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

U.S. Bill Pay Market: Can Financial Institutions Win Back Payers?

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: January 26, 2021
  • Author(s): Sarah Grotta
  • Research Topic(s): Debit
In a new report, Mercator Advisory Group forecasts the U.S. bill pay market will edge closer to $4 Trillion in annual processed volume. Checks payments will give way to card and electronic transaction types.

Payments Keep Branch Banking Alive

If a bank considers branch banking unimportant, it needs to think again. Approximately 13% of consumers have not walked into a branch in the past year, down only slightly (3%) from 2019, even amid pandemic restrictions. The importance of branche...

Contactless POS Payments Finally Ready For Prime Time

  • Impact Note
  • Date: December 31, 2020
  • Author(s): Raymond Pucci
  • Research Topic(s): Merchant
Several years in the making, contactless payment cards are finally arriving in large numbers at mailboxes throughout the U.S.

Card Networks Deploy Delegated Authentication: Everybody Wins!

  • Impact Note
  • Date: December 30, 2020
  • Author(s): Tim Sloane
  • Research Topic(s): Emerging
With Delegated Authentication, card networks enable merchants to control the entire cardholder experience. Issuers reduce costs while consumers can use biometrics for online shopping and passwords slowly fade away.

Commercial Prepaid North America: Open-Loop Market Review and Forecast, 2019-2024

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: December 28, 2020
  • Research Topic(s): Prepaid
Corporate spending to power commercial prepaid growth 2021-2024. A Mercator Advisory Group research report assesses continued growth of commercial prepaid in North America despite the pandemic.

Government Issued Prepaid Cards: Efficient Cash Access and Distribution

Prepaid cards played a significant role in distributing CARES Act funds to 3.6 million Americans, but the payment form extends deep into many government benefit programs.

Regulatory Two-Step: Changes at CFPB Will Reflect the New Administration

  • Impact Note
  • Date: December 23, 2020
  • Author(s): Brian Riley
  • Research Topic(s): Credit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) achieved many wins on behalf of the American public in eight years, but Pres. Obama’s and Pres. Trump's political inclinations influenced enforcement strategies. Under President Biden, expect the C...

Subscription Economy Accelerates as Stay-At-Home Lifestyle Spurs Demand

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: December 23, 2020
  • Author(s): Raymond Pucci
  • Research Topic(s): Merchant
Stay-at-home lifestyle drives online subscriptions market surge. A Mercator Advisory Group research report assesses key subscriptions segments and future growth opportunities for payments providers and software developers.

Credit Card Account Forbearance: Not Forgiveness and Not Forever

  • Impact Note
  • Date: December 22, 2020
  • Author(s): Brian Riley
  • Research Topic(s): Credit
Payment holidays helped consumers get through unexpected credit risk during the pandemic, but before long it will be time to pay the piper. Suppressed delinquency volume makes risk appear under control, but the day of reckoning will soon be at h...

Debit Card Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region

  • Javelin Report
  • Date: December 21, 2020
  • Author(s): Sarah Grotta
  • Research Topic(s): Debit, Global
Mercator Advisory Group Releases New Research, Debit Card Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region Mercator Advisory Group releases a new research report that examines how financial inclusion, payment legacy, COVID-19, the regulatory environment and o...

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