE: the Nilson Report, www.nilsonreport.com
