Deconstructing 80 mainstream payment institutions and wallets worldwide

Author: Chen Tianyu Universe

Hello everyone, I am Chen Tianyu Universe.

There are over 200 countries and regions worldwide, thousands of payment methods, complex regulatory licenses, fluctuations in cross-border exchange rates, and the personalization of multiple payment zones, which have fragmented the global payment ecosystem into countless regions. They have built a global payment ecosystem through local clearing networks, cross-border clearing networks, mutual cooperation and connections, and collaboration with banks, achieving the global circulation of funds.

I have organized over 82 mainstream payment institutions, wallets, remittance agencies, and card organizations from around the world by region and ecological niche. Some specialize in acquiring, some focus on remittances, some aggregate wallets, some are dedicated to offline POS, and some provide APIs for developers.

I believe this article will greatly help everyone understand the global payment landscape and distribution.

01 Domestic Players in China

Considering that most readers are domestic practitioners, let's start with Chinese players and then extend outward.

1. Ant International

Ant International is headquartered in Singapore, with its main business spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. It is a leading global digital payment, digitization, and financial technology provider dedicated to promoting inclusive growth through continuous innovation and extensive collaboration. Ant International comprises Alipay+, Antom, Bettr, WorldFirst, and others.

• Alipay+ positions itself as a unified gateway for the world's leading payment methods, a unified wallet gateway for cross-border payments and digital services, connecting global merchants with billions of mobile users worldwide. With one interface, global merchants can accept electronic wallets from over a dozen Asian countries. Mainstream wallets in Southeast Asia, such as Gcash, Kakao Pay, TrueMoney, and Touch 'n Go, are all part of its network. At its core is Ant's technological foundation and cross-border fund processing capabilities, supporting cross-border acquiring, wallet interoperability, and member marketing. The uniqueness of Alipay+ lies in the fact that it does not replace local wallets but connects them.

• Antom is Ant International's merchant payment and digital service brand, which will fully ramp up its efforts in overseas markets after 2024. Many people are unclear about the relationship between Alipay, Alipay+, and Antom. In simple terms, Alipay is the payment tool for the domestic market, Alipay+ is the aggregation layer connecting global wallets, and Antom is the overseas acquiring service provided by Ant International to merchants, helping global merchants access Ant's technological capabilities and payment network. Antom's core capability is "payment method aggregation + digital value-added." It currently supports over 300 payment methods, covering credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, buy now pay later, reaching consumers in over 200 markets and supporting settlements in over 100 currencies. Unlike pure gateways like Stripe, Antom not only does acquiring but also adds digital services on top of payments, such as helping restaurants with QR code ordering, assisting retail merchants with electronic membership marketing, and providing intelligent routing and chargeback handling for e-commerce platforms.

• Bettr is Ant International's enterprise financial management platform launched in 2024. Many people may not have heard of this name, but it is actually the most behind-the-scenes of Ant International's four major business segments. If Antom is the acquiring interface, Alipay+ is the wallet aggregation layer, and WorldFirst is the cross-border account for SMEs, then Bettr is the fund management system specifically serving large multinational corporations.

• WorldFirst mainly serves cross-border sellers for payment collection and fund management. Many sellers on Amazon, Shopee, and eBay first encountered cross-border payments through WorldFirst. Its core product is a global multi-currency account, where sellers can open an account with WorldFirst to generate local receiving accounts in the US, UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, etc. The platform's payments are directly credited, and then currency exchange, payments to suppliers, and withdrawals to the domestic market can be done internally within WorldFirst. After being acquired by Ant, WorldFirst's changes include integration with the Ant ecosystem. Now, WorldFirst accounts are connected with Alipay+, Antom, and Bettr, allowing sellers to use funds from their WorldFirst accounts to pay overseas suppliers directly through Antom, and to purchase Bettr's currency hedging products with WorldFirst funds, enabling cross-border sellers and overseas enterprises to complete the entire process from payment collection to payment to fund scheduling within one account.

2. WeChat Pay International

Unlike Alipay+'s aggregation approach, WeChat Pay International follows the strategy of "following our tourists." Wherever there are outbound tourists from our country, it will be there.

The product is cross-border acquiring, which means overseas merchants can access WeChat Pay; it also includes overseas wallets, with WeChat Pay MY launching local wallets in Hong Kong and Malaysia; and cross-border marketing, distributing our users' coupons to overseas merchants. Its advantageous markets are Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, and popular tourist countries in Europe. Its moat is not technology, but the wallet habits of our users, as WeChat Pay is the preferred choice for outbound tourism. For overseas merchants, accepting WeChat Pay is not to serve locals but to capture the spending power of our tourists.

