In a period of ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical upheaval, the global payments ecosystem is once again demonstrating resilience. In the previous McKinsey Global Payments Report, we described an annual decline in revenues for 2020, the first since 2009.¹ That decline, coming during the early stages of the pandemic, was less pronounced than anticipated.
At that time, we foresaw a nominal but geographically uneven rebound on the near-term horizon. As we describe in the lead chapter of this year’s report, actual results proved more robust: revenue growth in 2021 was 11 percent, the highest since 2017, leading to a record $2.1 trillion globally, and growth was healthy across all regions. Our five-year revenue outlook now exceeds prepandemic expectations, topping $3 trillion by 2026.
