The fastest growth is in Asia-Pacific, driven by financial inclusion initiatives, with China contributing by far the most to the rise in card numbers. By 2022, the number of cards worldwide is forecast to rise to 17 billion as many people, particularly in parts of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa, still do not hold a payment card. UnionPay, Visa and Mastercard account for 80% of all cards According to RBR's Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2022 study, the continued rapid expansion of the Chinese cards market has helped UnionPay to increase its share of cards to 43% in 2016, and extend its lead over Visa and Mastercard.