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 other modalities? How do our ideas of what a payment entails change? What are the implications for how we speak about payments? 

This Javelin Strategy & Research report considers winners and losers in two iterations of a future in which physical credit and debit cards are not the dominant forms of payment. In one, which tracks along the current status quo, card products fuel and drive digital wallet payments. In the other, where the payments themselves decouple from current payment architecture, the implications are much more wide-ranging for a host of current payment incumbents.

Key questions discussed in this report: 

• What are the visions of a possible future when physical cards are no longer the dominant payment forms? 
• Among current incumbents, who are the winners and losers in that future? 
• What are the possible timelines of a move toward a cardless future?

Companies Mentioned: 

Affirm, Apple, Google, Mastercard, PayPal, Visa