US B2B payments declined slightly faster than expected in 2020 at -7.1% as opposed to -4.9% for an actual sales value of $25.539 trillion in 2020. By year end 2021, those sales will grow by 7.8% for an overall sales value of $27.542 trillion.

Faster payments, which enable the quick settlement of transactions, are attracting greater interest from US financial institutions, businesses, and consumers, creating new challenges and opportunities for payments incumbents.

The pandemic accelerated payments industry digitization across the entire landscape, as merchants turned to ecommerce to keep doors open, consumers eschewed cash in favor of electronic and contactless payments, and payments technology providers rapidly developed and launched new solutions to keep up.