Industry: Payments, Remittance & Cards (Financial Services & Investment Intelligence)
Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/payments-and-settlements-market
Scraped Date: 2026-09-17
| Market Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Base Market Size | USD 2.62 trillion |
| Projected Forecast (2031) | USD 2.62 trillion |
| Growth Rate (CAGR) | 7.12 % |
| Largest Market Region | N/A |
| Fastest-Growing Region | N/A |
!Major players in Payments and Settlements industry
!Payments and Settlements Market Size
!Payments and Settlements Market Share by Mode of Payment, 2025
!Payments and Settlements Market Share by Transaction Type, 2025
!Payments and Settlements Market Share by Settlement Rail and Infrastructure, 2025
!Payments and Settlements Market Concentration
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Market OverviewStudy Period | 2020 - 2031 |
Market Size (2026) | USD 2.62 Trillion |
Market Size (2031) | USD 3.70 Trillion |
Growth Rate (2026 - 2031) | 7.12 % |
Fastest Growing Market | Asia-Pacific |
Largest Market | North America |
Market Concentration | High |
Major Players*Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Image © Vijeron Intelligence. Reuse requires attribution under CC BY 4.0.
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Payments and Settlements Market Analysis by Vijeron IntelligenceThe Payments And Settlements Market size is expected to increase from USD 2.47 trillion in 2025 to USD 2.62 trillion in 2026 and reach USD 3.70 trillion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7.12% over 2026-2031.
The payments and settlements market is moving from bilateral, batch-based clearing toward systems that operate continuously and support programmable settlement. Government-backed instant-payment rails, cross-border checkout needs, and tokenized settlement tools are changing how institutions route transactions. These changes reduce settlement delays and place pressure on fee pools that once favored established card and correspondent banking models. The global payments and settlements market is consequently shifting the basis of competition from acceptance reach alone to the quality of connected services. Providers are responding by combining card acceptance, account-to-account transfers, real-time payouts, and tokenized rails in broader service platforms. The global payments and settlements market also faces uneven compliance costs because fraud controls, identity checks, and data-transfer rules differ across jurisdictions.
Key Report Takeaways* By mode of payment, card payments held 37.7% of the payments and settlements market share in 2025, while digital assets, stablecoins & tokenised payments are forecast to grow at a 16.3% CAGR through 2031.
Market Trends and InsightsDrivers Impact Analysis of Payments and Settlements Market*Driver | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
Cross-Border Commerce and Digital Marketplaces | +1.8% | Global, concentrated in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America corridors | Medium term (2-4 years) |
Government Instant Payment Rails and Account-to-Account Adoption | +1.6% | Asia-Pacific core, with spillover to North America and Europe | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
Digital Remittances and Embedded Payouts | +1.1% | Middle East and Africa, South Asia, Latin America, North America, and the Gulf states | Medium term (2-4 years) |
ISO 20022 Payment Automation | +0.9% | Global, with early gains in SWIFT corridors, SEPA, and the Nordics | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
Payment Sovereignty and Domestic-Rail Linkages | +0.7% | ASEAN, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
Source: Vijeron Intelligence |
Competitive Landscape
The payments and settlements market has an oligopolistic top tier in card networks and a fragmented set of processors, cross-border specialists, and digital-asset providers. Visa held 31% of the United States debit purchase volume and 30% of the United States credit purchase volume in 2025. This position gives the largest networks a strong base in acceptance, rules, and transaction data. Competition is increasing where account-to-account payments, wallets, and tokenized settlement can substitute for parts of the traditional card flow. The payments and settlements market has therefore become less defined by a single payment instrument and more defined by the ability to connect several rails safely.
Visa expanded stablecoin settlement to 9 blockchains in April 2026, signaling a strategy to incorporate tokenized settlement into existing network services. Mastercard announced an agreement to acquire BVNK in March 2026, reflecting a similar effort to connect fiat and on-chain payment infrastructure. Global Payments completed its acquisition of Worldpay from FIS in January 2026, which created a larger merchant-acquiring platform. These moves show that scale, regulation, and technical interoperability are becoming connected to competitive requirements. Providers are also working on standards for agent-led payments, where credential security and customer consent remain central.
Payment infrastructure providers such as Stripe, Adyen, and Juspay are expanding payment orchestration capabilities, allowing merchants to connect multiple payment providers, optimize routing, improve authorization rates, and support alternative payment methods through a unified platform.
Cross-border providers compete by offering clearer foreign exchange pricing, business accounts, payment acceptance, and treasury services to small and medium-sized businesses. Airwallex secured USD 320 million in Series H funding in March 2026 and reported USD 1.3 billion in annualized revenue, supporting its expansion across several regions. At the same time, established providers are reassessing portfolios and costs as lower-cost alternatives reduce margins in selected payment flows. Opportunities remain in affordable treasury and reconciliation tools, verified-payee safeguards, and tokenized wholesale settlement for foreign exchange and securities. The global payments and settlements market is likely to reward providers that combine these services with dependable compliance and fraud controls.
Payments and Settlements Industry Leaders* Visa Inc.
Image © Vijeron Intelligence. Reuse requires attribution under CC BY 4.0.
Global Payments and Settlements Market Report ScopeBy Mode of PaymentCard Payments (Debit, Credit, Prepaid) |
Digital Wallets & Mobile Money |
Account-to-Account & Instant Payments |
Traditional Bank Transfers |
Buy Now, Pay Later & Embedded Credit |
Digital Assets, Stablecoins & Tokenised Payments |
Other Payments |
By GeographyNorth America | United States |
| Canada |
|---|
| Mexico |
South America | Brazil |
| Argentina |
|---|
| Rest of South America |
Europe | United Kingdom |
| Germany |
|---|
| France |
| Italy |
| Spain |
| Rest of Europe |
Asia-Pacific | China |
| Japan |
|---|
| India |
| South Korea |
| Australia |
| Indonesia |
| Thailand |
| Malaysia |
| Singapore |
| Vietnam |
| Rest of Asia-Pacific |
Middle East and Africa | Saudi Arabia |
| United Arab Emirates |
|---|
| Turkey |
| South Africa |
| Egypt |
| Rest of Middle East and Africa |
Government instant-payment rails, digital commerce, cross-border payment links, and tokenized settlement are expanding the range of payment and payout options.
Digital Assets, Stablecoins & Tokenised Payments are forecast to grow at a 16.3% CAGR through 2031.
Cross-border payments are forecast to grow at a 9.2% CAGR as merchants and treasury teams seek faster, clearer, and more dependable international fund movement.
Asia-Pacific is forecast to grow at a 9.9% CAGR through 2031, supported by India's UPI, China's digital payment infrastructure, and regional payment links.
Authorized push-payment fraud, account takeover, inconsistent data standards, and cross-border compliance requirements need strong verification and monitoring controls.
Visa expanded stablecoin settlement across 9 blockchains, while Mastercard announced its planned acquisition of BVNK to connect on-chain and fiat payment infrastructure.