Additionally, Tenpay Global is a one-stop solution for WeChat Mini Program merchants to access mainstream global payment methods, helping merchants conveniently receive payments from consumers in various countries within the Mini Program scenario. The currently available countries/regions for the global cash register service are Singapore and Macau, China.

3. LianLian International

LianLian International is the cross-border payment segment under LianLian Digital, backed by LianLian's accumulation of payment licenses in China and its global acquiring network.

Its product line is comprehensive: global collection accounts, cross-border payments, foreign exchange services, VAT tax services, and merchant wallets. This combination addresses the full-chain needs of cross-border e-commerce sellers: from receiving payments on platforms like Amazon and Shopee to paying suppliers, tax payments, and managing exchange rate risks, it covers everything. Seamlessly connecting with over 100 global e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, TikTok Shop, Shopee, and SHEIN, funds can be quickly recovered with just a click.

Its advantages cover Europe, America, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, with deep penetration in cross-border e-commerce, foreign trade B2B, and study abroad payment scenarios. It acts as a financial steward for Chinese businesses going overseas, helping sellers streamline complex cross-border fund flows rather than just serving as a payment channel.

4. PingPong

PingPong is also a major player in cross-border payments emerging from Hangzhou, starting with Amazon payments and gradually expanding to collecting payments, currency exchange, and supplier payments on major global e-commerce platforms (Wish, Shopee, Mercado Libre).

Its core capability lies in deep integration with global e-commerce platforms, allowing sellers to directly link their PingPong accounts in the seller backend, automatically crediting payments, and then enabling one-click payments to suppliers, VAT payments, and withdrawals to the domestic market. Its advantageous markets are cross-border e-commerce sellers in Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Its strategy emphasizes transparent fees, fast transactions, and compliance stability, earning a solid reputation among Chinese sellers. In recent years, it has also expanded services to trade scenarios, such as global payments for gaming and SaaS collections.

5. XTransfer

XTransfer focuses on a different niche compared to the previous players—cross-border B2B payments.

The pain point in this market is that small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises find it difficult to open Hong Kong accounts, face high fees, and encounter compliance risks. XTransfer collaborates with global banks like JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank to provide foreign trade enterprises with global collection accounts, addressing issues such as high account opening thresholds, rejected payments, and difficulties in currency exchange.

Products include global collection accounts, currency exchange, and risk control compliance services. Its advantageous markets are in Europe, America, Hong Kong, and Singapore, where it has a good reputation among small and medium-sized foreign trade factories and foreign trade SOHO groups. It targets the B2B foreign trade segment that mainstream payment institutions often overlook, enabling small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises to collect international payments as easily as domestic payments.

6. Coral Cross-Border

Coral Cross-Border is headquartered in Hangzhou, focusing on cross-border payments in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Its characteristic is deep cooperation with local banks and payment institutions to address issues such as small currencies in emerging markets, significant exchange rate fluctuations, and slow fund recovery. Products include local collection accounts, such as Indonesian Rupiah, Vietnamese Dong, Thai Baht, and Nigerian Naira; cross-border payments, and exchange rate management. Its advantageous markets are Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Nigeria, with strong penetration among cross-border e-commerce and foreign trade enterprises targeting these markets.

7. Photon Easy

Photon Easy is a new player in the cross-border payment field, focusing on integrated global payments.

It can provide global collection accounts, international payments, card issuance, exchange rate risk management, and embedded finance. Its products are characterized by smooth user experience, friendly API documentation, making it suitable for tech-savvy overseas enterprises to integrate themselves. It has a certain market share in SaaS exports and app developer payment scenarios.

02 Global Payment Infrastructures

Players at this level are engaged in the most fundamental and labor-intensive tasks: encapsulating banks, card organizations, and local payment methods into a few lines of API, allowing developers to avoid dealing with hundreds of acquirers worldwide.

8. Stripe

Originating from the United States, but fundamentally has a geek gene from Ireland. Its moat is developer-first.

Its product matrix is comprehensive: Payments for acquiring, Connect for platform revenue sharing, Treasury for fund management, and Radar for fraud prevention using machine learning. Its advantageous markets are in the US and Europe for SaaS subscriptions and e-commerce platforms, with typical clients including Shopify, Zoom, and Slack. Its valuation of $159 billion is backed not by transaction fees but by developer lock-in.

9. Adyen

A Dutch company serving large clients. Unlike Stripe, it does not cater to small merchants, only servicing clients like McDonald's, Uber, and Spotify.

Its selling point is a single platform where acquiring, gateways, risk control, and data are all on one tech stack, eliminating the need to piece together multiple suppliers. Its advantages lie in chain retail, dining, and multinational platforms in Europe and North America. Large clients are willing to pay higher fees for a data-closed loop and globally reusable solutions.

