Global Payment Industry Shifted Toward Tokenization
A new report from the Boston Consulting Group projects slower revenue growth as nations prioritize independent domestic payment rails.
Updated on Oct. 12, 2026 in Financial Services
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The Boston Consulting Group reported that global payment revenues reached US$2 trillion in 2025, but faces a slower growth rate over the next five years. As of mid-2026, 137 countries have adopted instant payment systems to maintain economic independence.
Why it matters
Nations are increasingly building domestic payment rails and tokenized money structures to safeguard economic independence. Meanwhile, the previous surge in revenue driven by higher interest rates is beginning to fade.
As of mid-2026, the cryptocurrency market capitalization reached US$2.3 trillion with US$260 billion in outstanding stablecoins. India's UPI currently processes over 24 billion monthly transactions, while tokenized real-world assets on public chains total US$38 billion.
The players
Boston Consulting Group
This global management consulting firm provides strategic advice to corporate and government leaders regarding market trends and economic structures.
The details
The industry is integrating agentic AI systems to automate complex payment routing and software engineering tasks. Future growth is tied to the expansion of tokenized assets, which could represent up to 16% of global investable assets by 2035.
Timeline
African payment systems processed US$2 trillion in transactions during 2024.
Brazil's Pix processed nearly 80 billion transactions in 2025.
Africa maintained 36 live instant payment systems by mid-2025.
China permitted commercial banks to pay interest on digital yuan wallets in January 2026.
137 countries operated instant payment systems as of June 2026.
Market Landscape
The global payment landscape is shifting away from centralized legacy processing toward a decentralized, multi-rail ecosystem. This transition positions domestic instant payment systems as critical infrastructure for maintaining national economic control against global competitors.
Consumers can expect more seamless and faster local transactions as countries continue to adopt instant payment systems. However, the slowing growth in traditional payment revenue may lead to shifts in banking fees or digital service offerings.
The takeaway
The move toward tokenized assets and agentic AI suggests that the next decade of finance will be defined by automated and sovereign infrastructure. Readers should prepare for a shift in how cross-border value is transferred and managed as these new systems become standardized.
Further reading
Learn more about evolving market trends in Financial Services.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fintech Singapore.
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