The global payments industry is a valuable segment of the financial-services sector, generating $2.5 trillion in revenue, supported by 3.6 trillion transactions. And how money moves is becoming as critical as how much, Partner Uzayr Jeenah and coauthors explain. Payments revenue pools differ in their consumer-versus-commercial orientation depending on regional preferences. In Asia–Pacific, a quarter of revenues comes from commercial account net interest income (NII), while consumer activity—largely due to the widespread use of credit cards as the main payment and lending method—is the main driver in North America. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa have a more diverse mix of revenues, including 20 percent from commercial account NII and 20 percent from consumer account NII.
Image description:
A stacked bar chart illustrates the global payments revenue by type and location in 2024, segmented into 4 regions: Asia–Pacific, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), Latin America, and North America. The chart is divided into commercial and consumer categories, with each further broken down into subcategories: cross-border, account net interest income (NII), domestic fees, and credit cards. In the Asia-Pacific region, commercial revenue accounts for 59% of total revenue, with 8% from cross-border, 25% from domestic fees, 20% from credit cards, and 3% from account NII, totaling $1 trillion. In EMEA, commercial revenue makes up 51% of the total, with 13% from cross-border, 20% from account NII, 18% from domestic fees, and 5% from credit cards, totaling $0.6 trillion. Latin America’s derives 5% from cross-border, 24% from domestic fees, 12% from account NII, and 5% from credit cards, totaling $0.2 trillion. North America’s revenue is primarily consumer-driven, comprising 40% from credit cards, 14% from domestic fees, 9% from account NII, and 3% from cross-border. The chart highlights that Asia–Pacific and EMEA are more commercially driven, while North America is primarily consumer-driven.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a gen AI tool.
Source: McKinsey Global Payments Map.
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To read the report, see “The 2025 McKinsey Global Payments Report: Competing systems, contested outcomes,” September 26, 2025.