What it holds
Digital Payments Stack follows the money through the Fintech and digital payments bill of materials: the parts it takes to build it, and the companies that earn their revenue supplying them. Each company is read from its own reports, so a holding reflects what it actually sells into the theme, not what it says about it.
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Card networks (L) | card network scheme fees, card network switching, closed loop card networks, network value added services |
| Account-to-account and real-time rails (S) | real time payment rails, open banking platforms, deposit token networks |
| Cross-border payments and remittances (M) | consumer remittances, b2b cross border payments, mass payouts, blockchain cross border payments, stablecoin settlement networks |
| B2B and bill payments (M) | ap ar payment automation, virtual card payables, fleet fuel payment networks, bill presentment payment |
| Card-present merchant acquiring (L) | merchant acquiring card present, integrated payments isv |
| E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L) | payment gateways, online payment service providers, payment orchestration, tokenization vaults, local payment method payins, crypto merchant acceptance |
| POS and payment terminal hardware (S) | payment terminals, mpos card readers, pos systems hardware, unattended payment devices |
| POS and commerce software (M) | pos software, restaurant retail management platforms, terminal management software |
| Digital wallets and P2P apps (L) | digital wallets, p2p payment apps, super app payments |
| Buy now, pay later (M) | bnpl installments, pos consumer financing |
| Issuer processing and card program management (M) | issuer processing, card program management, baas sponsor banking, prepaid card programs, crypto card programs |
| Payment cards and secure elements (S) | payment card manufacturing, card personalization bureaus, secure element ICs |
| Core banking and bank payments software (M) | core banking software, payment hub software, digital banking platforms |
| Payment fraud, security and identity (M) | payment fraud prevention, chargeback dispute management, aml sanctions screening, pci compliance services, kyc aml identity verification, hardware security modules, encryption key management software |
| Payments processing infrastructure (S) | mainframe transaction systems, hyperscale compute services, interconnection services |
How it breaks down
- United States74%
- France6%
- United Kingdom5%
- China4%
- Japan4%
- Other6%
- Mega cap (over $200bn)9%
- Large cap ($10bn to $200bn)41%
- Mid cap ($2bn to $10bn)26%
- Small cap (under $2bn)23%
Shares of the strategy as of the data date.
Largest companies
| Company | Listing | Market value |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal Holdings | PYPL.XNAS | $47 billion |
| American Express | AXP.XNYS | $213 billion |
| Global Payments | GPN.XNYS | $22 billion |
| Mastercard | MA.XNYS | $75 billion |
| Western Union | WU.XNYS | $2 billion |
| Visa | V.XNYS | $188 billion |
| Block | XYZ.XNYS | $45 billion |
| Shopify | SHOP.XNAS | $216 billion |
| Toast | TOST.XNYS | $18 billion |
| Wise | WISE.LSE | $13 billion |
| Worldline | WLN.PA | $3 billion |
| Shift4 Payments | FOUR.XNYS | $3 billion |
| Toshiba Tec | 6588.T | $1 billion |
| Corpay | CPAY.XNYS | $26 billion |
| Jack Henry & Associates | JKHY.XNAS | $11 billion |
Questions
- What is Digital Payments Stack?
- Everything it takes to move money electronically: card networks and real-time rails, acquiring and gateways, terminals and commerce software, wallets, buy now pay later and bank payments software.
- What does Digital Payments Stack hold?
- Listed companies that earn their revenue from the parts it takes to build Digital Payments: Bill of Materials Theme Proposal: Card networks (L), Account-to-account and real-time rails (S), Cross-border payments and remittances (M), B2B and bill payments (M), Card-present merchant acquiring (L), E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L). 50 companies as of 2026-10-28.
- What is not in Digital Payments Stack?
- Integrated payments ISV payfac processing margin: Card-present merchant acquiring (L), not POS and commerce software (M) or E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L) Online PSP net revenue on card-not-present volume: E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L), not Card-present merchant acquiring (L); blended acquirers are split by reported channel mix, and unreported mix goes to Card-present merchant acquiring (L) Branded wallet checkout fees charged to merchants: Digital wallets and P2P apps (L), not E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L); underlying scheme fees on the same transaction: Card networks (L)
Sources
Every part of the bill of materials is researched from published industry sources, and every company from its own annual reports and exchange data. Nothing is estimated that cannot be sourced.
