Payments Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034

This report describes and explains the payments market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period, and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global payments market reached a value of nearly $716.3 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.05% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $716.3 billion in 2024 to $1.11 trillion in 2029 at a rate of 9.31%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.74% from 2029 and reach $1.77 trillion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising internet penetration, growing banking infrastructure development, rising e-commerce growth and rising disposable income. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were high transaction costs.

Going forward, rising smartphone penetration, expansion of contactless payments and rising urbanization will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the payments market in the future include increasing risks of cyber threats and economic instability.

The global payments market is fairly fragmented, with large number of small players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 25.16% of the total market in 2023. The market fragmentation can be attributed to the presence of large number of players in different geographies. Visa Inc. was the largest competitor with a 4.41% share of the market, followed by Apple Inc. (Apple Pay) 3.69%, American Express Company with 3.43%, Google LLC (Google Pay) with 2.93%, PayPal Holdings Inc. with 2.74%, Mastercard Incorporated with 2.43%, Discover Financial Services Inc. with 2.24%, Tencent Holdings Ltd. (WeChat Pay) with 1.55%, Fiserv Inc. with 1.03% and JPMorgan Chase & Co. with 0.73%.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the payments market, accounting for 44.10% or $315.91 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by Western Europe, North America and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the payments market will be Africa and Asia Pacific where growth will be at CAGRs of 17.57% and 11.34% respectively. These will be followed by North America and Middle East where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 8.57% and 8.37% respectively.

The payments market is segmented by type into credit transfer, direct debit, check payment, cash deposit and other types. The credit transfer market was the largest segment of the payments market segmented by type, accounting for 30.23% or $216.53 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the other types segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the payments market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 10.45% during 2024-2029.

The payments market is segmented by application into banks and non-banking financial institutions. The banks market was the largest segment of the payments market segmented by application, accounting for 70.60% or $505.72 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the non-banking financial institutions segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the payments market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 9.92% during 2024-2029.

The payments market is segmented by end-use industry into retail and e-commerce, banking and financial service, IT & telecommunication, healthcare, transportation and other end user industry. The banking and financial service market was the largest segment of the payments market segmented by end-use industry, accounting for 24.30% or $174.04 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the retail and e-commerce segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the payments market segmented by end-use industry, at a CAGR of 10.91% during 2024-2029.

The top opportunities in the payments market segmented by type will arise in the credit transfer segment, which will gain $132.3 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the payments market segmented by application will arise in the banks segment, which will gain $274.19 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the payments market segmented by end-use industry will arise in the banking and financial service segment, which will gain $103.11 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The payments market size will gain the most in India at $81.92 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the payments market include focusing on exploring flexible financing with new credit card launches, prioritizing improvements in merchant efficiency, investing in AI-driven innovations to enhance transaction security, focusing on transforming payment strategies with personalized business intelligence, prioritizing the optimization of card payments through advanced biometric authentication, transforming healthcare affordability through personalized payment solutions and developing innovative payment devices supporting quick-response (QR) and card transactions.

Player-adopted strategies in the payments market include focus on enhancing business operations through strategic collaborations and partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the payments companies to focus on expanding flexible financing solutions, focus on enhancing merchant efficiency through integrated payment solutions, focus on AI-driven innovations to enhance security and efficiency, focus on personalized business intelligence for payment optimization, focus on biometric authentication to enhance security and user experience, focus on personalized payment solutions in healthcare, focus on affordable and inclusive payment solutions, focus on the fastest growing segment: other types, expand in emerging markets, focus on expanding distribution channels, focus on optimizing pricing strategies for competitive advantage, focus on strengthening digital marketing channels, focus on targeted promotions for customer retention, focus on non-banking financial institutions and focus on retail & e-commerce market growth.

Major Market Trends

• Exploring Flexible Financing With New Credit Card Launch
• Enhancing Merchant Efficiency by Prioritizing Multi-Mode Payment Acceptance
• AI Innovations To Strengthen Transaction Security in India's Fintech Sector
• Transforming Payments Strategies With Personalized Business Intelligence
• Streamlining Card Payments by Advancing Biometric Authentication
• Revolutionizing Healthcare Affordability Through Personalized Payment Solutions
• Innovative Payment Devices Supporting QR and Card Transactions

Key Mergers and Acquisitions

• Mambu Acquired Numeral For Real Time Transaction Processing
• Global Payments Acquired Takepayments To Bolster Card Payment
• National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Acquired UPayments To Advance Digital Payments
• Ant International Acquired MultiSafepay To Expand Market Presence
• NomuPay Acquired Total Processing To Advance Payment Solutions
• Param Acquired Twisto To Enhance Embedded Financial Solutions
• Market Pay Acquired Novelpay To Bolster Market Presence