Financial Services

In-store digital payments are bigger in Asia than in Europe and North America combines. Estimates indicate that the number of cashless payments are to increase further in the coming year. The implementation of new methods - such as wallets, QR code payments, or A2A payments - may lead to a sizable decline of cash use in countries where the population has little to no access to financial services. Latin America, especially, hopes to benefit from this.

Loans, savings, and debt became dominant themes during the cost-of-living crisis, affecting both consumers and businesses. This is reflected in growing credit card rates and debt. Consumers actively explore alternative finance options, such as BNPL installments or flexible options.

E-commerce payment processing technologies come from different providers - such as fintechs, payment gateways or buy now, pay later. Out of these, PayPal had the highest global market share. Some of the fastest growing brands worldwide - UPI in India, Pix in Brazil - focus on instant transaction speeds in offline, in-store payments, however.

Companies noticed a decline in traditional investments as investors became increasingly cautious. 2023 was a difficult year for corporate dealmaking, as the global M&A value fell by 16 percent. The corporate finance sector actively seeks new ways to tap into money, eagerly awaiting an increase in interest rates worldwide in 2024.