According to GlobalData, the top 20 global payment companies demonstrated strong performance in 2022, generating a total revenue of $228 billion. This impressive figure represents a notable 15.5% increase, despite the challenging economic landscape characterized by expansionary monetary policies, geopolitical uncertainties, supply chain disruptions, inflation, and rising energy costs.
The list was dominated by US payment companies, with American Express, Visa, PayPal, and Mastercard accounting for 58.5% of the total revenue of the top 20 companies. These four giants experienced growth rates of over 10%, primarily driven by increased global payment volume.
Several other companies on the list also showcased impressive top-line growth. Adyen, WAG Payment Solutions (Eurowag), WEX, and Fleetcor Technologies all experienced growth rates exceeding 20%. Notably, Eurowag and Nuvei replaced Lakala Payment and Evertec as new entrants on the list.
Adyen's exceptional growth can be attributed to its significant increase in processed volumes, surpassing half a trillion euros in 2022, with a year-on-year growth rate of 49% and a compound annual growth rate of 48.2% over the past five years. The company's revenue expanded due to a substantial increase in settlement and processing fees, particularly in the point-of-sale (POS) segment.
Eurowag, an integrated payments and mobility platform player, achieved 27.9% revenue growth due to higher energy prices and the growing scale of its payment solutions.
WEX reported robust revenue growth of 27%, driven by a 34.6% increase in payment processing revenue from its Fleet solutions segment. This growth was primarily due to higher domestic fuel prices and volume growth in the North American fleet and over-the-road businesses.
Fleetcor Technologies experienced a revenue growth of 20.9%, primarily fueled by a 14% rise in fleet revenue. This increase was driven by transaction volume growth, new sales, and the positive impact of the macroeconomic environment.
Nuvei, a new entrant, registered a 16.4% rise in revenue, primarily due to organic growth resulting from higher e-commerce volume.
However, some companies faced challenges. Samsung Card reported a decline in revenue due to currency depreciation, while Cielo and Block (formerly Square) experienced marginal drops in revenue due to specific factors such as the sale of MerchantE and M4U and a decline in the market price of bitcoin, respectively.
Murthy Grandhi, Company Profiles Analyst at GlobalData, highlights that recent disruptions in the economic, social, and technological landscape have created new opportunities for businesses. Companies have been compelled to explore new channels, expand their customer reach, and seek new business prospects. Looking ahead, niche areas such as social and live commerce, blockchain technology, real-time payments, open banking, adoption of digital currencies, biometric authentication for payment transactions, and the metaverse can emerge as new commerce platforms.
