Apr
The One Thing to Care about in US Payments in 2025
Recently, we conducted webinars covering the “one thing” to focus on in payments in several markets, including Latin America and Asia.
In these regions, we discussed one key topic per country, since key issues vary. In covering the United States, however, we looked at “one thing” in different payment areas, such as remittances, stablecoins, tech adoption and more.
To frame the discussion properly, we began by covering the overall context in US payments in 2025, such as:
- 88% of the US$64 trillion in annual consumer expenditure is electronic
- In 2024 cash only had a 16% share of transactions in the US, compared to much larger shares in Latin American countries
- In terms of overall volume of consumer expenditure in 2024, traditional money movement (which includes non-instant bank transfers like ACH and wires, as well as checks) had the largest share at 68%
- Credit cards had a 9% share of overall consumer expenditure in the US, while debit cards had a 7% share and instant A2A had only a 4% share
- Cash has been dropping in share of consumer payment transactions since 2016 (31% in 2016 vs. 16% in 2023), but is still used heavily by low-income households
Key payment issues in the US market in 2025
Stablecoins
An executive order by President Trump may position the US as a leader in stablecoin innovation via the establishment of a Working Group on Digital Asset Markets in the National Economic Council
This Working Group will propose a federal regulatory framework governing the issuance and operation of digital assets, including stablecoins
With regulatory certainty, the power of stablecoins could be unleashed for banks and other stakeholders, leading to adoption by banks for wholesale and B2B payments, as well as a surge in private stablecoin issuance by non-crypto natives
The one thing: Investments in stablecoin will create alternative rails and new opportunities for banks
Remittances
The Trump Administration has suspended asylum for undocumented migrants and has focused heavily on deportation of undocumented migrants
24% of immigrants are undocumented (11.7 million)
70% of undocumented immigrants are from Latin America
Remittances companies focused on Latin America should prepare for an industry correction and a flattening of growth
The one thing: Remittances volumes have not changed yet. The biggest impact, if there is any, will be a shift toward digital and crypto.
Consumer payment preferences
There are clear mismatches between how consumers want to pay and how merchants want consumers to pay, with consumers favoring credit/debit cards more than merchants and merchants favoring online payment gateways, bank transfers and Apple Pay/Google Pay significantly more than consumers
Surcharging and preferences for APMs by small businesses is growing in the card industry’s stronghold market
73% of consumers say they would use credit cards less if they had to regularly pay surcharges
Inflation is what is most impacting small businesses, causing them to rethink swipe fees
Gen Z is driving the adoption of BNPL and other non-card payment methods
The one thing: Growing tension between consumer and merchant preferences may lead to a revamping of consumer incentives for everyday spending
Technology adoption
AI is one of the fastest-growing technology tools among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
99% of SMBs in the US use some kind of tech platform
80% of SMBs in the US use a SaaS platform to run their businesses
SMB’s competitiveness will soon depend on their ability to integrate AI solutions, particularly for marketing, customer service, finance, accounting, and tax compliance
The one thing: as SMBs adopt AI, AI platforms can embed payments and AI-driven business management tools can become a value add for acquirers and PSPs
SaaS
Verticalized SaaS creates a complex web of relationships to drive financial services to SMBs and consumers
40% of SMBs in the US are interested in embedded financial services from their platform
97% of SMBs experience higher overall satisfaction with fully integrated embedded payments
This is turning SaaS platforms—even SMBs—into fintechs, following the example of Mercado Libre spawning Mercado Pago and AliExpress creating AliPay, among other examples
The one thing: SaaS is the newest vertical that financial institutions and payment processors must target to funnel their services to consumers and businesses
Explore further
Scroll down to view the webinar in its entirety so you can understand each of these points in greater context. You can also explore our related webinars: The One Thing to Care About in LatAm Payments and The One Thing to Care About in APAC Payments.
View the webinar:
Next steps
Contact us to create a custom research study on any of these topics—or on one of your company’s key concerns. Our data and analysis help companies:
- Identify opportunities
- Guard against risk
- Enter new markets successfully
- Defend against competitors
- Leverage industry trends into new business
And more. Reach out to see how we can help drive your success in Latin America.
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