What shapes consumer transactions and payment technologies, and where is it going?
Any conventional wisdom about payments—how they’re made, the currencies being used, the cards presently in favor—doesn’t last long before the next wave of technology, innovation, and regulation. Javelin’s analysts conduct research at the forefront of payments, identifying the emerging trends for financial services companies and payments providers and offering insight into how they can best position themselves not just for what is current but also for what is coming.
Payments Research
Reports
Fleet Cards in 2023: An Industry in the Fast Lane
Fleet operators face a variety of challenges in fueling and maintaining their vehicles, and they have a range of payment options available to them, involving closed-loop and open-loop card products. New technology is coming fast to an industry t...
How Pay-by-Bank Could Shake Up Payments
As older payment methods recede, pay-by-bank is emerging as a contender at the point of sale. It allows consumers to continue using the funds in their checking accounts, as they do with ACH payments, but adds greater security with real-time auth...
Generative AI: It's Here, and It Defies Static Definition
Generative artificial intelligence is not just hype. It is a high-impact technology that requires the attention of leaders in every industry. Payments and financial services products and business models are at risk, but they will not be affected...
Expanding The Use of Prepaid for Underserved Communities
Prepaid cards continue to emerge as effective tools to address the financial needs of underbanked communities and cater to the particular requirements of developing underserved communities, including young people and those providing elder care. ...
Real-Time Payments at the Point of Sale
With the pending launch of the FedNow service in the United States, real-time payments (RTP) are poised to transform the way large numbers of Americans go about their transactions. Hosting RTP at the point of sale is a particularly attractive pr...
Private-Label Credit Cards: Still Relevant but Losing Luster
Private-label credit cards are an essential part of the U.S. card market, but they are a product in slow decline and face several threats, including instant point-of-sale financing and buy now, pay later loans.
U.S. Real-Time Payments: A Catalyst for Payments Modernization
This report, sponsored by Volante Technologies, reviews the challenges and benefits associated with banks’ adoption of real-time payments in the United States given the increased options that are currently available.
The Case for Card Networks’ Embrace of Interoperability
Card networks are at a crossroads after decades of dominance. New payment methods and heightened regulatory scrutiny are eroding the competitive advantage Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover have historically enjoyed. This combinati...
What We Can Learn From Merchant Services M&A Activity in 2022 and 2023
Mergers and acquisitions in payments and merchant services have slowed amid tough economic conditions and the fallout from the FIS-Worldpay deal, which just didn’t work out. Against that backdrop, M&A activity in those spaces is under increasing...
What the Fall of Crypto-Friendly Banks Means for the Market
The collapses of three cryptocurrency-friendly financial institutions demonstrate the issues that face crypto companies and their providers of financial services. Crypto-focused and related companies can still move toward opportunities by promot...