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
CBDCs: Where Are We Now?
As the global development of central bank digital currencies advances, with the Bank for International Settlements at the center of many projects, central banks are zeroing in on key considerations: wholesale vs. retail CBDCs, public vs. private...
The Growing Importance of FinOps at Financial Institutions
As financial institutions increasingly embrace the power of technology and remake themselves through cloud computing and the harnessing of artificial intelligence, FinOps teams step to the fore. FinOps align the many relationships between banks ...
Debit Cashback Fees: A Customer Service or a Merchant Revenue Generator?
This Javelin Strategy & Research impact note considers the acquisition of cash through debit cards from several perspectives: banks and retailers that consider debit card cash back an “on-us” service to consumers, entities that impose fees on th...
21st Annual U.S. Open-Loop Prepaid Card Market Forecast, 2024-2028
Open-loop prepaid programs continue to show consistent and strong growth opportunities across most market verticals. This Javelin Strategy & Research report, the 21st annual assessment of the open-loop ecosystem, identifies a new period of signi...
Cross-Border Payments and the Impact of Tariffs: An Opportunity for Fintechs
Fintechs are bringing diverse options to the world of cross-border payments, which were once solely marked by opaque and costly movement through correspondent banking channels. Now, with President-elect Donald J. Trump about to begin a new term,...
Imagining a Cardless U.S. Payments Landscape, Part 2
The physical card—whether credit, debit, or prepaid—is the great driver of transactions across the payments landscape, wielded by large percentages of consumers regardless of age. But what happens in some future when the card form is usurped by ...
2025 Commercial & Enterprise Payments Trends
The increasing acceptance of card payments for payables, instant payments’ reach into cross-border business transactions, and the ongoing attempts to eliminate or curtail paper checks in business payments are catching the eye of Javelin Strategy...
2025 Credit Payments Trends
In 2025, credit card issuers are not just facing change; they are at the forefront of shaping the future of the consumer credit industry. Despite the weakening consumer economics, the industry is not just adapting but also thriving and evolving....
2025 Debit Payment Trends
The world of debit payments is a dynamic one. Even as debit cards remain durable and essential modes of payment, trends are coming to the fore that promise to create better consumer experiences, provide more ways to pay, and enhance the security...
2025 Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Trends
For 2025, Javelin expects much of the same evolution and development in the space, with an emphasis on the technological underpinnings of digital assets and crypto. Whereas previous iterations of growth and optimism tended to focus on crypto as ...