Industry research: cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/abncharts/abncharts.public.1/abnasia.org · finance.yahoo.com/news/core-banking-software-market-size-133 · finance.yahoo.com/news/pos-terminals-market-size-share-15390 · nilsonreport.com/articles/payment-card-manufacturer-shipment · quartr.com/events/adyen-n-v-adyen-h2-2024_3eY9nvG7 · research.contrary.com/company/klarna · sacra.com/research/klarna-at-2-8b-revenue/ · tadviser.com/index.php/Article:POS_Terminals_(Global_Market) · adyen.com/press-and-media/adyen-publishes-h2-2024-financial- · cognitivemarketresearch.com/fraud-detection-and-prevention-m · fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/global-core-bankin · mckinsey.com/featured-insights/charts/following-payments-pat · mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/cros · sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1141391/000114139125000003/ma123 · sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1141391/000114139125000011/ma-20 · sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1403161/000140316124000053/q4202 · sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1403161/000140316124000058/v-202 · sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1820953/000182095324000035/afrm- · sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1820953/000182095324000058/afrm-
What it is not
Where an item could belong to two parts, these rules decide which owns it; items outside every part are not counted.
- Integrated payments ISV payfac processing margin: Card-present merchant acquiring (L), not POS and commerce software (M) or E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L)
- Online PSP net revenue on card-not-present volume: E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L), not Card-present merchant acquiring (L); blended acquirers are split by reported channel mix, and unreported mix goes to Card-present merchant acquiring (L)
- Branded wallet checkout fees charged to merchants: Digital wallets and P2P apps (L), not E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L); underlying scheme fees on the same transaction: Card networks (L)
- Closed-loop network full discount revenue: Card networks (L), not Card-present merchant acquiring (L) or Issuer processing and card program management (M)
- BNPL merchant fees, interest and fees, including BNPL inside wallets and virtual installment cards: Buy now, pay later (M), not Digital wallets and P2P apps (L) or Issuer processing and card program management (M)
- Virtual card payables program revenue: B2B and bill payments (M), not Issuer processing and card program management (M); network fees on those cards: Card networks (L)
- Cross-border B2B FX and transfer fees: Cross-border payments and remittances (M), not B2B and bill payments (M); domestic AP/AR software and payment fees: B2B and bill payments (M)
- Cross-border stablecoin settlement: Cross-border payments and remittances (M), not Account-to-account and real-time rails (S); bank deposit token networks: Account-to-account and real-time rails (S); crypto merchant acceptance: E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L); crypto card programs: Issuer processing and card program management (M)
- Rail operator and scheme fees: Account-to-account and real-time rails (S), not Digital wallets and P2P apps (L); app-level fees and float: Digital wallets and P2P apps (L)
- Pay-by-bank initiation APIs and open-banking data: Account-to-account and real-time rails (S), not E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L); local payment method pay-ins sold through a PSP: E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L)
- BaaS, sponsor bank and card issuing platform fees: Issuer processing and card program management (M), not Core banking and bank payments software (M); licensed bank-run core and digital banking software: Core banking and bank payments software (M)
- Standalone third-party fraud scoring and dispute tools: Payment fraud, security and identity (M), not E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L); tokenisation vaults bundled with gateway: E-commerce gateways and online PSPs (L); network-sold fraud and value-added services: Card networks (L)
- Terminal fleet management software and subscription fees: POS and commerce software (M), not POS and payment terminal hardware (S); leased terminals bundled in the acquiring rate: Card-present merchant acquiring (L)
- POS hardware units and one-off device sales: POS and payment terminal hardware (S), not POS and commerce software (M); recurring subscription: POS and commerce software (M)
- Mainframe hardware, hosting and cloud compute: Payments processing infrastructure (S), not Core banking and bank payments software (M); licensed software on them: Core banking and bank payments software (M)
- Secure element ICs sold to card makers: Payment cards and secure elements (S), not POS and payment terminal hardware (S); chips inside terminals are part of terminal cost in POS and payment terminal hardware (S); payment HSMs: Payment fraud, security and identity (M)
- Card personalisation, bureau and fulfilment: Payment cards and secure elements (S), not Issuer processing and card program management (M)
Not investment advice. Figures are dated and sourced; ThematIQ does not estimate figures it cannot source.