Payments Research | Javelin

What shapes consumer transactions and payment technologies, and where is it going?

Rapid changes in technology, regulation, and consumer behavior continue to reshape the payments industry. Javelin’s payments research team tracks commercial and consumer payment trends, evaluates emerging payment technologies, and anticipates what’s next. Through unbiased research, data-driven insights, and actionable advice, we help financial institutions, payments providers, and technology companies develop strategies that position them for success in a rapidly evolving market.

Payments Research

Reports

Building the Case for Stablecoin Remittances: Javelin Models the Total Addressable Market

Stablecoins have the potential to reshape cross-border payments, but the industry often confuses transaction volume and asset value with actual revenue opportunity. Javelin sizes the U.S. stablecoin remittance market using measurable payment flo...

Migration Not Flight: The Impacts of Stablecoins on Deposits

Stablecoin growth could shift hundreds of billions of dollars out of conventional deposit products, with the greatest pressure falling on payment-intensive consumer, commercial, and treasury balances. This report estimates the scale of that migr...

Turning Everyday Debit Into Deeper Loyalty Through Rewards

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: September 24, 2026
  • Author(s): Ben Danner
  • Research Topic(s): Debit
As interchange revenue pressures make traditional cashback programs increasingly difficult to sustain, issuers are focusing on loyalty strategies that deepen customer engagement across banking products. But many consumers, especially older gener...

Will Agents Need Wallets? Why Payment Infrastructure Matters

Agentic commerce is beginning to reshape how consumers discover products and complete transactions. Yet the future of payments will depend less on which, and which type of, consumer-facing agent wins and more on the infrastructure that enables a...

2026 General-Purpose Reloadable Card Scorecard

Javelin’s 2026 General-Purpose Reloadable Card Scorecard shows which prepaid debit card programs are setting the standard for cost, everyday usability, and differentiated benefits. Readers will learn how PayPal, Cash App, Wisely Direct, and othe...

Card-Linked Offers: Keep Rewarding Consumers, but Shift the Narrative

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: September 15, 2026
  • Author(s): Brian Riley
  • Research Topic(s): Credit
Card-linked offers are emerging as one of the most important shifts in credit card rewards. They give issuers a merchant-funded way to deliver value while reducing dependence on interchange-funded points and miles. Powered by AI, embedded in gro...

As AI Costs Grow, Here’s How Banks Can Manage the Economics

AI is spreading through banks faster than any technology on record, bringing new opportunities alongside rising costs and operational complexity. As pricing models evolve and AI usage expands across all business units, financial institutions nee...

2026 Prepaid Regulatory Update: States Focus on Fraud Fight and Cash-Outs

Gift cards remain consumers’ favorite present, and a wave of new laws is regulating the fraud, theft, and forgery of prepaid products. States are increasingly targeting criminals instead of card programs, while emerging rules around sports betti...

Cash Isn’t Dead: How ATMs Are Evolving to Secure a Digital Payments Future

  • Impact Note
  • Date: August 18, 2026
  • Author(s): Ben Danner
  • Research Topic(s): Debit
Cash may no longer be the center of consumer payments, but it is far from irrelevant. As digital payments gain share, consumers still depend on cash for access, certainty, budgeting, and immediate settlement—and ATMs remain the critical infrastr...

Credit Card Metrics Matter: Five Lenses for Measuring Portfolio Performance

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: August 17, 2026
  • Author(s): Brian Riley
  • Research Topic(s): Credit
Credit cards are measured very differently depending on who is doing the measuring. A cardholder may focus on fees and rewards, while portfolio managers, investors, risk executives, and regulators each rely on differing sets of metrics to evalua...

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