10. Airwallex

Airwallex is the most technology-oriented among these three, with dual headquarters in Singapore and San Francisco. Its positioning is not for cross-border e-commerce payments but as a global payment infrastructure. Starting from cross-border collections, it extends to global payments, currency exchange, card issuance, and fund management, creating enterprise-level cross-border bank accounts. Specifically, they integrate the entire financial lifecycle of enterprises, covering cross-currency, cross-entity collection, fund management, and payment processes.

Core products include global multi-currency collection accounts, international payments, foreign exchange, cloud cards, and fund management APIs. It covers the Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, and the UK, with deep penetration in cross-border SaaS, e-commerce platforms, and overseas enterprise scenarios.

• Annual revenue exceeds $1 billion, growing from $500 million to $1 billion in just one year.

• Annual transaction volume exceeds $260 billion, with 94% settled on the same day.

• Holds over 80 financial licenses globally, covering more than 200 countries and regions.

• Saves clients $1.2 billion in cross-border costs annually.

• Over half of clients use multiple products, with net promoter scores rising from 50+ to 60+.

11. Payoneer

Payoneer is often compared with WorldFirst, but the two companies have different characteristics. After being acquired by Ant, WorldFirst has increasingly become a piece of the Ant International ecosystem, while Payoneer is a publicly traded company in the US, resembling an independent global player. Its 2024 financial report shows an annual transaction volume exceeding $80 billion, covering 190 countries and regions, supporting over 7,000 trade corridors.

Founded in 2005, it predates many cross-border payment players by a full decade. Initially, it aimed to solve the pain points of cross-border payments for small and medium-sized enterprises operating globally: security and compliance, faster than banks, and lower fees, perfectly timing the explosive growth of cross-border e-commerce from 0 to 1. Early eBay and Amazon sellers primarily used Payoneer for cross-border payments. Payoneer now offers a one-stop financial stack centered around "Collect, Manage, Grow, Expand."

• Collect involves multi-channel collection, supporting over 40 global e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shopee, and Mercado Libre, as well as local collection accounts covering currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and Mexican Peso, allowing sellers to collect money using local accounts, saving on intermediary bank fees for cross-border transfers.

• Manage refers to multi-currency fund management, allowing accounts to hold over 70 currencies, enabling free currency exchange, bulk payments to suppliers, and VAT payments.

• Grow is about growth empowerment, featuring a product called the "Olive Branch Program," which helps Chinese sellers connect with over 40 global e-commerce platforms, essentially providing a green channel for entering Walmart e-commerce, Mercado Libre, and South Korea's Coupang. Payoneer assists with these connections.

• Expand involves market expansion, including data insights, localized operational support, and even co-hosting summits with Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre, planning to support 600 Chinese enterprises entering the Latin American market within three years.

12. Checkout.com

A London-based player often referred to as Stripe's mirror in Europe, but with a more customized approach, offering high-end payment solutions.

It does not operate a standardized plugin store but sends solution teams to write code and adjust parameters with large clients, particularly excelling in high-compliance industries such as cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, and gaming. Clients include Coinbase, Sony, and Shein.

13. PayPal

The elder brother of global digital wallets, with over 400 million users. Its foundation is on the consumer side, starting with buyer accounts and then pushing merchants to integrate. After acquiring Braintree in 2013, it also serves large clients like Uber and Airbnb.

Its greatest asset is user habits: many people are reluctant to enter card numbers and can simply click PayPal to proceed.

14. Square/Block

It follows a soft and hard integration route: using a small white square card reader to engage offline micro-merchants, then extending Square Online to help them create online stores, Square Capital for small loans, and Cash App for consumer wallets.

Its essence is serving those overlooked by banks: street vendors, food trucks, and freelancers. It has advantages in the US, Canada, and Japan, and is a benchmark in the micro-merchant payment aggregation segment.

15. Bolt

Bolt is a one-click checkout player in the US, focusing on allowing users to skip repeatedly entering addresses and card numbers. It integrates deeply with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Salesforce, providing brand merchants with the ability to bypass the checkout page. Its goal is to establish infrastructure at the shopping cart level.

03 Traditional Acquiring Giants

While tech companies focus on products and developer ecosystems, these players operate on acquiring licenses and merchant networks.

16. Worldline

The national team for acquiring in Europe. Formed from the merger of multiple European acquirers under France's Atos payment business, it essentially operates as an acquiring bank, holding acquiring licenses in various European countries.

Especially in the POS acquiring field, its terminals are ubiquitous in France, Germany, and Belgium. Clients include large local retailers, chain restaurants, and public institutions. Worldline's gateway simplifies complex payment processes for global merchants while providing consumers with more local payment options.

