Payment processors report continued growth in Q1 2024

• FXC Intelligence, the market-leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence, today released its report on the key trends for payment processors in Q1 2024.
• Payment processors grew again in the first quarter of 2024, though in some cases revenue growth hasn’t been as strong as in previous years.
• Paypal continues to lead the industry, reporting revenues higher than its two closest competitors, Fiserv and Global Payments.

FXC Intelligence, the market-leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence, today published its report on the key trends for payment processors in Q1 2024.

As a whole, the sector continued to grow, though in some cases revenue growth hasn’t been as strong as in previous years.

Among publicly traded companies, PayPal continues to lead the industry, reporting revenues higher than the combined total of the next two players in the space, Fiserv and Global Payments. Despite a 2% YoY decline, PayPal’s EBITDA showed its continuing strength as a market leader – exceeding $1.2bn for the quarter.

Emerging markets player dLocal reported the strongest quarterly revenue growth at 34%. However, this was the lowest YoY revenue growth for the company since it went public, prompted by headwinds in two of its core markets. 

Looking at how often certain terms are discussed amongst different companies also highlights certain trends. This quarter, ‘partnerships’ or ‘partner’ saw consistent mention by the tracked companies, demonstrating the impact they continue to have on the space. 

This quarter also saw ‘macroeconomic conditions’ discussed fewer times compared to Q1 2023 by companies such as Global Payments, Block and PayPal; the same number of times by dLocal and Paysafe (which didn’t use the term); and more times by dLocal and Worldline. 

The varying usage of the term suggests that macro factors are still an influencing factor in the space, but its impact is not significant enough that companies feel the need to frequently contextualise their progress.

The terms ‘seasonal’ and ‘seasonality’ were frequently mentioned across processors this quarter. Consistent mention of this term shows that processors continue to see spending patterns often affect its revenues at certain times of the year. 

Four of the tracked companies discussed AI in Q1, reflecting FXC Intelligence’s findings at Money 20/20 Europe, where it was noted that AI remains a key topic of discussion but that we may be past the peak of the hype, with companies now looking at realistic discussions of its use in the space.

Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Content at FXC Intelligence, said:

“Despite a slowdown in revenue growth compared to the pandemic years, the consistent YoY growth across the industry for the fourth consecutive quarter highlights the sector’s resilience and adaptability.

“Topics such as AI, as well as wider industry approaches to macroeconomic conditions, continue to be a focus, and we will track these as we follow the sector over future quarters.”

To read the report in full, click here.