2025 Update: Payments Trends You Need To Know In 2025

Payments Trends: What You Need to Know in 2025

Payments have gone from something you do after shopping, booking, or dining – to something nearly invisible, happening with a tap, swipe, or click. At Storm2, we keep a close watch on what’s actually changing, what’s hype, and what starts making an impact for payment companies, merchants, and the consumers using their products.

Here’s how the payments sector is evolving this year – and what forward-thinking teams need to know about new rails, shifting competition, global infrastructure, and how recruitment is adapting to keep up.

Three Trends Reshaping Payments in 2025

1. FedNow, Real-Time Rails & The End of Waiting

For decades, bank transfers in the US could take days to land, but now FedNow fully in play, instant money movement is becoming a standard expectation for consumers. FedNow means 24/7 settlements between banks, with funds available in seconds—no more business-day waiting.

For businesses, this removes pain around payroll, supplier payments, and customer refunds. For consumers, it’s a direct deposit for gig work appearing in-app, and real-time coverage in emergencies. Startups are building new tools that tap directly into FedNow’s infrastructure, complicating life for card networks but unlocking new user flows everywhere from insurance claims to B2B commerce.

2. The NFC Battle: Apple’s Big Move & Competitive Pressure

Apple Pay has become nearly synonymous with mobile payments, and now the competition to own the tap-to-pay experience is getting fierce. In 2025, Apple’s NFC access remains front-and-center, especially after opening up some capabilities to third-party wallets (after regulatory nudges in EU markets).

Expect to see new apps – some by banks, some by ambitious startups springing up, pushing for their chance to be the default wallet on iOS and Android. We’re seeing moves from Stripe, Google, Samsung, and even retailer-specific apps, each hoping to grab market share. For merchants, NFC competition means more options, better rates, and a next wave of added features baked into the checkout experience: rewards, split bills, loyalty, and even “smart receipts.”

3. Cross-Border Payments: Fixing What’s Broken

The old rule for global payments: slow, expensive, opaque. In 2025, a surge of companies is trying to kill that model for good. Innovations in cross-border infrastructure—from payment corridors built on stablecoins to new APIs that handle local compliance—are shrinking timeframes and costs.

No-touch settlement, multi-currency wallets, and global debit cards make it easier for both consumers and businesses to operate across borders. This is opening big doors for freelancers, SMBs, e-commerce platforms, and crypto users. Look for continued partnerships between digital banks (Wise, Revolut, Mercury), payment gateways, and blockchain firms, all chasing the goal of instant, low-fee, fully transparent payments from New York to Nairobi.

Payments Startups to Watch

In 2025 we’re seeing the Payments industry being shaped by a fix of familiar leaders and fresh startups looking to find their place in the market:

Increase

Founded 2020
Founder: Darragh Buckley

Increase, founded by Stripe’s first employee in 2020 connects fintechs and banks directly to payment networks (Visa, Fedwire, FedACH). Recently featured in the 2025 edition of Forbes’ Fintech 50 2025 Increase’s platform cuts transaction costs and gives clients more control over payments, making B2B and fintech integrations faster and far more transparent. 

Sokin

Founded: 2021
Founder: Vroon Modgil

Fresh off a $50M fundraise round, Sokin offers subscription-based, borderless payment solutions for individuals and businesses. Their unified payments network eliminates hidden fees for global transfers, and their transparent SaaS model is winning business from SMEs and e-commerce marketplaces that crave predictable costs. Sokin’s cross-border platform supports over 200 countries.

Stripe

Founded:2009
Founders: Patrick Collison & John Collison

Another FinTech leader that was featured on the 2025 edition of Forbes’ FinTech 50 Stripe is the global backbone for digital payments, powering online, in-person, and embedded commerce for startups and the Fortune 100. Stripe’s infrastructure is core to embedded finance for thousands of FinTechs and businesses worldwide, with a recent valuation of over $70bn for the company.

Mesh Payments

Founded: 2018
Founder:Oded Zehavi

Mesh Payments delivers global corporate card and spend management automation for businesses. Their solution issues highly customized virtual cards, supports mobile wallets, and gives companies real-time visibility, robust policy controls, and seamless payment management across departments and geographies. Mesh’s tech is already partnered with major players like MetaMask and Revolut.

Ramp

Founded: 2019
Founders: Eric Glyman, Gene Lee & Karim Atiyeh

With a recent valuation of $22.5bn Ramp is a comprehensive finance operations platform offering corporate cards, procurement, travel, accounting, and automation tools. Focused on helping businesses save time and money, Ramp uses AI-powered agents for expense management, fraud detection, and seamless integration with enterprise software. Ramp is now expanding into treasury solutions and smart procurement via acquisitions.

Carry1st

Founded:2021
Founders: Cordel Robbin-Coker, Tinotenda Mundangepfupfu & Lucy Hoffman

Headquartered between NY and Cape Town, Carry1st secured $27M Series B investment earlier this year. Carry1st’s platform supports mobile payments for the digital gaming sector for industry giants like Activision, Electronic Arts and Riot Games in emerging markets. They help global publishing firms connect local payment rails in developing economies with global platforms, driving financial inclusion and supporting in-game purchases at scale

Hiring for Payments in 2025: What’s Changing

Recruiting payments talent is no longer about finding someone who “knows how cards work.” It’s become much broader and deeper.

Key roles on the rise:

• API Product Managers: Making embedded payments easier for partners and platforms.
• Real-Time Payment Engineers: Building connections to FedNow, RTP, SEPA Instant, and more.
• AI Native Fraud & Risk Specialists: Using machine learning to fight increasingly sophisticated payment scams—especially with new rails.
• Cross-Border Operations & Compliance Pros: Navigating local rules in each region and building infrastructure for instant, legal money movement.
• Mobile Experience Designers: Competing in the battle for tap-to-pay and wallet primacy.
• Payments Partnership Leads: Negotiating deals between banks, platforms, card networks, and retail partners.

With instant settlement, mobile-first habits, and global commerce now expected, finding people who think about payments as a “living ecosystem” and know how to build, secure, and scale new experiences is essential for payments organizations looking to break through. 

The Storm2 Edge

Storm2 specializes in recruiting senior & C-suite payments professionals ready to tackle the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities of 2025’s FinTech market. Whether you need someone who can wire up a new FedNow integration, scale mobile wallet adoption, or build out compliance for multi-currency settlement, our team connects startups and scale-ups with candidates who keep up—and push the edge.

Looking to fill a key leadership role, or build a product team that “gets” the latest in payments? Let Storm2 help you not just hire, but outpace the market… Payments in 2025 are faster, smarter, and more diverse than ever before. If that’s the business you’re building, let’s talk about getting you the right people to lead it.