Worldpay from FIS Global Payments Report 2023 finds account-to-account payments gaining momentum, with e-commerce reaching $525 billion globally

In 2022, account-to-account (A2A) payments continued to grow across the globe, with the expansion of real-time payment systems helping to provide faster, safer and more convenient payments for consumers at the checkout, according to a new report from FIS.

The Worldpay from FIS Global Payments Report 2023 examines how consumers pay today both in-store and online across 40 global markets. Findings from the 2023 report show that in 2022, there were almost 70 real-time payment (RTP) schemes providing high-speed payment rails that helped drive A2A payments to account for US$525 billion in global e-commerce transaction value, up 13% from US$463 billion in 2021.

A2A payments already have business-to-business (B2B) and person-to-person (P2P) use cases. This research shows A2A is increasingly a force in person-to-business (P2B) payments. A2A payments flow directly – and often instantly – from a consumer’s bank account to a merchant’s account, helping to drive down the cost of acceptance for merchants.

“It’s not hard to see why account-to-account (A2A) payments are gathering momentum. While it is significantly more convenient for consumers it also brings a host of benefits for merchants,” said Jim Johnson, President of Worldpay Merchant Solutions, FIS. “A2A payments can reduce the cost of payment acceptance in comparison to cards, while offering the instant settlement of funds and boosting their cash flow. Some merchants are even offering customers incentives to pay with A2A, which is certainly helping it gain traction.”

APAC payments trends

For the APAC region, key findings include:

  • Following China’s lead, digital wallets are growing fast across APAC
  • The rest of APAC is catching up to China’s lead in digital wallet adoption
  • Emerging economies lead regional e-com growth
  • India and Southeast Asia will see APAC’s strongest e-commerce growth through 2026
  • Buy now pay later (BNPL) sees big gains in e-commerce
  • BNPL accounted for over $100 billion of APAC’s e-commerce transaction value in 2022
  • Cash continues to decline rapidly at POS
  • The decline of cash has accelerated due in large part to the proliferation of QR codes
  • Real-time payments (RTP) are driving adoption of A2A
  • APAC is a global leader in RTP, fueling A2A payments and cross-border commerce
  • India’s UPI is emerging as a global leader in RTP

Global payments trends

Key global findings from the report include:

    • The explosive growth in global e-commerce that took place during the first two years of the pandemic cooled in 2022, but only slightly, with global e-commerce transaction value growing by 10% from 2021 to 2022, to reach nearly US$6 trillion.
    • Across the globe, consumers’ use of credit cards remains strong, with credit card transaction value growing 6% in e-commerce and 12% at the point of sale (POS) from 2021-2022.
    • Credit demand is also broadening to alternative credit products: credit card-linked digital wallets, buy now pay later (BNPL) and other POS financing offerings. BNPL accounted for 5% of global e-commerce transaction value in 2022 and is projected to rise to 6% by 2026. POS financing – including BNPL, retailer financing and bank financing – represented 2% of POS transaction value in 2022, a share it is projected to maintain through 2026.
    • Digital wallets continue to be the leading payment method globally, accounting for 49% of transaction value in e-commerce and 32% at the POS in 2022.
    • Digital wallets are projected to remain the leading payment method across e-commerce (54%) and POS (43%) in 2026, with fintechs, banks, neobanks, super apps, Big Tech and device manufacturers all competing as wallet providers.
    • Cash use continues to fall globally, from 26% of POS transaction value in 2019 to 16% in 2022. By 2026, cash’s share of global POS transaction value is expected to fall to less than 10%.

The Worldpay from FIS Global Payments Report 2023 offers a snapshot of today’s payments landscape, tracking consumer payments when shopping online and at the point of sale, identifying key payment trends, and projecting future scenarios for payment method shares as well as market size. The report’s data was collected using a survey of 46,000 consumers, secondary research, and extensive validation by payments experts from each of the 40 regional markets studied.