# 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.

Theme: Fintech and digital payments (Finance and crypto). Page: https://thematiq.io/themes/fintech-and-digital-payments/digital-payments-stack/

## Key facts

- **The build: 15** parts in the Digital Payments: Bill of Materials Theme Proposal bill of materials, each traced to the companies that supply it (ThematIQ research)
- **The companies: 50** companies worth $1.0 trillion, earning on average 92% of their revenue here (Annual reports and exchange data, 2026-10-28)

## What it holds

Listed companies that earn their revenue supplying these parts of the Digital Payments: Bill of Materials Theme Proposal bill of materials, each read from its own reports.

| Part | 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 |

## 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 |

By listing country: United States 74%, France 6%, United Kingdom 5%, China 4%, Japan 4%, Netherlands 3%, Canada 3%, Australia 1%.

### 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)

## What it is not

- 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)

Data as of 2026-10-28. Source: ThematIQ (industry research, company filings, exchange data), ETFIQ (fund counts), and the publishers linked above. Not investment advice.