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
Agentic Standards: Platform Opportunities and Platform Solutions
The development of open agentic commerce protocols—notably the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and Agent Commerce Protocol (ACP)—represent an expected and necessary alternative to the early, essentially proprietary solutions. The flurry of 202...
The Target Circle Card Program: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again
Target Circle Card program is a standout loyalty program for offering credit and debit card products. However, the program is under pressure, and there are lessons to be learned. From a product-offering standpoint, Target Circle covers all its b...
Credit Card Databook 2026
The credit card market, which appeared to be a candidate for saturation in recent years, continues to grow amid a resilient economy. Purchase volume reached $1.28 trillion in 2025, and credit cards remain the most popular payment vehicles among ...
Faster Funds by Fiat: A Global Comparison of Payment Timing Regulations
Governments want big businesses to pay suppliers faster, and they are using legislation to influence payment timing, with varying degrees of success. This report categorizes the main policy approaches, explains why some designs succeed while oth...
2026 Prepaid Payments Data Book
The Prepaid Card Data Book creates a baseline to highlight key metrics for the prepaid industry in brief, consolidated updates. This evaluation of the prepaid and stored-value market by Javelin Strategy & Research covers market estimates for the...
Agentic Commerce: Green Light or Flashing Yellow for Merchants?
Agentic commerce is forecasted to reach $500 billion in sales by 2030, but what’s driving that growth? Consumers will vote with their wallets on which product categories and sales channels will be winners and losers as this new technology gains ...
Agentic Commerce: Risks and Opportunities
AI-driven agentic commerce is beginning to reshape how consumers and businesses buy, pay, and interact.
Inside the $44B B2B Gift Card Engine: Javelin’s Big Reveal—Encore Edition
Back by popular demand, this encore session offers a deeper look at Javelin Strategy & Research’s newly released B2B Gift Card & Incentive Market Update, first unveiled at the RGCA Forum.
Chase Bites on Apple: Big Gets Bigger (and Probably Better)
JPMorgan Chase’s deal with Goldman Sachs to take over stewardship of the Apple Card sends both banks in the direction of their greatest strengths. JPMorgan Chase knows how to run a credit card program and can guide the Apple line toward growth a...
2026 Javelin Trends Webinars
Diving into the digital financial services trends and predictions our experts see coming in 2026.