Our Growth in Payments report highlights three disruptive forces that are driving change and creating opportunities for growth: the launch of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), changing customer behaviors and expectations (largely due to the pandemic) and the adoption of new, emerging digital technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

In some segments of the market, like international transfers and small merchant acquiring, the payments disruptors have already capitalized on these trends to build large businesses by driving fees down, squeezing banks’ margins and building scale.

Payments trends like the ongoing displacement of cash, new payments options like request to pay, digital currencies and buy now, pay later services (BNPL) are all creating exciting opportunities for those able to seize them. For the most part, these are payments fintechs and digital native disruptors.

However, a select few incumbent banking institutions and payments processors—we call them Payments Growth Leaders—have thrived amidst this disruption and outgrown the market over the last three years.

Our report shows that Payments Growth Leaders are setting themselves apart by investing in compelling new value propositions that focus on innovative payment methods to anticipate customers’ emerging needs and expectations.

To follow these leaders, other incumbent banks and payment providers will need to sharpen their own value propositions and create payments experiences that fit seamlessly into the lives of customers—anywhere, anytime and, increasingly, anyhow.