Payments trends in 2024 and beyond are largely impacted by technology and the state of the economy. We’re seeing a decline in discretionary spending, and an increase in the number of ways consumers like to make payments. Plus, AI and biometrics are also impacting payment security and fraud prevention.
Below, I’ll walk you through a few digital payment trends to watch as you prepare your business for the future of payment processing.
1. Diversified payment methods
One of the more well-known global payment trends is payment method diversity. There are so many ways to make payments these days. I can choose cash, card, mobile app, QR code, tap to pay, buy now and pay later (BNPL), or even cryptocurrency.
According to a survey by Square, preferences are pretty widespread across the board. While 58% of consumers still use cash, 57% prefer mobile wallets, and 53% use QR code payments. Another 44% use traditional credit and debit cards, 44% use touchless card payments, and 43% use BNPL.
BNPL is particularly notable, as it’s now being adopted in more industry verticals than before. Groceries, for example, may be available for purchase via BNPL. In fact, BNPL grocery purchases increased by 40% between 2023 and 2024, according to Deloitte. This is a direct response to the current economic and political climate, which is causing a decrease in discretionary spending.
The list of payment options will only continue to grow as the economy moves further away from cash and check and towards innovative payment methods like NFC or biometric payments. This also means considering options like subscriptions, cryptocurrency, saved payments, bill splitting, peer-to-peer (P2P), and gift cards.
Here’s another interesting stat from Deloitte: 70% of consumers say their store choice is highly influenced by whether or not the store offers their preferred payment method. It is therefore important for businesses to keep up.
Related: Best crypto payment gateways
Cash vs cashless
Today’s consumers like convenience and options. I remember when it was just a cash or credit world—now, consumers can choose to pay for their purchases in many ways.
However, according to data from Square, about 58% of shoppers still prefer cash. In fact, some trends are even indicating a move back to cash and away from digitization.
So, there’s really no clear winner in a cash vs. cashless debate. The real answer for businesses is to create ways to allow customers to pay with or without cash.
Related: What is a cashless society? From speculation to near-reality
Mobile payments and digital wallets
Mobile payments and digital wallets—like Apple Pay and Google Pay—are another payment trend that has been around for a while but continues to impact businesses everywhere, especially as this technology evolves.
Per Deloitte, 57% of consumers prefer to pay with mobile wallet apps. Digital wallets actually made up 37% of transaction value for e-commerce payments and 15% of POS payments in North America in 2023.
Contactless pay can also fall under the category of mobile payments. Mobile payments involve the use of NFC technology so a customer can hold up their phone or smartwatch to the reader rather than having to insert a chip or swipe a card. The contactless payment market is also expected to see major growth—at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 113% through 2029, according to Juniper Research.
Related: Top mobile payment methods
Crypto payments
Cryptocurrency payments skyrocketed in popularity when they were first introduced. The trend did lose some steam partly due to regulatory challenges, currency volatility, susceptibility to fraud, and low confidence in the currency’s viability over the long term, perhaps thanks to the FTX scandal and collapse.
With this doubt, the crypto payments market is only forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 17% through 2029.
However, since Donald Trump’s re-election, crypto and bitcoin have seen a resurgence of popularity in the United States.
2. Biometrics features
Biometric payments are experiencing a surge in growth, with forecasts to grow at a CAGR of 113.6% from 2024 through 2028, per Juniper Research. Some forecasts even say it will be the norm within the next decade. These payments incorporate biometric technology—usually in the form of fingerprint or facial recognition—to improve both data privacy and transaction convenience.
Security is a top concern for businesses, both themselves and their customers. This is especially important when it comes to payments—there’s lots of sensitive information going around, so businesses are always looking for ways to tighten things up from a security perspective. Biometric payments are another layer of security that can help accomplish this.
Not only does biometric authentication help boost security, but it also makes login and connection more efficient. I can’t tell you how many passwords I have to remember—if I can use my fingerprint or my face to authenticate something instead, that’s one less password I have to keep track of. And remember, shoppers love efficiency and convenience.
3. AI to facilitate and fight fraud
Fraud is always a threat to businesses and consumers. According to Avidchange’s B2B Payment Security report, more than three-quarters of businesses have experienced payment fraud in the past year alone.
Speaking of security, AI is another payment trend to watch. And this can work in businesses’ favor or, in a worst-case scenario, fraudsters’ favor. Globalpayments reports that as many as 43% of businesses have plans to employ AI technology to help with fraud detection.
While AI is an amazing tool to detect fraudulent transactions and add a layer of security, it also makes the work of a hacker much more accessible.
Rather than manually decoding payment information, hackers can tap into AI technology to make it easier to accomplish their tasks. In fact, Deloitte actually predicts that AI could enable losses to fraud of up to $40 billion by 2027. So, it’s important to use payment technology that integrates the latest and most advanced security features.
4. Instant payments
While consumers love the convenience of being able to pay with anything other than cash, this has also added to delays when it comes to being able to access said cash.
Digital payments often come with a waiting period—for example, if I make a purchase with my credit card at a store, it might take a day or two for the charge to show up. Likewise, when I transfer money from PayPal or Venmo to my account, I usually have to wait a few days to receive the funds in my bank account.
These delays don’t gel with our instant gratification society. So, payment technology is adapting to instant payments. For example, if I want to receive my PayPal or Venmo funds right away, I can actually pay a fee for an instant transfer.
Instant payments are actually expected to make up 22% of transactions by 2028, per Capegemini’s World Payments Report 2025. It’s also believed that more instant payment availability will also facilitate more digital payment adoption by both businesses and consumers alike. JPMorgan reports about 80% of finance professionals believe faster payments will positively impact business.
But time will tell on this one—only about 5% of global banks have advanced business technology, so there’s still work to do.
5. B2B is going digital
B2B payments used to be largely check-based. But checks are quickly becoming antiquated in the payments industry. In fact, 80% of B2B transactions used to be paid by check—that figure is now closer to one-third. And only about 5% of businesses are even prepared to make vendor and supplier payments by check.
You can see the decline in cash and check in B2B payment trends in the chart below. In 2019, they made up half of all B2B payments. Now, they account for less than one-third. Digital ACH transfers are making the most headway, but card and wire payments also experienced a slight increase.
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