Why are online payment systems so popular today? 2025

Key Summary

This InApps.net article, published in 2022 and authored by Tam Ho, explores the rise of online payment systems, their features, and their impact on businesses and users. Written with a business-oriented, technical tone, it aligns with InApps Technology’s mission to cover fintech and software development trends, providing insights into the growing popularity of electronic payment solutions.

Key Points:

• Context: The financial sector, impacted by the 2020 pandemic, has shifted toward online payment systems to meet the demand for fast, secure, and accessible transactions, with the global financial services market projected to reach $28,529.29 billion by 2025 (6% CAGR).
• Core Insight: Online payment systems, enabling electronic money transfers without cash or checks, offer convenience, speed, and accessibility, driving their popularity among businesses and consumers, exemplified by solutions like the 24/7 billing app.
• Key Features:
  • Definition: Online payment systems facilitate money transfers between individuals, businesses, or governments via electronic methods, bypassing direct bank staff involvement.
  • Market Leaders: Major players include UnitedHealth Group, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, AXA, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China.
  • Benefits:
    • Streamlined transactions for users and merchants.
    • Global accessibility via browsers on any device.
    • Integration with trusted systems like Stripe for secure payments with Visa, Mastercard, and more.
  • Case Study – 24/7 Billing App:
    • Developed for small businesses and sole traders unable to access traditional banking services.
    • Offers fast, secure payments with intuitive UX, stable performance, and easy setup.
    • Integrates with Stripe for reliable transaction processing.
  • Regional Trends: Western Europe leads in financial services adoption, followed by North America, with Africa lagging due to technological and economic challenges.
  • Development Considerations: Building payment apps requires careful vendor selection, prioritizing portfolios, legal compliance, and technical reliability.
• Outcome: Online payment systems simplify financial interactions and expand market reach, with InApps supporting businesses in developing secure, user-friendly payment solutions in 2022.

This article reflects InApps.net’s focus on fintech and software development trends, providing a practical, inclusive guide to the rise and implementation of online payment systems.

Modern financial services

So, financial services include all services that are provided by banks and financial institutions. In fact, any action of a financial nature can be considered as a financial service, even those that are associated with the transformation of savings into investments.

The global financial services market is projected to reach $ 28,529.29 billion in 2025, with a CAGR of 6%.

As for the major players in this market, they include: UnitedHealth Group; Industrial and Commercial Bank of China; AXA; Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China.

Their modification and development is influenced by many factors, ranging from politics to morbidity, as happened when the pandemic began. Here there is a direct relationship with all levels of human activity and their capabilities and needs.

For example, the largest region for such services is Western Europe, followed by North America. The most recent position on the list is Africa, as a region with a large number of disadvantaged people and a lag in technology.

Online payment system definition and its features

In simple terms, a payment system is a mechanism for transferring money between people, business and / or government. It is any system that can be used to settle financial transactions through a money transfer. Some payment systems may also include credit mechanisms.

There is a classical understanding of a payment system, including negotiable instruments, and a modernized concept of electronic payment systems.

Electronic payment system is a method of making transactions or paying for goods and services using an electronic medium without using checks or cash.

An electronic payment in this case is a payment made from one bank account to another using electronic methods and without the direct participation of bank employees.

Physical and electronic payment systems have their own procedures and protocols, which should be taken into account when working with them. Since in this article we are talking specifically about electronics, it is important to understand that they must also take into account all legal and technical aspects when integrating them with your product.

Also, let’s not forget about the rules for transferring funds between financial institutions, which are carried out domestically through an automated clearing house and / or real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS); and internationally via SWIFT.

How are payments processed?

We have decided on the definition, now let’s move on to how the whole process takes place. An online payment transaction is a rather laborious process that remains completely under the hood for the average user. Let’s consider each element with the definition of its area of ​​responsibility.

• The payee is a person who purchases goods and / or services on the Internet.
• A trader or seller is an individual, institution or company that provides goods and services.
• Issuer is a bank or any other financial institution that will provide the payee with a means to make payment (debit or credit card).
• The acquirer (supplier) of a merchant account is a bank or any other financial institution that opens an account for a merchant, it is the supplier who confirms the legality of the recipient’s account.
• A payment processor is a company that conducts online payments by processing an online payment transaction between the recipient and the merchant.
• A payment gateway is what handles an online payment transaction using encryption protocols to prevent fraudulent transactions.

Online payment system examples

There are several online payment systems that set the standard for all other payment systems.

Stripe

Leading international payment system working with individuals and businesses. Reliability and high security standards brought it to the top around the world. The system has an excellent level of integration and high performance. Stripe supports most bank cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, as well as mobile wallets like Google and Apple Pay.

PayPal

A universal payment service that has existed for over 20 years and is served in more than 200 countries, and with 25 different currencies. PayPal’s feature is that the payer does not necessarily disclose the credit card or bank account number, which increases the privacy, security and speed of transactions. The system has tremendous trust from customers around the world.

2Checkout

The youngest service of the same format and level as the previous two. Basically, it offers services similar to those of PayPal and Stripe. The company has over 50,000 merchants and provides services in over 200 markets around the world. Today, the service accepts payments from all major global debit and credit cards in 87 currencies.

Advantages and disadvantages of online payment systems

Online payment systems are very popular due to their convenience, but there are some other aspects that should be mentioned.

The advantages of online payment systems:

• saving on human resources and time;
• increase in sales without reference to working hours;
• Simplification of reporting for the month based on automatic receipts;
• end to End SSL security for your transactions.

The disadvantages of online payment systems:

• withholding money for several days when making transactions;
• mandatory payment of a fixed amount for each successful customer transaction;
• binding to technical stability and uninterrupted internet.

TopDevs expertise in online payment systems

A partner from Australia contacted us with a request to create a payment system that would be simple and efficient to use. Our team conducted a study of the Australian payment system market and user friendly design. Details of the research and development of the application design can be found here.

The main task was to work out a high level of application security, which is why we decided to integrate the international Stripe system. It unlocks many benefits for end users, ranging from easy website integration to working with popular debit and credit card providers like Visa, Mastercard, and more.

We’ve created the payment app 24/7 to help small businesses and sole traders who can’t afford or simply don’t qualify for financial services from traditional banks. The 24/7 billing app is aimed at providing fast payments with easy setup via trusted security systems for private individuals and companies operating in any industry.

The 24/7 billing system application continues developing technological solutions that support the idea of simple and secure payments made within seconds from anywhere at any time. Our app development experts took care of the user experience to make the app look attractive and intuitive, work stable no matter a huge amount of handled data and represent the best practices of financial transactions processing.

Final words

The use of payment systems simplifies all processes of interaction between the user and the merchant. Another nice business opportunity is to create your own online payment application if you want.

The main thing when ordering such an application is to carefully study the portfolio and set your own priorities. Only then will you get a reliable working product.