17. Global Payments

A major acquiring giant in the US, with a focus on North America and cross-border transactions. It includes brands like Heartland serving the restaurant sector, OpenEdge for small and medium enterprises, and Evo strengthening its presence in Europe and Latin America.

Its core capability is omnichannel acquiring: integrating online, offline, and mobile. It mainly operates in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, serving large retailers, hotels, healthcare, and education sectors.

18. JPMorgan Chase/Paymentech

The merchant acquiring division of JPMorgan Chase, consistently ranked first globally by transaction volume.

Its core advantage is not technology but its clearing network and one-stop banking services, allowing enterprises to manage payments and funds with one bank, eliminating the hassle of multiple integrations. Its clients are almost all Fortune 500 companies, including Amazon, Starbucks, and Walmart.

19. Fiserv/First Data

The largest merchant acquiring service provider globally by terminal count. It has deep roots in the offline POS sector, with its Clover brand being one of the best-selling smart POS systems in North America.

Its products cover the entire spectrum from micro-merchants to large enterprises, particularly in the restaurant, retail, and gas station sectors in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Its strategy emphasizes broad channels, comprehensive products, and stable reliability.

20. Elavon

Elavon is a global payment processing service provider under U.S. Bank. It focuses on providing secure and efficient payment solutions for businesses, supporting various transaction methods including credit cards, debit cards, and mobile payments.

Its advantages lie in Europe and North America, with deep penetration in the airline, hotel, and tourism industries. Its characteristic is its deep integration with its parent bank's fund management business, allowing large enterprises to handle acquiring and corporate accounts in one place.

21. Nexi

The second-largest acquiring bank in Europe, emerging from Italy, second only to Worldline, having integrated the Nordic Nets and Germany's Concardis through acquisitions.

Its strategy is to unify the fragmented acquiring market in Europe to create economies of scale. Its advantages are in retail chains, public institutions, and e-commerce platforms in Italy, the Nordic countries, Germany, and Austria.

22. EVO Payments

A global commercial acquiring institution and payment processing company, primarily providing payment solutions for merchants in North America and Europe. Headquartered in the US, it was acquired by Global Payments in 2021 but operates independently.

It has a strong acquiring network in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, particularly in markets like Poland, the Czech Republic, and Mexico. Its products include POS acquiring, payment gateways, and card processing.

04 Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia

The Asia-Pacific region has the highest density of e-wallets and is the most active market for cross-border payments. Players here can be divided into two categories: one is wallet aggregators that help international merchants access multiple wallets; the other is local wallet kings that dominate their territories.

23. 2C2P

An established player, acquired by Fiserv in 2023 but operates independently. It has been deeply rooted in Southeast Asia for over a decade, integrating 250 local payment methods from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, such as bank transfers, e-wallets, counter cash payments, and operator billing into a single API.

It mainly serves cross-border e-commerce, game distribution, and digital content subscription sectors in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Clients include Emirates Airlines, Nike, and Uniqlo, helping international merchants avoid the hassle of connecting with dozens of local payment providers in Southeast Asia.

24. Xendit

Secured $300 million in funding in 2022. It is a foundational infrastructure player from Indonesia, tackling the challenges of dispersed islands, low bank penetration, and fragmented payment methods by standardizing virtual account transfers, retail cash payments, and e-wallets into an API.

Its culture is similar to Stripe: developer-first, clean documentation, and sandbox testing support.

25. Doku

An established local payment player in Indonesia, founded in 2007 and later acquired by Indonesia's telecom giant Telkom. It secured a position in the virtual account transfer and ATM transfer acquiring space during Indonesia's e-commerce boom.

Products include acquiring gateways, bulk payments, and e-wallets. It has advantages only in Indonesia but covers most of the leading e-commerce and online merchants in the country, including Tokopedia, Bukalapak, and Traveloka. It is a typical example of penetrating a single market.

26. Midtrans

Another major payment gateway in Indonesia, later acquired by GoTo, and deeply integrated with GoPay.

Products include acquiring gateways, payment routing, and installment payments. It focuses on providing secure and efficient payment gateway solutions for e-commerce, subscription services, education, and finance sectors. It supports up to 24 local payment methods, including e-wallets like GoPay, OVO, Dana, credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and convenience store cash payments.

27. GHL Systems

A publicly listed company in Malaysia and an established payment service provider in Southeast Asia, founded in 1999. It operates with both offline acquiring and online gateways, holding acquiring licenses and POS terminal networks in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Products include POS acquiring, payment gateways, and prepaid card issuance.

28. GrabFin / GrabPay

The fintech segment under Grab. Grab operates as Southeast Asia's equivalent of Didi, Meituan, and Alipay, with GrabPay serving as the wallet in this ecosystem.

