Payments Industry Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

The Payments Industry Market Report Segmented Into Mode of Payment (Point of Sale, Online Sale), End-User Industry (Retail, , Healthcare, and More), Interaction Channel (Point-Of-Sale, E-commerce/M-commerce), Transaction Type (Person-To-Person (P2P), Consumer-To-Business (C2B) and More) and Geography. The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Payments Market Size and Share

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Payments Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence

The global payments market size reached USD 3.12 trillion in 2025 and is projected to expand to USD 5.34 trillion by 2030, reflecting an 11.29% CAGR throughout the forecast window, thereby underscoring the sustained digitalization of commerce. Growth is anchored in widespread consumer migration toward mobile-first transactions, quicker onboarding of financial institutions onto instant-payment rails, and accelerating cross-border e-commerce that lifts both transaction volume and ticket size. Continued regulatory support for faster payments and uniform data standards quickens account-to-account adoption, while contactless transit programs stimulate tap-to-pay card usage in large metropolitan systems. Competitive intensity remains high as card networks invest in artificial intelligence and tokenization to safeguard volumes, even as digital wallet ecosystems, government-run real-time rails, and emerging fintech intermediaries reduce reliance on traditional interchange economics. Retail leads overall volume, yet healthcare and cross-border remittances provide the fastest incremental opportunities, attracting specialized processors and orchestration platforms.  

Key Report Takeaways

  • By mode of payment, point-of-sale card transactions captured 42.03% of global payments market share in 2024, while account-to-account and wallet methods are growing at a 17.8% CAGR to 2030.  
  •  By interaction channel, e-commerce and mobile commerce are advancing at a 16.52% CAGR and are eroding the 73.06% dominance that physical POS held in 2024.  
  • By transaction type, consumer-to-business flows remained largest at 62.85% in 2024; person-to-person transfers are expanding at a 13.53% CAGR through 2030.  
  • By end-user industry, retail retained a 35.05% revenue share in 2024, yet healthcare payments are forecast to surge 14.21% annually to 2030.  
  • By geography, Asia-Pacific led with 38.04% of global payments market share in 2024, while the Middle East & Africa segment is on track for a 15.37% CAGR to 2030.  

Segment Analysis

By Mode of Payment: Cards Maintain Relative Scale Amid Wallet Disruption

Point-of-sale card transactions held 42.03% of global payments market share in 2024, anchored by decades-old EMV infrastructure and global brand trust. Despite this cushion, wallet and account-to-account flows are compounding at 17.8% annually as QR codes and direct-to-account checkouts reduce acceptance cost. Merchants in Asia can save up to 2 percentage points in fees by steering consumers toward wallets, reinforcing the structural shift. In response, card networks promote network tokens and installment APIs to embed their rails inside wallet ecosystems, seeking to preserve transaction count even if form factors mutate.  

The global payments market will still see card volumes increase in absolute terms because total consumption grows, but relative wallet share rises faster. ISO 20022 data-rich messages enhance reconciliation for corporate cards, yet they also enable competitive A2A alternatives carrying the same metadata. Co-branded card issuance remains a strategic hedge for e-commerce giants that want customer data, suggesting coexistence rather than immediate cannibalization.  

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By Interaction Channel: Digital Commerce Propels Omnichannel Orchestration

Physical POS owned 73.06% of 2024 volume, yet e-commerce and mobile commerce are climbing at a 16.52% CAGR, narrowing the gap each year. Merchants therefore accelerate payment-orchestration investments that blend online and in-store acceptance inside one API to lower vendor complexity. Digital wallets accounted for 53% of online spend in 2024, lifted by “one-click” checkout and smartphone NFC. Cash’s share of in-store spend has fallen from 44% to 15% in a decade, freeing physical retailers to repurpose cash-office labor.  

Within the global payments market, restaurants and quick-service operators deploy QR-based ordering that routes payments through e-commerce rails even while customers sit in-store. Wearables extend the notion of card present to watches and rings, raising the need for tokenization at the edge. Payment service providers differentiate on orchestration dashboards that expose granular approval, retry, and cost data, enabling CFOs to treat payments as a managed P&L line item rather than a binary pass/fail utility.  

By Transaction Type: P2P Adoption Erodes C2B Share at the Margin

Consumer-to-business flows remained dominant at 62.85% in 2024, but P2P transfers clock a 13.53% CAGR on the back of wallet interoperability and faster-payment clearing. Freelance wages, micro-investing, and social commerce all favor instant disbursement schemes, creating adjacent lending-and-savings flywheels inside wallets. Cross-border P2P grows fastest as migrant-led remittances route through wallet corridors that undercut legacy corridors by half on fees.  

