The global payments sector is undergoing a profound transformation, shaped by structural shifts altering payment companies and how these firms capture value, according to a new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report.

These shifts include advances in artificial intelligence (AI), digital assets, and growing payment sovereignty.

The report, released in September, shares the current state of the global payment industry, outlining recent developments and forecasts for the years to come. It argues that while over the next five years, the global payment industry will continue to grow, this expansion will be at a notably slower pace, with revenue trends pointing to a secular downshift.

This shift will force companies to embrace cutting-edge technologies to improve efficiencies, develop new revenue streams, and upgrade their infrastructure. Firms will also need to put a deeper focus on areas of true differentiated advantage, build more integrated revenue models, and concentrate on making increasingly sophisticated payments operations yield measurable gains in cost, conversion, resilience, and revenue.

According to the report, AI is raising standards in performance, allowing banks and payments players to lower the costs of operations, risk, compliance, and software development. These tools also sharpen routing and authorization decisions, while accelerating innovation and new capabilities.

One promising use of the technology lies in treasury functions, where new agentic AI systems enable full automation. These agents are now capable of routing payments in real time based on cost, speed, and straight-through processing criteria while handling currency exposure and cash pooling within set corporate policies.

Software providers and fintech startups, including treasury management systems Kyriba, Serrala, and Bottomline Technologies, are already leveraging these capabilities, offering AI-native cash forecasting and risk tools integrated into corporate workflows.

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