Payment processors power the digital economy.
Like Atlas shouldering the world, they carry global e-commerce on their backs every millisecond of the day.
Most people just don’t realize it.
Amid the speed of modern life, consumers can’t see how the innovations of payment processors have shaped their habits and behaviors.
That’s how powerful these providers have become.
Nevertheless, payment processors don’t get the credit they deserve. That’s why we’re spotlighting how they make online checkouts and one-click purchases seamless.
After all, without these payment processors, there would be no global e-commerce, no overnight deliveries, and certainly no Amazon Prime.
In the sections below, we’re going to study the largest payment processors and their direct impact on purchasing preferences. As you’ll see, the future of e-commerce is getting faster—and more frictionless—than ever before.
The Dominance of the Largest Payment Processors in E-Commerce
The payment processing industry is an oligopoly.
That’s when a few companies completely dominate a single sector, like PayPal commanding nearly 46% of all global online payment processing.
In fact, PayPal has so effectively cornered the market that the next closest competitor, Stripe, totals just 17.33% of payments. That’s a chasm between 1st and 2nd place.
Shopify rounds out the top three, representing 15.73% of all globally processed payments.
While these percentages alone are impressive, it’s the total payment volumes (TPVs) that are genuinely staggering. In 2024, for example, PayPal processed $1.68 trillion in TPV—a 10% increase year-over-year (YOY).
As for Stripe?
Last year, the second-in-command to PayPal’s throne reached $1.4 trillion in TPV, with a 38% increase YOY. That makes Stripe’s business model equal to roughly 1.3% of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
Over the coming years, we will watch a heated battle between these international titans.
But what about Shopify Pay? While it’s true that the processor generates fewer headlines than the industry whales, their numbers are still impressive.
Here’s why: whereas PayPal and Stripe drive volume via their third-party gateway integrations, Shopify focuses exclusively on their in-house payment solutions. Though this strategic choice may cap Shopify’s total volume, it grows their subscription model and therefore increases profitability.
For example, in 2024, Shopify’s Gross Payments Volume (GPV) totaled $181.3 billion, up 32% from the prior year.
Ultimately, these three companies—and the countless others behind them—are moving unfathomable sums of money through digital channels. While e-commerce has yet to eclipse retail shopping, that eventual shift seems truly inevitable.
Until then, we must study the larger implications of payment processing in the global sphere. Indeed, while each of these processors has made an impact in the industry, they have shifted something even more profound: human behavior.
Shaping Consumer Payment Preferences
Which comes first: technology or the consumer’s demand for it?
It’s the classic chicken-and-egg question. In our estimation, the relationship between technology and humanity is symbiotic but always begins with innovation.
In antiquity, for example, the invention of the wheel gave birth to the wheelcart—not the other way around.
More recently, consumers weren’t clamoring for a Google Wallet (if they even had the language to describe it). Nevertheless, when the geniuses in Silicon Valley unveiled it in 2011, and after early adopters tried it, the technological world shifted on its axis.
Then, Apple Pay hit the market in 2014, followed by Samsung Pay in 2015.
And in 2025, global digital wallet sales are expected to eclipse $10 trillion, representing a whopping 83% increase since 2020.
Payment processors have directly fueled the rapid expansion of e-commerce.
Out with the old, and in with the new. Gone are the time-consuming days of inputting credit card numbers, CVVs, and addresses. The modern buyer prefers the one-tap approval—and the hovering magic of near field communication (NFC)—to get in, get out, and get on with their day.
What once was experimental has become ubiquitous.
Indeed, payment processors have seamlessly integrated digital wallets at every imaginable touchpoint: from in-store payments and in-app payments, to online payments, P2P transfers, loyalty programs, and more.
Of course, digital wallets tell only one part of the larger story.
In the last few years, payment processors have introduced a new way to finance purchases: buy now, pay later (BNPL). Adoption has skyrocketed. In fact, BNPL loans financed 6% of all U.S. e-commerce sales in 2024.
Surprise, surprise: splitting up expenses into interest-free bites is insatiably popular. Plus, leading processors like Klarna and Afterpay aren’t just partnering with Google Pay—they’re baking BNPL into every checkout and shopping cart.
That’s why international BNPL payments are expected to grow by 13.7% YOY to over $560 billion by the end of 2025. That’s the result of the 21.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) seen from 2021 to 2024.
Consumer appetites are only increasing.
As innovations proliferate, people of all ages—particularly Gen Z and millennials—have one overarching request: to leverage whatever is faster, more convenient, and more favorable to their budget. Oh, and to enjoy all of that without sacrificing an ounce of security.
Payment processors around the world are answering the call.
The Impact on Cross-Border Commerce
What has emerged in the United States over the last decade cannot be contained.
E-commerce is going global.
In fact, some analysts expect the global e-commerce market to reach $73.52 trillion by 2030. With a CAGR of nearly 20%, the sky is truly the limit, provided certain hurdles are cleared.
This includes addressing non-negotiables like eliminating hidden fees, ensuring smooth currency conversion—at a fair rate—and using advanced fraud detection tools (with tokenization).
Plus, in addition to offering local currencies, payment processors must enable preferred local payment methods to reduce cart abandonment. For international customers, diversity of choice is essential to the user experience.
As for bonus points? Payment processors can begin to incorporate emerging features like embedded finance and automated routing to enhance sophistication and speed.
We expect to see these features become more pervasive in 2026.
UniTeller: A Clear Advantage in a Chaotic World
As the largest payment processors battle for global dominance, niche opportunities arise.
At UniTeller, we serve the companies (and consumers) that the tech giants have overlooked.
Where one-size-fits-all strategies have become the norm, we deliver tailored strategies for forward-thinking businesses. And it all starts with our digital-as-a-service solutions.
By leveraging UniTeller’s solutions, you can power your business with flexible, end-to-end cross-border payment processing services.
A global payment presence is only one API integration away.
In fact, our white-label, turnkey solutions instantly unlock access to 120+ countries, 80+ currencies, 200,000+ payment points for cash pickup, and 5,000+ banks for account credit and mobile wallets.
Our technology, licenses, and compliance protocols. Your brand and customers.
Ready to create a new revenue stream? Enter the cross-border payments landscape with UniTeller.