Products include the user-facing GrabPay wallet, merchant acquiring, small loans, and insurance. It covers six countries in Southeast Asia and occupies a natural monopoly in the payment loop for ride-hailing, food delivery, and fresh produce distribution. Its value lies not in technology but in scenario control.

29. GoPay

A wallet under GoTo, one of Indonesia's two major wallets. Similar to GrabPay, it started with ride-hailing and food delivery scenarios, then expanded into offline QR code payments, merchant acquiring, and small loans. It is deeply integrated with the GoTo ecosystem.

30. OVO

Another major wallet in Indonesia, backed by the Lippo Group and Grab, with Grab also being a shareholder. OVO has extensive coverage among offline merchants in Indonesia, especially in convenience stores, dining, and retail scenarios. Its characteristic is being an open wallet, not just serving one super app, but being integrated as a universal payment tool across various apps.

31. DANA

A local wallet in Indonesia, strategically invested by Ant Group. In the wallet battle among OVO, GoPay, and DANA in Indonesia, DANA has firmly established itself with the support of Ant's technology and scenario penetration, deeply binding with Bukalapak and BRI Bank.

The core of its product is the wallet, supporting P2P transfers, QR code payments, bill payments, and merchant acquiring. Its advantages are in Indonesia's second- and third-tier cities and among micro-merchants.

32. TrueMoney

Thailand's largest e-wallet, backed by Charoen Pokphand Group and Ant Group. TrueMoney not only operates as a wallet in Thailand but has also established a nationwide agent network, similar to the Philippines' GCash, allowing users to deposit cash into their wallets at 7-11 or TrueMoney agent points. It supports mobile payment services across Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other countries.

33. GCash

The largest e-wallet in the Philippines, with over 80 million users, covering nearly the entire adult population in the country. It serves as the digital bank for Filipinos, not just a payment tool, but also providing a full suite of financial services including deposits, loans, insurance, investments, and cross-border remittances. It includes GCash wallet, merchant acquiring via GCash QR, small loans, and deposits. It is the absolute ruler in the Philippine payment ecosystem.

34. Maya

Another major wallet in the Philippines, upgraded to the Maya brand in 2022, evolving from a simple wallet to an integrated "bank + wallet + acquiring" model. It has obtained a digital banking license in the Philippines, with Maya Bank offering deposit, loan, and credit card services. Products include Maya wallet, Maya Business, and Maya Bank. Its strategy is to bundle payments and finance using its banking license.

35. Kakao Pay

A national-level wallet in South Korea, emerging from the Korean version of WeChat, Kakao Talk. South Korean users can send red envelopes, transfer money, pay utility bills, buy insurance, and invest in funds all within Kakao Talk. Its advantages lie in South Korea, with a nearly 90% penetration rate among consumers. Its moat is the social relationship chain of Kakao Talk, with payments being an extension of social interactions.

36. Naver Pay

Another national-level wallet in South Korea, backed by Naver, the largest search engine in South Korea. Unlike Kakao Pay, Naver Pay excels in e-commerce scenarios, with Naver Shopping being the largest e-commerce platform in South Korea, and Naver Pay being its default payment method.

37. PayPay

Japan's dominant QR code payment solution. Japan was originally a cash kingdom, but after SoftBank and Yahoo Japan jointly established PayPay, they used 10 billion yen in cashback to forcefully popularize QR code payments.

It mainly involves wallet QR code payments, transfers, and merchant acquiring. Its advantages are in Japan's offline convenience stores, dining, and micro-retail, with over 60 million users and over 4 million merchants. It is a typical case of capital-driven payment expansion.

38. Line Pay

Another major wallet in Japan, backed by the mainstream social app Line. Line Pay's advantage is its binding with the Line social ecosystem, allowing users to send red envelopes, transfer money, and make payments within Line. It includes Line Pay wallet and merchant acquiring.

39. Rapyd

Headquartered in the UK/Israel, but operating globally. It is the aggregator of payment aggregators. It integrates over 900 payment methods worldwide, including cards, wallets, bank transfers, and cash, into a single API, allowing enterprises to connect to the world with one interface.

This includes acquiring, card issuance, fund management, and foreign exchange. It primarily serves cross-border payment scenarios in emerging markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Its clients are mainly multinational enterprises, overseas platforms, and SaaS companies needing global payments.

05 Latin America

Latin America is a market with extremely high payment complexity, low credit card penetration, a strong cash culture, and volatile political situations, but this has also led to the emergence of a number of payment institutions addressing specific pain points.

40. Mercado Pago

The payment platform under Latin America's e-commerce giant Mercado Libre, serving as the cornerstone of the entire Latin American payment ecosystem. It integrates e-commerce and payment, allowing users to make purchases on Mercado Libre using Mercado Pago by default, then extending from e-commerce scenarios to offline QR code payments, P2P transfers, and investment services. It covers major Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.

