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How competition among payment systems is growing
Introduction: why "payment" has become a strategic asset
Payment systems have long ceased to be a "utility" on the back end of a business. Conversion, retention, LTV and reputation depend on how quickly and seamlessly deposits and conclusions pass. Three forces are simultaneously pressing on the market:1. Technologies - instant rails, tokenization, biometric-KYC, risk models on ML.
2. Regulation - AML/KYC strengthening, open banking, commission transparency requirements.
3. User behavior - tap-to-pay, wallets, local methods and waiting for instant payments.
The result is a "multipolar" market, where banks, fintech wallets, cards, local methods, crypto processors and super applications compete and... forced to integrate.
Map of players and models
1) Card networks and acquiring. The advantage is the global prevalence and habit of users. Bottlenecks - commission, chargebacks, geo-risk and MCC blockages.
2) Bank transfers and open banking. Direct debiting, fewer intermediaries, higher approval in a number of countries. Limitations - fragmentation by geography, UX often depends on a particular bank.
3) Local payment methods (A2A/wallets). High conversion "in your market," low commissions, instant enrollment. The disadvantage is the locality and operational difficulties of scaling.
4) Mobile wallets and OEM wallets. Strong in UX and tokenization. Depend on ecosystems and devices.
5) Crypto payments. Pros - speed, cross-border availability, transparency. Risks - volatility, compliance, online traceability, requirements for the source of funds.
6) "Superapps" and fintech marketplaces. Compete not only with payment, but with the ecosystem: identification, loans, P2P, marketing, anti-fraud, cashback.
What fuels competition
Instant rails and A2A payments. The faster the money moves between accounts, the more the market flows from cards to direct debits/credits.
Open banking and API standards. Reduce entry barriers and allow "thin" PSPs to compete with banks on UX.
Commission pressure. Businesses consider "every basis point": the cost of payment vs. increase in conversion and approval.
Antifraud and risk rates. Who has better ML models and behavioral biometrics - he has less fraud and higher authorization.
Regulatory. AML/KYC amplification, local license requirement, and log storage are filters for providers without mature processes.
Custom UX. One-click, autosave methods, invisible 3DS/OTP logic, clear statuses "credited/en route/rejected."
Geography and "locality" as a competitive advantage
Europe. Strong A2A methods, open banking, focus on PSD-like requirements, consumer protection, transparent commissions.
Latin America. Local wallets and fast payment schemes often give better apps and lower fees than cards.
Asia. Mobile wallets and QR schemes dominate retail and e-commerce; super apps dictate UX.
Africa. Mobile money and agency networks are critical for inclusion; the share of wallets and account-to-account is growing.
USA/Canada/Australia. Classic cards retain weight, but fast bank rails and "pay by bank" add.
Technology race
Tokenization and network-tokens. Fewer details leaks, higher authorization of repeated write-offs.
Realtime and status notifications. Transparent payment tracking reduces support load and returns.
Behavioral antifraud. Analysis of the device, speed, patterns, geo and "fingerprint" of the browser.
Payment orchestration. Rules of routing by geo/amount/risk scoring/time of day, A/B tests of providers.
Unification of wallets. One SDK for dozens of methods: faster integration, lower TCO.
Business metrics of competition (what is realistic to compare)
Approval Rate (general and for each method/geo/bank).
Cost per Successful Payment (including fraud and chargebacks).
Time-to-Funds/Speed-to-Wallet (for outputs).
Dispute/Chargeback Ratio and escalation rate.
Coverage & Reliability: uptime, degradation, SLA time.
KYC/AML Throughput: pass rate without manual review, average verification time.
UX-indicators: Drop-off in steps, average time to successful payment, one-click share.
iGaming focus: how operators choose a stack
1. Geo-coverage + local methods. Not "cards and one wallet," but a real set of local A2A/wallets by country.
2. Two-way speed. Not only a quick deposit, but also instant/predictable conclusions are key to trust and re-deposits.
3. Compliance and provider license. Check KYC/AML requirements, log storage, reporting and limit/self-exclusion capabilities.
4. Flexible orchestration. Ability to dynamically change provider priorities, geo-routing, failover.
5. Antifraud and risk politicians. Support for velocity rules, behavioral models, device lists, sanction lists, POP/sledge screening.
6. Transparent economy. Not only MDR/commission, but also real Cost per Approved, taking into account failures and support load.
7. VIP payout service. Support for large limits, status tracking, priority corridors, dedicated-support.
8. Event analytics. The vendor must give webhooks: 'payment _ initiated', '3ds _ challenge', 'authorized', 'settled', 'payout _ sent', 'payout _ received', 'chargeback _ opened'.
9. UX flexibility. Saved methods, autocomplete, localization of currencies and languages, clear statuses and SLAs by conclusions.
Trends 2025: where the balance shifts
Pay-by-Bank/A2A takes a share from cards in e-commerce and subscriptions due to price and approval.
Local methods strengthen positions due to the trust and habit of users.
Crypto solutions occupy the niche of cross-borders and instant conclusions, but live in close conjunction with compliance and on/off-ramp providers.
Antifraud-ML becomes a differentiation point: reducing false failures gives + conversion without increasing risk.
Orchestration turns from "want" to "must-have": companies do not want a "marriage of convenience" with one PSP.
Onboarding reengineering. Fast compliance-onboarding merchant and flexible risk profiles accelerate market entry.
Payment Systems Comparison Mini Checklist
Coverage: countries, currencies, local methods, limits.
Economy: MDR/commission/fx, hidden fees, settlement-terms.
Conversion: AR by geo/banks, share of 3DS/OTP flags, re-write-offs.
Risk: anti-fraud tools, chargeback processes, speed of investigations.
UX/Dev: SDK, integration time, documentation quality, webhook support.
Compliance: KYC/AML, log storage, reporting, RG functions (limits, self-exclusion).
Support: 24/7, dedicated manager, priority of incidents.
Dashboards and data: exporting events, raw logs, API for BI.
Forecast to 2030
The share of A2A/fast banking rails will continue to grow; cards will remain strong in offline retail and credit products.
The interoperability of local methods will grow: hubs/aggregators will appear that hide the complexity of different countries behind a single API.
Compliance automation will reduce the cost of KYC/AML and accelerate onboarding, and behavioral risk scoring will become the industry standard.
"Financial super-UX" (wallet + identification + credit + payment + cashback) will keep the user inside ecosystems.
On-chain infrastructure is integrated with traditional rails through licensed providers, and stablecoins and tokenized deposits will occupy a significant share of B2B settlements.
Operating the payment stack will become the competence of the product team, not just the findep: orchestration, A/B routing, anti-crisis scenarios - in production tools.
Competition among payment systems is not only "who is cheaper." Those who combine local coverage, instant rails, strong anti-fraud, flexible orchestration and compliance reliability win. For operators (including iGaming), the correct stack is a multi-provider managed architecture, a transparent Cost per Approved economy, and a culture of constant experimentation with routing and UX. It is this combination that ensures the growth of conversion, the speed of payments and the long-term trust of players and partners.