Payments
How a customer’s payment reaches the merchant.
When a customer pays for a purchase, several things have to happen before the merchant receives the money. The buyer must be identified, fraud checks carried out and the payment authorised. The funds then need to reach the merchant and be matched to the purchase in its records. Payment companies earn their fees by handling parts of that process, whether through checkout software, terminals, transaction processing or connections between banks.
For merchants, these services make it easier to complete purchases, receive money promptly and handle refunds. Cards, bank transfers and digital wallets offer different ways to do that. The choice is often less about the technology itself than about making payment simple for the customer.
Market size & opportunity
The ECB’s July 2026 release gives a sense of this activity: 83.5 billion non-cash payments in the euro area during the second half of 2025, up 6.9% year on year, with cards accounting for 57% of the count. These provisional figures count payments rather than the revenue earned from them.
Behind that volume are different needs, from small everyday purchases to subscriptions and international transfers. Payment businesses serve them through a combination of transaction services, software and terminals. That gives the theme a broader reach than the checkout screen alone.
Market outlook
Global payments revenue
Worldwide · US$ billion per year
- 2024Study baseline1,930
- 2029Forecast2,400
BCG measures revenue rather than the money processed. Because it includes deposit margins as well as transaction income, the total extends beyond payment-processing fees.
Boston Consulting GroupForecast published
Recent progress
Instant euro transfers are changing how quickly money can reach its destination. The euro-area deadline for sending them was 9 October 2025, alongside payee verification, although payment and electronic-money institutions have later deadlines. Verification checks the recipient’s name against the account details before the payer proceeds. Instant transfers cannot cost more than corresponding standard transfers.
Because they work around the clock, these transfers could make paying directly from a bank account a more practical alternative at checkout. For customers and merchants, the benefit is straightforward: less waiting for money to arrive, with a name check to help catch mistakes before it is sent.
Sources
- ECB · Payments statistics, second half of 2025; released July 2026
- ECB · Instant Payments Regulation and implementation dates
Updated
Research & reports
No European Tech Equities reports have been published on this theme yet.