Its moat is the e-commerce scenario of Mercado Libre, making it the Latin American equivalent of "Alipay."

41. PagSeguro

Brazil's payment giant, founded in 2006, initially aimed to enable small merchants in Brazil to accept credit cards. It involves card readers, QR code payments, online acquiring, and bank accounts. It has particularly high penetration among micro-merchants, freelancers, and individual entrepreneurs. Its strategy is similar to that of Square in the US: using hardware to pry open the market and binding customers with bank accounts. It is also one of the largest online payment solution providers in Latin America, primarily serving the online and face-to-face payment needs of e-commerce, virtual stores, and physical merchants.

42. Stone

Another major acquiring player in Brazil, directly competing with PagSeguro. However, Stone focuses more on medium-sized merchants and corporate clients, offering products such as POS terminals, payment gateways, corporate bank accounts, and credit. It has advantages in Brazil's retail chains, dining, and service industries. Its strategy is to serve the entire lifecycle of merchants, from acquiring to loans to financial management.

43. Cielo

The largest acquiring bank in Brazil, jointly established by Brazil's two major banks, Bradesco and Banco do Brasil. It is the king of bank-affiliated acquiring, with the widest POS terminal network in Brazil. It includes POS acquiring, payment gateways, and prepaid cards among its payment products, covering the entire spectrum from large retailers to micro-merchants.

44. Getnet

Another major acquiring bank in Brazil, belonging to the Santander banking group. Similar to Cielo, but with deeper penetration in the small and medium merchant market. Its products include POS acquiring, payment gateways, and digital accounts.

45. Clip

A rising payment player in Mexico, listed in 2021 with a valuation of $2 billion, later privatized. Its products include POS terminals and QR code payments, primarily serving small and micro merchants in Mexico. With low credit card penetration in Mexico, Clip has captured a significant share of the small and micro merchant market with low-threshold hardware and flexible settlement cycles.

46. Conekta

A payment gateway in Mexico, known for being developer-friendly and referred to as Mexico's Stripe. It offers online acquiring, installment payments, and payment routing optimization. It is particularly popular in Mexico's e-commerce, SaaS, and digital product sectors. Clients include Uber Eats and Shopify merchants in Mexico. Its ecological value lies in helping international merchants connect to Mexico's complex local payment networks, such as cash payments at OXXO convenience stores.

47. Kushki

A payment gateway from Ecuador, covering multiple countries in Latin America, such as Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Peru. It serves as a unified payment layer for Latin America, using a single API to cover local payment methods across the region. It primarily serves cross-border e-commerce, SaaS collections, and other scenarios in Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.

48. Yuno

A payment orchestration platform based in Colombia and the US, rapidly securing funding after its establishment in 2022. Its product is a payment orchestration layer—helping merchants dynamically route transactions to the optimal acquirer, improving authorization rates and reducing costs. It has a certain market share among large e-commerce platforms and cross-border merchants.

06 Europe and the Middle East

Europe is the region with the strictest payment regulations, with layers of PSD2, strong customer authentication, and anti-money laundering rules, but it is also a natural hub for cross-border payments.

49. Klarna

The king of buy now, pay later in Sweden, and one of the highest-valued fintech companies in Europe. Its positioning is to make the shopping experience smoother, allowing users to delay or split payments without entering card numbers at checkout. Services include Pay Later for payment upon delivery, Slice It for installment payments, and the Klarna App. It has deep penetration in the fashion, beauty, and home goods e-commerce sectors in Europe and North America.

50. Afterpay

An Australian BNPL player, later acquired by Block. Similar to Klarna, but more focused on young consumers and the North American market. Its product is interest-free installment payments in four phases, allowing users to choose Afterpay at checkout, paying in four installments while merchants receive the full amount upfront. It is highly accepted among young consumers in North America, Australia, and the UK.

51. Clearpay

The European brand name for Afterpay, primarily operating in the UK, France, and Italy. Its product logic is consistent with Afterpay, making it an important player in the European BNPL market.

52. Sofort

A German online bank transfer payment method, later acquired by Klarna. Sofort is unique in Europe, allowing users to log into their online banking directly to complete payments, with merchants receiving instant confirmation without needing credit cards, essentially functioning as an online bank transfer payment method. It covers the online banking systems of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. For European e-commerce merchants, Sofort is one of the essential local payment methods.

53. iDEAL

The national online payment method in the Netherlands, not a single company but a payment standard launched by major Dutch banks. When users shop online, they select iDEAL and are redirected to their online banking to complete the payment. Due to low credit card penetration in the Netherlands, iDEAL captures over 60% of the Dutch e-commerce payment market. International merchants looking to sell to Dutch consumers typically need to accept iDEAL.

