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
2025 General-Purpose Reloadable Card Scorecard
The second annual General-Purpose Reloadable Card Scorecard by Javelin Strategy & Research evaluates 16 major card programs across a variety of features, looking at the programs through the lens of consumer use. In a competitive marketplace with...
Credit Card Balance Transfers: A Consumer’s Opportunity and an Issuer’s Bet
Balance transfer offers, when they unfold as designed, can be a win-win for credit card issuers and consumers. Consumers receive a credit card loan that’s interest-free for a prescribed time, and issuers can book the fee—often 3% to 5%—as immedi...
Unpacking The Modern Payment Stack: What Matters Most for Banks
Legacy payment stacks still are still reliable, but they won’t work for the long term as payments evolve. The case for modernization for banks lies in improving their products and gaining measurable business results.
From Volume to Value: Balanced Scorecards for Commercial Payments
Success in commercial payments is no longer just about growing volume; it’s about proving value. This Javelin Strategy & Research report shows how a balanced-scorecard approach can align commercial payments providers’ key performance indicators ...
Shifting the Balance: How Consumers Are Using Bank Accounts Today
Consumer payment habits show an interesting blend of change and resilience. As those habits relate to the use of checking accounts—and even fintech offerings that aren’t really checking accounts but can be used as if they are—perhaps the most in...
Stablecoins vs. Tokenized Deposits
Stablecoins and tokenized deposits are redefining how banks participate in digital money. Much of the current discussion centers on which of these instruments banks should emphasize. Although there are clear differences between stablecoins and t...
Making Sense of Agentic Commerce: How Do We Get Started?
Agentic commerce has seized the headlines in 2025 with announcements and plans for features from various players in the nascent space? But what does it all mean when so much of the future vision—from what agents are to how they’re acquired and d...
2025 Prepaid Regulatory Update: Federal Changes Dominate the Conversation
This annual update by Javelin Strategy & Research covers how economic and regulatory issues are affecting the prepaid card market. It focuses on how the prepaid market may be affected by changes to broad-scale federal policy as well as direct fe...
Credit Card Acquisitions: An Intro to Introductory Offers
The U.S. adult population grew by 10% from 2016 to 2025, but credit card acquisitions advanced at a rate almost five times faster. Cardholders are not just accumulating credit cards; they increased their revolving debt in that period by more tha...
Unattended Checkout: Where Do We Go From Here?
Unattended checkout isn’t dying, not by a long shot, but it’s in a period of transition. Although consumers like it, merchants need it, and payment trends favor it, some major merchants have scaled back their ambitions for unattended checkout as...