In this article, we will discuss: 7 Best Digital Payments Stocks to Invest In Now.
Digital payment stocks include fintech businesses, digital wallet providers, and large transaction processors.
According to J.P. Morgan, the payments industry is changing due to the rapid evolution of business-to-business payment expectations, which are fueled by consumer payment trends. As per a September 15, 2020, research titled “Navigating change in a complex digital payments environment,” fintechs, rising technologies, and new electronic payment methods are making the payments landscape dynamic and complex.
J.P. Morgan stated that federal government agencies and organizations are attempting to implement more flexible payment methods. They are striking a balance between innovation and the stability and security needed in a highly regulated setting. However, selecting the appropriate payment options and technologies, choosing partners, and evaluating technology in light of customer preferences and behaviors are among the main challenges.
The firm identified a number of factors that would influence B2B payments in the future. In both B2C and B2B markets, digitization is raising expectations for quicker, real-time payments. Faster payments enable payers to more precisely manage outgoing payments, which can improve cash flow and liquidity management, particularly as interest rates rise. Banks utilize modern technologies such as blockchain, machine learning, and robotics to enhance payment experiences, gain insights into client preferences, streamline compliance, and expedite settlement.
With that said, here are the 7 Best Digital Payments Stocks to Invest In Now.
Methodology:
We sifted through the online rankings to form an initial list of the 20 Best Digital Payments Stocks. From the resultant dataset, we chose 7 Digital Payments stocks with the highest number of hedge fund holders for each stock using Insider Monkey’s database of hedge funds as of Q3 2025. We have also considered the analysts’ upside potential of over 15%, as of December 20. Finally, we ranked these stocks in ascending order based on hedge funds.
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7. Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 55.00%
Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) is among the Best Digital Money Stocks.
On December 19, 2025, Fortune revealed that Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase have partnered. According to cryptocurrency reporter Ben Weiss, the agreement is to take institutional investors’ funds denominated in stablecoins. The buy now, pay later company, which had traditionally avoided involvement in cryptocurrency-related matters, is making a change with this announcement.
The main focus of Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR)’s business is providing customers with zero-interest loans for purchases, also referred to as “buy now, pay later.” The Swedish company generates income through a banking division that takes deposits and issues bonds, and it mostly earns revenue by charging merchants fees for providing the service. Under the Coinbase agreement, institutional investors will be able to give Klarna funds in stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies tied to assets such as the US dollar.
According to Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR)’s chief financial officer, Niclas Neglén, stablecoins give the business access to a new group of institutional investors.
The Coinbase collaboration comes after several recent cryptocurrency projects. In September, the firm went public. It introduced its own stablecoin, KlarnaUSD, on a new blockchain in late November with support from crypto venture capital businesses Paradigm and Stripe. About two weeks later, Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) said that it was working with crypto wallet company Privy, which is owned by Stripe, on future crypto products for consumers.
Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR)’s measures come as fintech companies worldwide explore stablecoins. Nonetheless, the stock is down by 30.75% YTD.
6. Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 28.90%
Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) is among the Best Digital Money Stocks.
TheFly reported that on December 16, 2025, BofA reduced Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) price goal from $98 to $97. BofA maintained a Buy recommendation on the stock after modifying estimates throughout its consumer finance coverage due to pre-quiet period investor relations catch-ups.
Separately, Wolfe Research began covering Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) on December 9, 2025, with a Peer Perform rating and a $72-$82 year-end 2026 fair value range. The business is a distinguished buy-now, pay-later service with growth drivers like 0% annual percentage rate loans, card usage, and international development, as stated by Wolfe Research. However, the firm notes that it is waiting for a more appealing standpoint before recommending the shares.
Similar to its competitors, Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) plans to boost the number of merchants on its platform by partnering with payment service providers or entering into direct relationships. Given that both transaction volume and the number of merchants utilizing the firm experienced rapid growth in fiscal 2025, this strategy has clearly proven successful. Although Morningstar experts anticipate a slowdown in transaction volume growth in the upcoming years, they believe the company has a long way to go. Their forecasts suggest that average expenditure volume growth will be 23.2% over the next five years.
Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) is the market leader in the buy-now, pay-later area.
5. Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 33.64%
Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) is one of the Best Digital Money Stocks.
According to TheFly, Square, a division of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ), declared on December 17, 2025, that it was expanding its collaboration with Thrive. Sellers can manage catalogs, orders, and inventory across in-store and e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, with a unified approach due to the connectivity. Square allows retailers to create and modify products, and Shopify automatically reflects these changes. Square acts as the source of truth, assisting merchants in avoiding overselling, automating reordering, and saving time maintaining numerous systems.
On December 16, 2025, BofA reduced the price target for Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) from $88 to $86. Analyst Mihir Bhatia kept a Buy rating on the stock after modifying estimates throughout BofA’s consumer finance coverage due to early-phase investor relations catch-ups.
Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ), the fintech platform, suffered a setback when its third-quarter revenues fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Although the firm raised its full-year profit target and reported significant growth in consumer banking. Adjusted earnings per share were 54 cents, below analysts’ expectations of 67 cents, despite an 18% rise in gross profit to $2.66 billion from the previous year. That rise was sufficient for the Oakland-based business to raise its full-year gross profit forecast to $10.24 billion, a slight bump from its previous expectation.
Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) offers businesses payment services as well as associated services.
4. Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 55.18%
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) is among the Best Digital Money Stocks.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) and Visa announced a strategic partnership on December 22, 2025, to implement the Trusted Agent Protocol throughout the former company’s agentic ecosystem and allow Visa Intelligent Commerce. The collaboration supports AI-driven consumer purchases by combining the firm’s merchant network with Visa’s agentic commerce and authentication capabilities. ISV and ISO partners, as well as Clover and Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) merchants, will participate in the partnership.
As of December 22, Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) shares had dropped about 67.02% year-to-date. The drop shows an overall lack of confidence in the business’s prospects in the wake of guidance cuts and a dismal third-quarter 2025 update, according to Visible Alpha. Analyst downgrades were triggered by the company’s recent quarterly results, which fell short of market expectations. The company has also cut its organic revenue growth forecasts twice in the last year.
The management is under more pressure. Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) is facing two shareholder lawsuits alleging that it misled investors and reshuffled certain parts of its executive team after the third-quarter earnings report.
Visible Alpha consensus showed lower revenue forecasts. Revenue for the fourth quarter is expected to be $5.3 billion, which is 8.8% less than pre-earnings projections. Revenue for the entire year is anticipated to climb by 3.6% to $21.2 billion, as opposed to earlier projections of a rise of 8.2% to $22.1 billion.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) is the leading provider of core processing and related services.
3. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 27.72%
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) is among the Best Digital Money Stocks.
On December 18, 2025, theFly reported that Morgan Stanley reduced its price objective to $51 from $74 and lowered PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) from Equal Weight to Underweight.
According to the firm, making upgrades to PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s branded checkout integrations will be difficult and time-consuming. Morgan Stanley predicts slow dollar growth through 2028 due to a lack of Venmo revenue generation, share loss, and take rate decline. The agentic story will continue to be an overhang on the stock, per the firm. The downgrade came after Morgan Stanley decided to reduce the company’s profit and margin projections.
Separately, despite better-than-expected results, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) disclosed a revenue miss and weaker fourth-quarter guidance, which caused the company’s shares to drop as much as 7%. The firm reported adjusted EPS of $1.20 for the third quarter, exceeding forecasts of $1.07. The revenue was $7.85 billion, less than the projected $7.89 billion.
The business expects low single-digit revenue growth in the fourth quarter, compared to analyst projections of 5.4% to $8.46 billion.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) offers electronic payment solutions to businesses as well as consumers, with a particular focus on online transactions.
2. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 136
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 19.75%
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is among the Best Digital Money Stocks.
On December 17, 2024, Reuters reported that Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s board had approved a new share repurchase program that would allow the business to repurchase up to $12 billion of its Class A shares. Furthermore, the payments company boosted its quarterly dividend from 66 to 76 cents per share. After the firm’s previously announced $11 billion repurchase program is finished, the new buyback program will take effect. The company had over $3.9 billion left under the current authorization as of December 13.
On December 12, 2025, TheFly reported that Evercore ISI maintained its In Line rating and lifted its price goal for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) from $600 to $610. Before the year-end and fourth-quarter results season, Evercore also included Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and Visa on its list of “Tactical Outperform.” The firm justified the tactical list inclusion due to the anticipated reversal of relative year-to-date dips, valuation considerations, and the possibility of increasing investor interest towards year-end. Evercore’s report concentrated on positioning ahead of Q4 earnings and seasonal variables.
In the last quarter, the business exceeded Wall Street forecasts amid maintained spending volumes, as executives pointed out the card network giant’s move into digital commerce and stablecoins.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is one of the major payment processors in the world.
1. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 179
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of December 20: 21.98%
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is among the Best Digital Money Stocks.
On December 19, 2025, Reuters reported that Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Mastercard had settled a class-action lawsuit alleging they conspired to maintain artificially high ATM access fees by paying a total of $167.5 million. The proposed settlement requires judicial approval and was submitted to the federal district court in Washington. Both companies would each contribute roughly $88.8 million and $78.7 million to a settlement fund for qualified consumers who have been charged unreimbursed fees at independently operated non-bank ATMs since October 2007. The 2011 lawsuit challenged industry regulations that allegedly prevented lower ATM fees. Mastercard and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) denied any misconduct. Lawyers may demand up to 30% of the funds as payment for their services. ATM operators have yet to file a separate case.
Separately, on December 12, theFly reported that Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Orange Money Group, a division of Orange, formed a strategic alliance to speed up online payments and provide access to financial services in the Middle East and Africa. The partnership’s goal is to offer consumers safe, easy, and globally accepted payment options. After previous implementations, the rollout will spread to other markets, such as Guinea, Burkina Faso, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The firms stated that the project builds on existing deployments and promotes broader acceptance of digital payments through its infrastructure.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) shares are up by 11.08% YTD as of December 22, 2025.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is one of the world’s largest payment processors.
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Disclosure: None. 7 Best Digital Payments Stocks to Invest In Now is originally published on Insider Monkey. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