54. Bancontact

Belgium's national payment method, similar to iDEAL, is the preferred choice for Belgian consumers shopping online. It is a bank transfer payment method covering almost all banks in Belgium. International merchants looking to serve the Belgian market must accept Bancontact.

55. Twint

A mobile payment app in Switzerland, jointly launched by several Swiss banks. It serves as the wallet for Swiss people, with high penetration in offline merchants and P2P transfer scenarios in Switzerland. It includes QR code payments, P2P transfers, and bill payments. It dominates the Swiss payment ecosystem.

56. Bizum

A mobile payment app in Spain, jointly launched by several Spanish banks. It serves as an instant transfer tool for Spaniards, allowing users to transfer money to each other using their phone numbers, and online merchants can also accept Bizum payments. It has high penetration in Spain's P2P transfer and e-commerce scenarios.

57. Blik

A mobile payment method in Poland, jointly launched by several Polish banks. Its uniqueness lies in a 6-digit dynamic code, allowing users to generate a 6-digit code in their banking app during e-commerce checkout, which they then enter on the merchant's page to complete the payment. It supports online payments, ATM withdrawals, and P2P transfers. It is the absolute mainstream in Poland's payment ecosystem.

58. PayU

A payment company under Netherlands-based Prosus, focusing on emerging markets. It holds local acquiring licenses and merchant networks in India, Turkey, Poland, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Services include online acquiring, payment gateways, and credit. It has deep penetration in cross-border e-commerce, game distribution, and digital subscription sectors. It represents the payment network in emerging markets.

59. Paytm

India's largest payment platform, starting as an e-wallet and later obtaining a banking license, transforming into a comprehensive entity of "payments + banking + e-commerce." It includes Paytm Wallet, Paytm Payments Bank, merchant acquiring, and the e-commerce platform Paytm Mall. It has extensive coverage in offline QR code payments, P2P transfers, and small merchant acquiring scenarios.

60. Razorpay

An Indian payment gateway, often referred to as India's Stripe. Its products include online acquiring, payment routing, subscription management, card issuance, and small loans. It is the preferred payment gateway for developers and startups in India's e-commerce, SaaS, and digital product sectors.

61. Cashfree

Another major payment gateway in India, directly competing with Razorpay. It offers online acquiring, bulk payments, payment routing, risk control, and other products and services. It has strong advantages in e-commerce, fintech, education sectors, and B2B payment scenarios.

07 Middle East and Africa

62. Paytabs

A payment gateway for the Middle East and North Africa, headquartered in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It offers online acquiring, payment routing, installment payments, card issuance, and other products. It has deep penetration in e-commerce, tourism, and aviation scenarios in the Middle East.

63. Checkout.com

Previously mentioned, but particularly noteworthy in the Middle Eastern market. Checkout.com established its presence early in the Middle East, securing acquiring licenses in countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, making it one of the preferred payment gateways for large enterprises and multinational companies in the region.

64. Flutterwave

A payment unicorn in Africa, headquartered in the US and Nigeria, covering multiple countries across the continent. It standardizes African payment methods into an API, helping international companies connect to local payment methods in various African countries. This includes acquiring gateways, bulk payments, and card issuance.

65. Paystack

A payment gateway in Nigeria, acquired by Stripe for $200 million in 2020. It is the most popular payment gateway in Nigeria, with a strong reputation among African developers. Its products include online acquiring, payment routing, subscription management, and more. It has a solid foundation in Africa's e-commerce and SaaS sectors.

66. Interswitch

An established payment company in Nigeria, founded in 2002, and an important player in Nigeria's payment infrastructure. Its products include the Verve payment gateway, card issuance, POS acquiring, and the Quickteller wallet. It covers the entire chain from interbank clearing to merchant acquiring.

67. M-Pesa

The most successful mobile wallet in Africa, launched by Kenya's telecom operator Safaricom. It enables all financial services via SMS, allowing users to transfer money, make payments, deposit, and take loans using basic phones in a region with low smartphone penetration. It includes P2P transfers, merchant acquiring, and small loans. It covers countries in East Africa such as Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, representing a hallmark of fintech in Africa.

08 Cross-Border Remittances and Fund Transfers

Players in this category do not engage in merchant acquiring but focus on transferring funds from Country A to Country B: remittances, currency exchange, and bulk payments.

68. Wise

A cross-border remittance platform originating from the UK. Its products include personal cross-border remittances and multi-currency accounts, allowing users to hold over 50 currencies; debit cards that deduct local currency for overseas spending. It has deep penetration in personal remittances, freelancer collections, and small and medium enterprise cross-border payment scenarios globally.

