An updated edition of the May 13, 2026 article.
Paying with a phone has gone from a novelty to a daily habit. Whether buying coffee, booking a ride or shopping online, consumers increasingly expect payments to happen instantly with just a tap or scan. That shift is reshaping commerce worldwide. Cash is losing ground, physical wallets are becoming less essential and merchants are replacing traditional point-of-sale hardware with software-based payment acceptance. At the same time, real-time and account-to-account payment networks are making money move faster and at a lower cost.
Mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, powered by NFC, QR codes and in-app checkout, are now common across online and in-store purchases. Rising smartphone adoption, expanding internet access, and continued fintech innovation are driving broader acceptance across both developed and emerging markets. Wearables and tablets are extending this convenience further, allowing consumers to pay securely without carrying a physical wallet.
Younger consumers are leading the transition. Gen Z and Millennials value fast, seamless experiences, making mobile payments a natural fit for shopping, travel and day-to-day money management. Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence is strengthening fraud detection and transaction monitoring, enabling payment providers to identify suspicious activity more quickly. Blockchain-based technologies are also gaining attention for tokenization and faster settlement, helping improve both efficiency and security.
The next wave of innovation is already emerging. Agentic commerce could allow AI to complete purchases on behalf of users, handling payments in the background with minimal human input. Super apps such as WeChat Pay, Alipay and PhonePe continue to reshape consumer behavior by combining messaging, shopping, banking and payments within a single platform. Conversational commerce is adding another layer by enabling users to discover, order and pay directly through chat interfaces. Meanwhile, embedded payments are becoming increasingly common, allowing transactions to happen seamlessly inside apps, marketplaces and software platforms without interrupting the user experience.
Fortune Business Insights estimates the global mobile payments market touched $4.97 trillion in 2025 and could expand to $46.62 trillion by 2034, representing a 28% CAGR. Asia Pacific accounted for 46.1% of the market in 2025. Meanwhile, tap-to-phone technology is turning smartphones into payment terminals, lowering acceptance costs for merchants
Competition is intensifying as companies such as Visa Inc. V, Block, Inc. XYZ, Klarna Group plc KLAR and Green Dot Corporation GDOT broaden their payment ecosystems through innovation and strategic partnerships. At the same time, regulatory initiatives including FedNow in the United States, Europe's PSD2 framework and India's UPI are strengthening trust, security and adoption. Our Mobile Payments Screen highlights the companies best positioned to benefit.
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4 Mobile Payments Stocks to Buy
Block has built one of the industry's most comprehensive mobile payments ecosystems, serving both consumers and merchants through Cash App, Square and Afterpay. Cash App enables peer-to-peer transfers, digital wallet payments, direct deposits, bill payments and Cash App Pay, while Square provides merchants with mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solutions, tap-to-pay acceptance and omnichannel payment processing. Together, these platforms create an integrated ecosystem that connects consumers and businesses across online, in-store and mobile transactions.
The company continues to enhance its mobile payments offering through product innovation. During the first quarter of 2026, Block expanded Afterpay's Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) capabilities across Cash App Card purchases, Cash App Pay and peer-to-peer transactions, allowing consumers greater payment flexibility. Square also introduced new hardware and software enhancements for merchants, while AI-powered features such as Moneybot were added to improve customer engagement and simplify financial management. These initiatives strengthen the company's ecosystem and encourage higher transaction activity across its platforms.
Operational momentum remains strong. In the first quarter of 2026, Square’s Gross Payment Volume (GPV) increased 13% year over year to $61.2 billion, while Cash App monthly transacting actives reached 59 million. The company generated $2.91 billion in gross profit, up 27% from the prior-year quarter, reflecting healthy growth across both its consumer and merchant businesses.
As mobile-first payments gain traction worldwide, Block's unified platform of digital wallets, merchant acceptance, BNPL and mobile commerce positions it to capture long-term growth. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Green Dot delivers mobile payment capabilities through its digital banking platform and embedded finance infrastructure, enabling consumers and businesses to make, receive and manage payments through mobile channels. Its banking app allows users to transfer funds, deposit checks remotely, pay bills, monitor accounts and receive real-time alerts. Green Dot’s debit cards also integrate with major digital wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Wallet, enabling secure contactless payments in stores and online.
Beyond consumer banking, Green Dot plays an important role in embedded finance through its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. Its APIs allow fintechs and enterprise partners to integrate mobile banking, account issuance, debit cards and payment capabilities directly into their own applications. The company also supports peer-to-peer transfers and provides access to one of the largest retail cash networks in the United States, allowing customers to seamlessly move between cash and digital payments.
Green Dot’s mobile payments ecosystem continues to generate healthy transaction activity. In first-quarter 2026, Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) increased 9% year over year to $40.6 billion, driven by strong momentum in its B2B Services business, where GDV grew 14%. The company also maintained approximately 3.5 million active accounts, highlighting resilient customer engagement.
As more fintechs and digital platforms outsource banking infrastructure, Green Dot stands to benefit from higher transaction activity without relying solely on direct customer acquisition. It also currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
Visa plays a foundational role in the mobile payments ecosystem by providing the global payment network that powers digital transactions rather than operating a consumer-facing wallet. Every time a consumer pays through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Wallet or a Visa-enabled banking app, Visa authorizes, routes, clears and settles transactions through its network, while its Visa Token Service replaces card credentials with secure digital tokens to improve security and reduce fraud.
The company continues to strengthen its mobile payments capabilities through innovation. A recent addition is Tap to Pay on iPhone via the Visa Acceptance Platform, allowing merchants to accept contactless payments directly on an iPhone without requiring dedicated card readers. Visa also recently introduced Visa Pass Key in India, enabling consumers to authenticate online card payments using biometric verification or device credentials instead of one-time passwords, creating a faster and more secure checkout experience.
Visa’s scale continues to drive strong operating performance. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, net revenues increased 17% year over year to $11.2 billion. Payments volume grew 8%, cross-border volume advanced 13% on a constant-dollar basis, and processed transactions rose 11%, reflecting healthy consumer spending and continued migration toward digital payments.
By combining global acceptance, tokenization, fraud prevention and merchant payment innovation, Visa remains one of the largest beneficiaries of the shift toward mobile-first and contactless commerce. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
Klarna has evolved into a comprehensive mobile payments platform that extends well beyond its BNPL roots. Through the Klarna app, consumers can shop online and in stores, make one-time or installment payments, manage purchases, track deliveries and access flexible financing from a single mobile interface. The platform also supports payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay, enabling consumers to use Klarna seamlessly across digital and physical commerce.
Klarna continues to broaden its payments ecosystem with products designed to increase everyday spending. Its expanding portfolio now includes debit card offerings, pay-in-full options and AI-powered shopping features that personalize recommendations and simplify the checkout experience. By combining payments, shopping discovery and financial management into one app, Klarna is driving higher engagement while giving merchants additional tools to improve conversion rates and customer loyalty.
The company's operating momentum remains strong. In the first quarter of 2026, Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) climbed 33% year over year to $33.7 billion, while revenues increased 44% to $1.01 billion. Active consumers reached 119 million, up 21%, and the merchant network expanded to more than 1.07 million, a 49% increase from a year earlier.
As Klarna expands from a BNPL provider into a broader mobile commerce platform, its growing consumer ecosystem and rapidly expanding merchant network are creating multiple avenues for sustained payment volume growth. It also carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
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Visa Inc. (V): Free Stock Analysis Report
Green Dot Corporation (GDOT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Block, Inc. (XYZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
Klarna Group plc (KLAR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).