Five things payments operations and sourcing leaders must know when shaping their BPS supplier strategy
The payments landscape is undergoing a structural transformation. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-led automation, margin compression, emerging rails, agent-driven commerce, and expanding regulatory mandates are reshaping how payments operations are designed and delivered. Everest Group estimates the payments operations market at approximately US$2.6-3 billion, growing at around 9% year on year and expected to maintain a similar growth trajectory in the near term.
As enterprises revisit their sourcing strategies, traditional cost arbitrage alone is no longer sufficient.
Based on Everest Group’s recent Payments BPS Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, five structural shifts are redefining what payments operations and sourcing leaders should prioritize when evaluating providers and shaping next-generation operating models.
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1. AI infusion is now table stakes
AI has moved from experimentation to expectation in payments operations. This shift is driven by increasingly sophisticated, AI-powered fraud patterns, exponential growth in digital transactions across cards, wallets, and real-time rails, and rising regulatory expectations around faster detection and improved auditability. For example, AI-driven dispute triaging can auto-adjudicate low-risk chargebacks, reducing manual touchpoints by 30-50%, while generative AI (gen AI) copilots assist investigators by summarizing transaction histories and flagging anomalies in seconds.
Enterprises are shifting toward AI-ready delivery models that evolve from human-led pods supported by AI to AI-coordinated teams, and ultimately to semi-autonomous, agent-orchestrated pods with human governance. As a result, buyers are prioritizing providers that can operationalize this pod-based transformation, moving beyond basic automation to deliver scalable, AI-infused workforce models.
This shift is also driving fundamental workforce transformation. Skill models are evolving toward AI, automation, and engineering fluency, while continuous upskilling is becoming essential as new tools and agent capabilities are introduced. At the same time, accountability is consolidating from multiple functions to clearly defined pod-level ownership, making workforce transformation a vital consideration in supplier selection.
2. Delivery diversification is becoming strategic
Payments delivery models are expanding beyond traditional hubs into nearshore and specialized geographies as enterprises respond to several external factors:
- Geopolitical instability has elevated concentration risk concerns
- Regulatory frameworks (such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Payment Services Directive (PSD), and data localization mandates) require in-region processing
- Cross-border payments growth demands multilingual and regionally nuanced support
- Digital asset and blockchain-based payment models require niche fraud and compliance expertise that is not uniformly available across traditional delivery centers
For example, European payments operations often require European Union (EU)-based delivery for regulatory alignment, while stablecoin operations demand specialized blockchain reconciliation skills. Enterprises are therefore prioritizing providers with diversified delivery footprints that balance cost efficiency, compliance, and operational resilience.
3. Domain depth is outweighing pure scale
As the payments ecosystem fragments across cards, real-time payments, embedded finance, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), cross-border wallets, crypto, and agentic commerce, operational complexity is increasing significantly. Each rail carries distinct settlement logic, exception handling requirements, scheme rules, and compliance obligations.
Regulatory expansion further amplifies this complexity. ISO 20022 migration is transforming messaging and reconciliation standards; Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and open finance initiatives are reshaping authentication and access models; Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) updates and Anti-money Laundering (AML) mandates are raising compliance thresholds. Managing card disputes differs materially from handling real-time Account-to-Account (A2A) exceptions or stablecoin reconciliation. Agent-driven payments introduce new considerations around mandate validation and liability.
In this environment, enterprises are increasingly favoring providers with deep payments-specific domain expertise over those offering horizontal transaction processing at scale. Providers that understand scheme rules, compliance nuances, settlement processes, and network protocols are winning larger, transformation-led deals.
4.Sourcing is shifting toward operating model enablers, not just cost consolidators
The role of Payments Business Process Services (BPS) providers is shifting from labor arbitrage partners to operating model transformation enablers. This reflects a broader enterprise shift toward operating models that are:
- Platform-based rather than siloed
- Data-driven rather than reactive
- Automation-first rather than manual review-heavy
Leading providers are co-creating new operating frameworks, embedding automation layers, and advising on end-to-end workflow redesign through a combined consulting, technology, and operations offering, not simply absorbing transaction volumes.
5.Operations coverage must extend toemerging themes
Enterprises are actively experimenting with new rails and digital business models but often lack internal operational readiness to support them at scale. Stablecoin-based cross-border settlement introduces new reconciliation frameworks. Agent-driven commerce requires mandate validation and robust audit trails. BNPL models demand credit decisioning overlays and collections support.
To address this shift, Payments BPS providers are expanding beyond traditional card and acquiring operations into stablecoin and digital asset workflows, real-time payment exception handling, embedded finance operations, AI-driven transaction monitoring, and enhanced AML and sanctions screening.
Sourcing leaders must evaluate whether providers can support not only today’s transaction volumes but also tomorrow’s emerging payment architectures.
Provider landscape: how capabilities are expanding
Everest Group’s Payments BPS Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment highlights how providers are adapting to these structural shifts:
- AI-led automation investments across fraud, disputes, and AML workflows
- Platform and ecosystem partnerships with payment networks, FinTechs, and RegTech firms
- Payments-focused centers of excellence to deepen regulatory and scheme expertise
- Emerging rail readiness, including capabilities in real-time payments and AI-driven monitoring
- Consultative positioning centered on operating model transformation rather than pure transaction processing
Differentiation between Leaders and other providers increasingly hinges on AI maturity, regulatory readiness, domain specialization, delivery diversification, and transformation capability.
Exhibit 1 illustrates Everest Group’s Payments BPS Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, highlighting the relative positioning of providers based on their capabilities and market impact.
Payments operations are no longer defined solely by transaction volumes; they are shaped by automation, regulatory expansion, digital innovation, and margin pressure. Sourcing leaders who align their BPS strategy with these five structural shifts will be better positioned to build resilient, AI-enabled, and future-ready payments operating models.
If you enjoyed this blog, check out, The evolution of BPS: Why payer operations are becoming intelligent by design | Blog – Everest Group Research Portal, which delves deeper into another topic relating to BPS.
To discuss more about the payments BPS landscape, contact Ronak Doshi ([email protected]), Sakshi Maurya ([email protected]), or Saumil Misra ([email protected]).