An updated edition of the October 27, 2025 article.

Money is moving faster, smarter and increasingly without cash. Mobile payments are reshaping money flows across a connected global economy, with smartphones, tablets, and wearables replacing physical wallets at the point of sale. As digital transactions gain ground, reliance on ATMs is steadily declining, including in regions once considered cash-heavy. What began as a simple convenience has matured into a powerful financial ecosystem that blends speed, trust, and intelligent technology. Supported by digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, and enabled by tools like Near Field Communication (NFC), QR codes and in-app checkout, mobile payments are streamlining how consumers and businesses transact worldwide.

This evolution has been accelerated by widespread smartphone adoption and relentless fintech innovation. Artificial intelligence and blockchain are improving fraud detection, strengthening transparency and shortening transaction times across payment networks. Super apps, such as WeChat Pay, Alipay and PhonePe, are reshaping consumer behavior by blending messaging, shopping, banking and payments into unified platforms. Mobile payments are now entering another phase as conversational commerce gains traction. In October 2025, OpenAI launched a pilot in India, enabling users to make purchases and complete UPI payments directly within ChatGPT. This development signals how agentic AI, chat-based interfaces and automation could make digital transactions more intuitive.

E-commerce growth and improving digital infrastructure are providing additional momentum. Mobile payments offer clear benefits to small businesses and self-employed professionals by enabling faster settlements, better cash flow visibility and lower operating friction. As transactions become digital, they also create transparent audit trails that strengthen formal economic participation. Modern payment platforms now function as financial dashboards, connecting multiple cards, accounts and services within a single interface. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global mobile payments market stood at $3.84 trillion in 2024 and is projected to reach $26.53 trillion by 2032, reflecting a powerful 27% CAGR that highlights the sector’s long-term potential.

Competition across the sector is intensifying as platforms race to scale. Companies including Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU Quick QuoteNU - Free Report) , ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW Quick QuoteACIW - Free Report) and Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH Quick QuoteBFH - Free Report) are expanding through deeper partnerships with banks, merchants and online marketplaces. Regulators are evolving in parallel, rolling out frameworks focused on security, data privacy and financial inclusion, from FedNow in the United States to Europe’s PSD2 and India’s UPI. Our Mobile Payments Screen helps surface the most compelling opportunities in this rapidly evolving space.

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3 Mobile Payments Stocks to Buy Now

Nu Holdings delivers mobile payment capabilities through its digital banking platform, Nubank, which embeds payments directly into a single, app-based financial ecosystem. Its app offers contactless tap-to-pay features and Pix-based transactions. These functions act like a built-in mobile payment solution tied to users’ Nu accounts.

Nu’s debit and credit cards support contactless and mobile transactions, enabling seamless in-store and online payments across its core markets. Nu-tap, its in-app wallet enables people to manage credit and debit transactions and receipts, directly using their mobile phones. The company protects card data and passwords using encryption.

Nu’s mobile payment and banking services are currently strongest in Latin America, notably Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. It serves more than 127 million customers globally as of the third quarter of 2025. User engagement is high with an activity rate of more than 83%. In Brazil, it supports Pix-based mobile transactions, including NFC-enabled tap-to-pay Pix on Android devices.

The company is also pursuing broader financial capabilities and exploring expansion into new markets outside Latin America. Last September, it applied for a national bank charter to operate in the United States. This can open a huge growth opportunity for its mobile transactions. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

ACI Worldwide plays a critical behind-the-scenes role in the mobile payments ecosystem by powering digital payment acceptance for banks, billers, merchants and payment service providers. Rather than offering a consumer-facing wallet, ACI supplies the infrastructure that enables mobile transactions across apps, online checkouts and brick-and-mortar stores.

Through platforms such as ACI Instant Pay, the company allows merchants to accept real-time mobile payments using QR codes, APIs and account-to-account rails. ACIW also enables acceptance of major digital wallets and alternative payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo, consolidating them through unified integrations.

For billers and enterprises, ACI Speedpay facilitates mobile bill payments and digital disbursements, offering consumers flexible payout options such as real-time transfers, debit, ACH and wallet-based payments. Meanwhile, ACI Walletron extends mobile engagement by delivering bills, payment prompts and loyalty passes directly into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, improving conversion and on-time payments.

ACI’s mobile payment capabilities are highly scalable, supporting connections to more than 200 digital wallets across over 70 countries. By enabling real-time payments, mobile wallet acceptance and secure digital disbursements, ACI Worldwide positions itself as a foundational technology provider helping global commerce transition toward faster, mobile-first payment experiences. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

Bread Financial participates in the mobile payments ecosystem through its embedded financing and pay-over-time solutions, rather than operating a standalone consumer wallet. Its core offering, Bread Pay, enables merchants to integrate buy now, pay later options directly into mobile and digital checkout experiences, allowing consumers to split purchases into flexible payment plans. This technology works as the front-end distribution layer for its lending model.

Bread Pay’s frictionless integration helps merchants improve mobile conversion rates while giving shoppers transparent financing options during checkout. The solution supports both short- and long-term installment plans, making it suitable for everyday purchases and higher-ticket items.

To expand its reach, in early 2025, Bread Financial partnered with ChargeAfter, an embedded lending network that connects merchants to multiple financing providers. Through this integration, Bread Pay is made available across a broader range of merchant platforms, including mobile checkout flows, giving consumers more choice and flexibility at purchase.

Bread Financial’s mobile-friendly financing tools play an important role in generating real-time transaction and behavior data. This helps in improving underwriting, pricing, and loss management, which are critical for a lender-focused model. It has a Zacks Rank #2 at present.