For the global payments market size attached to P2P, API-centric aggregators link domestic faster-payment systems across multiple jurisdictions, creating quasi-real-time corridors for sub-USD 1,000 transfers. Regulators welcome the heightened transparency versus informal hawala channels, albeit with sharper AML oversight. Card networks continue to monetize P2P through push-to-card programs, but volumes risk migrating to pure account proxies if banks accelerate open-banking functionality.  

Payments Market: Market Share by Transaction Type
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Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-user Industry: Healthcare Digitalization Unlocks New Acceptance Models

Retail still accounted for a 35.05% revenue share in 2024 thanks to ubiquitous acceptance, but healthcare is forecast to post a 14.21% CAGR through 2030 as telehealth and patient-centric portals mature. Providers deploy wallet-based installments that remove friction from high-deductible payments, while insurers adopt instant payout for claims, shrinking days-sales-outstanding. Entertainment, digital content, and gaming ride the subscription wave, adding micro-payment rails for in-app commerce.  

In the global payments market, utilities and governments upgrade citizen interfaces with QR codes and wallets, reducing check processing costs. Hospitality chains link room keys to tokenized cards, enabling contactless loyalty accrual and instant tip payouts. The common denominator is embedded finance—payment functionality subsumed into vertical software—boosting retention for software vendors and diversifying revenue for acquirers.  

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific led the global payments market with 38.04% revenue in 2024, propelled by China’s wallet duopoly and India’s UPI scaling beyond 100 billion annual transactions. Wallet penetration across Southeast Asia accelerates because merchants adopt dynamic QR standards that interoperate across schemes. Regional governments continue piloting central-bank digital currencies for retail use, which could further elevate account-based flows over cards.  

The Middle East & Africa segment delivers the fastest 15.37% CAGR to 2030 as mobile-money operators convert cash-heavy populations through agent networks and lightweight KYC. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System promises intra-African instant payments in local currencies, a structural boost for small-business trade. Gulf regulators push open-banking mandates and explore a digital dirham, drawing global payment processors to establish regional hubs.  

North America sustains high average ticket sizes on credit cards, yet FedNow’s real-time rails create an alternate domestic path for bill payments and gig-economy payouts. Europe prioritizes cost-reduction and sovereignty through the European Payments Initiative’s Wero wallet, while transit networks leverage contactless ticketing to lift card volume. Latin America sees Brazil’s PIX benchmark incentivizing peers like Colombia and Peru to fast-track instant-payment programs, while CBDC pilots explore offline wallets for financial-inclusion goals.  

Payments Market CAGR (%), Growth Rate by Region
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Competitive Landscape

The global payments market exhibits medium concentration as card networks, fintech wallets, Big Tech super-apps, and government rails jostle for adjacent value pools. Visa and Mastercard retain a structural advantage in cross-border and premium credit, but their combined share faces steady dilution from account-to-account rails and domestic wallet schemes. Both networks invest in multi-rail capabilities—Visa Direct and Mastercard Send—to remain integral to money-movement irrespective of instrument.  

Fintech acquirers such as Stripe and Adyen converge on orchestration, real-time risk scoring, and alternative‐payment enablement to capture enterprise merchants seeking a single payments operating system. Regional switches like India’s NPCI and Brazil’s Banco Central operate as public utilities, compelling private-sector processors to layer data analytics and credit products on top of commoditized clearing. Blockchain patents from incumbents, including American Express for reward-point tokenization, indicate that intellectual-property positioning complements scale economics.  

M&A demonstrates a pivot toward ecosystem breadth: Capital One’s USD 35.3 billion purchase of Discover secures an in-house network at issuer economics, while Global Payments’ USD 22.7 billion Worldpay deal deepens merchant breadth. Strategic partnerships—Payrails with Mastercard for enterprise orchestration and eBay with Checkout.com for multi-rail acquiring—highlight competition shifting from pure processing to differentiated servicing of industry verticals.  

Payments Industry Leaders

  1. Mastercard Inc.

  2. Visa Inc.

  3. PayPal Holdings, Inc.

  4. China UnionPay Co., Ltd.

  5. American Express Company

  6. *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Payments Market Concentration
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Recent Industry Developments

  • June 2025: Visa posted USD 9.6 billion net revenue and rolled out stablecoin settlement on its network, aligning its multi-rail strategy with treasury demand for 24/7 clearing.
  • May 2025: Capital One completed the USD 35.3 billion Discover acquisition, integrating issuer, acquirer, and network capabilities to defend interchange economics in a tightening regulatory climate.
  • April 2025: Global Payments acquired Worldpay for USD 22.7 billion and divested its issuer unit, doubling down on merchant solutions while unlocking cross-sell of analytics and loyalty add-ons.
  • April 2025: eBay selected Checkout.com as global acquiring partner across 190 markets, streamlining shopper experience and reducing acceptance cost through direct local-method connections.

