Contactless Payments and Beyond: 2025's Top Payment Trends

Payment trends have evolved significantly, shifting from cash to contactless and digital methods. As technology continues to advance, the payments landscape has transformed, reshaping consumer expectations across the board. Today’s customers demand flexible, seamless, and secure payment experiences.  

Payment preferences vary by generation. Gen Z tends to favor mobile wallets and digital solutions, valuing speed and convenience. Millennials often prefer credit cards, while Gen X and baby boomers are more likely to stick with traditional payment methods. For businesses, including those in the fitness and wellness space, adapting to these preferences is key.  

Payment trends to watch for in 2025

Embracing modern payment methods helps ensure you're meeting your clients where they are—offering flexibility, ease, and the kind of customer experience that keeps them coming back. Here are five trends shaping how people pay in 2025. 

1. Contactless payments

Contactless payments have surged in popularity. This method uses technologies like RFID (radio-frequency identification), NFC (near-field communication), or QR codes to process transactions in seconds. Customers can easily make payments by waving or tapping their smartphone, smartwatch, or contactless card over a reader. 

Consumers love contactless payments for their speed and convenience. In fact, they’re becoming even more preferred than physical card payments. Contactless transactions are also more secure, due to tokenization, encryption, and dynamic data authentication, making it harder for fraudsters to compromise than traditional card-based methods. 

How Mindbody helps: Mindbody Payments supports contactless options making it easy to offer fast, frictionless transactions your clients will appreciate. This method is available via compatible payment terminals, such as WisePOS E, a desktop card reader that supports swipe, tap, and NFC transactions. Another option is the Stripe Reader M2, which connects to your smartphone to accept card payments through the Mindbody Business App. This integration enhances the checkout experience, allowing transactions to be completed from anywhere. 

2. Digital wallets

Digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, and Samsung Wallet, store payment info securely on mobile devices, making transactions seamless. They don’t just hold credit card details; users can also store gift cards, loyalty programs, coupons, and even IDs in their wallet apps.  

These wallets work by wirelessly transmitting payment information via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or magnetic signals at the point of sale. Thanks to tokenization and biometric authentication, they’re often more secure than traditional physical wallets or cards.  

How Mindbody helps: Clients using the Mindbody App, Branded App, or the Mindbody website can manage their payment methods directly through a built-in wallet feature, which supports Apple Pay. 

3. Pay by bank

Pay by bank, also known as account-to-account (A2A) payments, lets customers pay straight from their bank account. While the payment method isn’t exactly new, it’s gaining momentum thanks to recent advances in open banking technology which have made the process faster, easier, and more secure. These improvements allow third-party platforms to connect directly with banks, simplifying the payment experience for everyone.  

More consumers are starting to try this method, especially when they're offered perks like discounts or loyalty rewards. For businesses, the benefits include lower transaction fees and quicker access to funds, which can help improve cash flow. 

How Mindbody helps: While Mindbody Payments doesn't currently support pay by bank, it does offer ACH payments as a lower-cost alternative for businesses. 

4. Buy now, pay later

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay have increased in popularity, especially among younger shoppers who prefer to avoid credit cards. In the U.S., 41% of adults have used these services in the past 12 months. These platforms allow consumers to split a purchase into smaller, manageable payments, often with little or no interest. This helps make higher-ticket items more accessible. 

For businesses, BNPL solutions help eliminate price barriers, increase cart sizes, and improve conversion rates. Originally launched online, many BNPL services now offer physical cards too, making it possible for consumers to use them in-store and extend their purchasing power.  

5. Blockchain

Blockchain is gaining traction as a faster, more secure way to handle payments, especially for tech-savvy or international clients. The technology allows real-time, transparent transaction records and removes the need for intermediaries, which can speed up international payments, improve efficiency, and reduce fees. As it becomes more widely adopted, blockchain could play a key role in the future of global payment systems.

Keep pace with changing payment trends

Offering modern, secure, and flexible payment options isn’t just about staying current—it’s about delivering the convenient checkout experience your clients expect. Whether you run a spa, salon, or gym, Mindbody Payments helps you meet your clients where they are by supporting traditional card payments and popular options like contactless payments and digital wallets. Plus, it seamlessly integrates with Analytics 2.0, streamlining reporting and analytics so you can easily track revenue trends, fees, and payouts in a single location.