The future of global consumer payments in 2030

This article is the first in a series, “Global payments in 2030”, aimed at painting a picture of the potential payments evolution and the broader future of payments . This article outlines four possible scenarios—each with their own opportunities, challenges, and customer experiences—for how the payment market could evolve. As change accelerates unevenly across markets, organizations will need to adapt strategies to navigate an increasingly dynamic ecosystem for global payment solutions and the overall payment future.

A framework for the future of payments

The article identifies two main uncertainties—adoption of innovation and global cooperation—leading to four possible futures for payments (and the future of payment experiences globally):

• Utilitarians: Broader market innovation, internally focused
• Soloists: Payments-driven innovation, internally focused
• Plug and Players: Broader market innovation, globally connected and interoperable—enabled by a global payments platform (or global payment platform) that supports cross-border interoperability and resilient global payment processing
• Trendsetters: Payments-driven innovation, globally connected and interoperable—pushing the frontier of identity, data, and real-time rails

What’s inside the report

• Four future scenarios for global consumer payments
• Primary trends, uncertainties, and implications for market participants
• Data-driven methodology and thought-provoking questions

Additional perspectives on the future of commercial payments—and implications for payments ecosystem players—will follow as part of this series, including how operating models and capabilities may shift as the future of payments becomes more platform-led.