Table of Contents for Payments Industry Report

1. INTRODUCTION

  • 1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition
  • 1.2 Scope of the Study

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

4. MARKET LANDSCAPE

  • 4.1 Market Overview
  • 4.2 Market Drivers
    • 4.2.1 E-commerce Expansion Driven by Mobile-First Emerging Asia
    • 4.2.2 Government Instant-Payment Rails (e.g., FedNow, UPI, PIX) Accelerating A2A Adoption in North & Latin America
    • 4.2.3 Surging Cross-border B2C Remittances Fueling Digital Wallet Uptake in MENA & APAC Corridors
    • 4.2.4 Contactless Transit & Toll Schemes Catalyzing Tap-to-Pay Card Volumes in Europe & Nordics
    • 4.2.5 BNPL Integration by Tier-1 Retailers Boosting Ticket-Size & Frequency in Oceania
    • 4.2.6 ISO 20022 Migration Enabling Rich-Data Corporate Payments in Developed Markets
  • 4.3 Market Restraints
    • 4.3.1 Cyber-fraud Sophistication Outpacing AI/ML Defenses in Cross-border Flows
    • 4.3.2 Interchange & MDR Caps Compressing Issuer Margins in EU & India
    • 4.3.3 Legacy Core-Banking Inflexibility Delaying Real-time Settlement in Africa
    • 4.3.4 High Cash Reliance in Rural Caribbean Economies
  • 4.4 Value Chain Analysis
  • 4.5 Regulatory Outlook
  • 4.6 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
    • 4.6.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
    • 4.6.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers/Consumers
    • 4.6.3 Threat of New Entrants
    • 4.6.4 Threat of Substitute Products
    • 4.6.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry
  • 4.7 Sustainability & Green-Payments Initiatives
  • 4.8 Analysis of key demographic trends and patterns related to Global payments industry (Coverage to include Population, Internet Penetration, Banking Penetration/Unbanking Population, Age & Income etc.)
  • 4.9 Analysis of major case studies and use-cases
  • 4.10 Assessment of Macro Economic Trends on the Market

5. MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH FORECASTS (VALUES)

  • 5.1 By Mode of Payment
    • 5.1.1 Point-of-Sale
    • 5.1.1.1 Card (Debit, Credit, Pre-paid)
    • 5.1.1.2 Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Interac Flash)
    • 5.1.1.3 Cash
    • 5.1.1.4 Other POS (Gift-cards, QR, Wearables)
    • 5.1.2 Online
    • 5.1.2.1 Card (Card-Not-Present)
    • 5.1.2.2 Digital Wallet & Account-to-Account (Interac e-Transfer, PayPal)
    • 5.1.2.3 Other Online (COD, BNPL, Bank Transfer)
  • 5.2 By Interaction Channel
    • 5.2.1 Point-of-Sale
    • 5.2.2 E-commerce/M-commerce
  • 5.3 By Transaction Type
    • 5.3.1 Person-to-Person (P2P)
    • 5.3.2 Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
    • 5.3.3 Business-to-Business (B2B)
    • 5.3.4 Remittances & Cross-border
  • 5.4 By End-user Industry
    • 5.4.1 Retail
    • 5.4.2 Entertainment & Digital Content
    • 5.4.3 Healthcare
    • 5.4.4 Hospitality & Travel
    • 5.4.5 Government & Utilities
    • 5.4.6 Other End-user Industries
  • 5.5 By Geography
    • 5.5.1 North America
    • 5.5.1.1 United States
    • 5.5.1.2 Canada
    • 5.5.1.3 Mexico
    • 5.5.2 Europe
    • 5.5.2.1 Germany
    • 5.5.2.2 United Kingdom
    • 5.5.2.3 France
    • 5.5.2.4 Nordics
    • 5.5.2.5 Rest of Europe
    • 5.5.3 Asia-Pacific
    • 5.5.3.1 China
    • 5.5.3.2 India
    • 5.5.3.3 Japan
    • 5.5.3.4 Rest of Asia-Pacific
    • 5.5.4 South America
    • 5.5.4.1 Brazil
    • 5.5.4.2 Argentina
    • 5.5.4.3 Rest of South America
    • 5.5.5 Middle East
    • 5.5.5.1 United Arab Emirates
    • 5.5.5.2 Saudi Arabia
    • 5.5.5.3 Rest of Middle East
    • 5.5.6 Africa
    • 5.5.6.1 South Africa
    • 5.5.6.2 Nigeria
    • 5.5.6.3 Rest of Africa

6. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

  • 6.1 Market Concentration
  • 6.2 Strategic Moves
  • 6.3 Market Share Analysis
  • 6.4 Company Profiles (includes Global-level Overview, Market-level Overview, Core Segments, Financials as available, Strategic Information, Market Rank/Share, Products & Services, and Recent Developments)
    • 6.4.1 Visa Inc.
    • 6.4.2 Mastercard Incorporated
    • 6.4.3 China UnionPay Co., Ltd.
    • 6.4.4 Ant Group Co., Ltd. (Alipay)
    • 6.4.5 PayPal Holdings, Inc.
    • 6.4.6 Apple Inc. (Apple Pay)
    • 6.4.7 Google LLC (Google Pay)
    • 6.4.8 Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon Pay)
    • 6.4.9 American Express Company
    • 6.4.10 Adyen N.V.
    • 6.4.11 Stripe, Inc.
    • 6.4.12 Block, Inc. (Square & Afterpay)
    • 6.4.13 Worldline SA
    • 6.4.14 Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS)
    • 6.4.15 Fiserv, Inc.
    • 6.4.16 Global Payments Inc.
    • 6.4.17 Klarna Bank AB
    • 6.4.18 Razorpay Software Pvt. Ltd.
    • 6.4.19 PayU Payments Pvt. Ltd.
    • 6.4.20 Revolut Ltd.

7. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE OUTLOOK

  • 7.1 White-space and Unmet-need Assessment
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Global Payments Market Report Scope

The payments market is segmented by mode of payment (point of sale [card payment [debit card, credit card, bank financing card], digital wallet [mobile wallets], other modes of payment [cash on delivery, bank transfer, buy now pay later]), (online sale (card payment [debit card, credit card, bank financing card], digital wallet [Mobile Wallets], other online sales [cash on delivery, bank transfer, buy now pay later]), by end-user industries (retail, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa). 

The report offers market forecasts and size in value (USD) for all the above segments.

By Mode of Payment Point-of-Sale Card (Debit, Credit, Pre-paid)
Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Interac Flash)
Cash
Other POS (Gift-cards, QR, Wearables)
Online Card (Card-Not-Present)
Digital Wallet & Account-to-Account (Interac e-Transfer, PayPal)
Other Online (COD, BNPL, Bank Transfer)
By Interaction Channel Point-of-Sale
E-commerce/M-commerce
By Transaction Type Person-to-Person (P2P)
Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Remittances & Cross-border
By End-user Industry Retail
Entertainment & Digital Content
Healthcare
Hospitality & Travel
Government & Utilities
Other End-user Industries
By Geography North America United States
Canada
Mexico
Europe Germany
United Kingdom
France
Nordics
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific China
India
Japan
Rest of Asia-Pacific
South America Brazil
Argentina
Rest of South America
Middle East United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Rest of Middle East
Africa South Africa
Nigeria
Rest of Africa
By Mode of Payment
Point-of-Sale Card (Debit, Credit, Pre-paid)
Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Interac Flash)
Cash
Other POS (Gift-cards, QR, Wearables)
Online Card (Card-Not-Present)
Digital Wallet & Account-to-Account (Interac e-Transfer, PayPal)
Other Online (COD, BNPL, Bank Transfer)
By Interaction Channel
Point-of-Sale
E-commerce/M-commerce
By Transaction Type
Person-to-Person (P2P)
Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Remittances & Cross-border
By End-user Industry
Retail
Entertainment & Digital Content
Healthcare
Hospitality & Travel
Government & Utilities
Other End-user Industries
By Geography
North America United States
Canada
Mexico
Europe Germany
United Kingdom
France
Nordics
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific China
India
Japan
Rest of Asia-Pacific
South America Brazil
Argentina
Rest of South America
Middle East United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Rest of Middle East
Africa South Africa
Nigeria
Rest of Africa
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Key Questions Answered in the Report

What is the current size of the global payments market?

The global payments market size is USD 3.12 trillion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 5.34 trillion by 2030.

Why are healthcare payments growing so quickly?

Telemedicine adoption and patient-centric digital platforms reduce administrative friction and drive a projected 14.21% CAGR through 2030.

Which region holds the largest share of the global payments market?

Asia-Pacific leads with 38.04% market share, driven by digital wallet dominance and instant-payment rails.

Which payment channel is growing the fastest?

E-commerce and mobile commerce channels are expanding at a 16.52% CAGR as consumers increasingly shop through digital interfaces.

How are interchange caps affecting issuers?

Fee ceilings in the EU and India compress traditional card margins by up to 70%, pushing issuers toward data services and premium cross-border segments.

What strategic moves are card networks making to stay competitive?

Visa and Mastercard invest heavily in AI-driven fraud defenses, stablecoin settlement, and multi-rail push-payment services to maintain relevance amid wallet and A2A growth.

Page last updated on: July 6, 2025

Payments Market Report Snapshots