69. Remitly

A US-based cross-border remittance platform focusing on sending money from developed countries to developing countries. It specializes in personal remittances from the US, Canada, and the UK to countries like Mexico, the Philippines, India, and Nigeria. It offers fast service with multiple delivery options, allowing recipients to choose bank deposits, cash pickups, or mobile wallet deposits.

70. WorldRemit

A UK-based cross-border remittance platform similar to Remitly, focusing on remittances to emerging markets. It facilitates transfers from Europe, North America, and Australia to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It operates purely online without physical outlets, resulting in lower costs.

71. Xe

A Canadian foreign exchange and remittance platform, known for its rate query website XE.com. It offers personal remittances, bulk payments for businesses, and foreign exchange risk management. It is known for transparent exchange rates and has high recognition in the global personal remittance market.

72. OFX

A cross-border remittance platform based in Australia and the US, focusing on cross-border payments for small and medium enterprises. It includes corporate remittances, bulk payments, and foreign exchange services. It facilitates transfers from Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada to the world, with deep penetration in B2B payment scenarios for small and medium enterprises.

73. Western Union

Western Union, a century-old company in global cross-border remittances. Cash-to-cash transfers... senders deposit cash at a Western Union outlet, and recipients can pick up cash at another Western Union outlet in another country without needing a bank account. This serves as the foundational infrastructure for global remittances, especially in countries and regions with low bank penetration, where Western Union is a primary channel for remittances. In recent years, it has also launched digital channels, but its physical outlets remain its core asset.

74. MoneyGram

The second-largest remittance company globally, similar to Western Union, focusing on cash-to-cash transfers. It facilitates transfers from the US and Europe to Latin America, Africa, and Asia. After being acquired by Abu Dhabi Holding Company Madiq in 2023, it is strengthening its digital channels and expanding into emerging markets.

75. Ria

The third-largest remittance company globally, belonging to Euronet. Similar to Western Union and MoneyGram, but focusing more on corridors from the US to Latin America, especially Mexico. It has high penetration among the Latino immigrant community in the US.

09 Payment Card Organizations and Clearing Networks

Finally, let's mention payment card organizations, which are not payment institutions but are integral to the entire payment ecosystem.

76. Visa

The largest card organization globally, covering over 200 countries and regions. It operates as a payment network operator, not issuing cards or acquiring, but connecting issuing banks and acquiring banks to process transaction settlements. In recent years, it has also promoted Visa Direct and Visa B2B Connect.

77. Mastercard

The second-largest card organization globally, similar to Visa. Mastercard has invested heavily in B2B payments, cross-border remittances, and virtual card issuance, with products including real-time payments via Mastercard Send and multi-scenario payment tokens.

78. UnionPay International

The international business segment of China UnionPay. The overseas acceptance network for UnionPay cards has covered over 180 countries and regions, particularly strong in the Asia-Pacific market, including Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. In recent years, it has also promoted UnionPay QR codes and cross-border remittance services.

79. American Express

American Express, a model integrating card organization and issuing bank. Its positioning is for high-end cardholders and premium merchants. Cardholders of Amex have strong spending power, and merchants are willing to pay higher fees to serve this group of customers. It holds a unique position in high-end retail, travel, and dining scenarios in North America and Europe.

80. JCB

A Japanese card organization primarily operating in Japan and Asian markets. JCB has a high market share in the domestic market and has been expanding its acceptance network overseas, especially in China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

81. Discover

Discover, an American card organization with a certain market share in the US. It has a cooperation agreement with UnionPay, allowing UnionPay cards to be used on the Discover network and vice versa.

82. Diners Club International

Diners Club International, a historic card organization now under Discover. It has a certain market presence on the Diners Club acceptance network.

In conclusion

After reviewing nearly a hundred institutions, you will notice a trend: the payment industry is transitioning from an era dominated by unified card organizations to a multi-layered infrastructure era.

At the bottom layer are card organizations like Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and bank clearing networks. The next layer consists of acquiring banks and payment gateways like Worldline, Global Payments, and Adyen. Above that are payment APIs aimed at developers, such as Stripe and Checkout.com. Further up are wallet aggregation layers like Alipay+, 2C2P, and payment loops within super apps like GrabPay and Kakao Pay. There are also players specializing in cross-border remittances like Wise and Western Union, BNPL providers like Klarna and Afterpay, and local payment methods like iDEAL, Bancontact, and Blik.

No single player dominates. Each player builds a moat in their ecological niche: Stripe's developer lock-in, Adyen's custom solutions for large clients, Alipay+'s wallet aggregation, PayPay's subsidies for market capture, PingPong's reputation among Chinese sellers, M-Pesa's SMS-based finance, and Western Union's cash network.

Payments may seem simple, but once a moat is established, it becomes invincible.

I am Chen Tianyu Universe, see you next time.