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

How Banks and Fintechs Are Jostling for Position in the New Data Access Economy

Financial data aggregators are losing ground as connectivity becomes a commodity and banks reassert control. The real battleground now lies in who can turn permissioned data into superior intelligence—fraud, risk, and analytics—while navigating ...

One Year On: Tariff Impacts on U.S. Imports and What They Mean for Treasury and Payments

The 2025 tariff regime triggered sharp, policy driven shifts in U.S. import patterns, with tariffs reliably pushing trade away from high duty lanes and toward lower duty or exempted alternatives. With the tariff framework subsequently overturned...

Vertical SaaS: Best Practices for Monetizing Payments

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: February 24, 2026
  • Author(s): Don Apgar
  • Research Topic(s): Merchant
Electronic payments are increasingly important to businesses of all types and were one of the first value-added features software companies brought to their platforms. Ironically, even as independent software vendors recognize the growing import...

State of Debit 2026

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: February 23, 2026
  • Author(s): Ben Danner
  • Research Topic(s): Debit
Despite headwinds that include significant financial strain on consumers despite a broadly stable economy, debit remains resilient—especially among younger consumers and lower income households. Furthermore, co-branded rewards debit and small bu...

Building the Bridge to Payments: 3 Investment Trends for 2026 and Beyond

Investment in fintechs’ payment technology in 2026 is being shaped by a strong shift toward “bridging technologies” that connect legacy systems with emerging capabilities. Investors are prioritizing startups with clear revenue paths, enterprise-...

Why FIs Should Use Hyperliquid’s Playbook for Crypto

Hyperliquid didn’t win market share by focusing on decentralization. Rather, it won by rebuilding market structure from a decentralized standpoint. This report explains how a centralized exchange experience, an on-chain centralized limit order b...

2026 State of the Industry: Commercial Prepaid Cards

The commercial prepaid market continues to provide overall growth, with concern continuing in government verticals. Providers would be well-positioned to focus on business-to-business relationships for growth while maintaining government relatio...

Chargebacks: The Case for Coordination

This report, sponsored by Mastercard, examines the near- and long-term effects that chargebacks have on each party to a card purchase transaction, as well as the existing opportunities to streamline the chargeback process or reduce the number of...

Crypto Gateways: Digital Money Routers

Crypto gateways are no longer “pay with crypto” at checkout. They’re becoming digital money routers that connect wallets, stablecoins, and fiat inside existing payment flows. This report breaks down direct and indirect gateway models, details wh...

What Banks Can Learn from Good Vendors: Developer Lessons From Modern API Platforms

Developer portals at banks serve the dual purpose of democratizing access to its financial products and attracting top tech talent, ensuring FIs remain top of wallet and on the bleeding edge of innovation. This Javelin Strategy & Research report...

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