Share

X-Pays: why are they attracting more and more businesses?

11/09/2025 - Technology

Mobile payments are definitely on the rise! According to the Banque de France’s Payment Security Observatory (OSMP), the number of contactless mobile payments increased by 61% between the first half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, now accounting for 13.5% of card payments at points of sale. This trend can largely be explained by the growing popularity of X-Pays, which are attracting organizations and consumers around the world.

What are X-Pays? How do they work and what concrete benefits do they bring to businesses? This article sheds light on the subject.

What are X-Pays?

X-Pays were launched in 2016 and have revitalized a mobile payment market that was struggling to grow. A leading trend in embedded finance, it is simply a digital payment solution natively installed on the user’s smartphone in the manufacturer’s wallet (Apple, Samsung, etc.)

With X-pays, payment becomes a basic function of the phone and users no longer need to go through their banking app to make purchases. However, it is the card-issuing bank that must interface with the X-pay service(s) of its choice to allow its customers to pay with their tokenized card via their smartphone.

How do X-Pays work? 

To use X-Pays, you need to digitize your bank (or payment) card in a wallet such as Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.

The credit card information is collected via a tokenization process in a DPAN (Device Primary Account Number. The DPAN is the “tokenized” version of the PAN (the number printed on the bank card) that enables mobile payments to be carried out and links the user’s smartphone to their card. This allows mobile wallet providers to offer users the option of paying via a digitized card without actually holding the PAN of the card in question.

Mobile payment: a growing payment method after a slow start in France

The first mobile payment initiatives appeared in the early 2000s. However, none of the solutions became widely used or established until the arrival of Apple Pay.

This major innovation works with the payment terminals and/or cash register systems of any retailer, with no limit on the amount (contactless card payments are limited to €50 per transaction).

The arrival of X-Pays changed the game. The Banque de France’s payment methods observatory estimates that between 2021 and 2022, the number of mobile payments increased by a factor of 2.36. The amount spent rose from €93 million in 2017 to more than €17 billion in 2022, a 192-fold increase in just five years. This trend is therefore being borne out in France.

Mobile payment: a growing payment method after a slow start in France

The first mobile payment initiatives appeared in the early 2000s. However, none of the solutions became widely used or established until the arrival of Apple Pay.

This major innovation works with the payment terminals and/or cash register systems of any retailer, with no limit on the amount (contactless card payments are limited to €50 per transaction).

The arrival of X-Pays changed the game. The Banque de France’s payment methods observatory estimates that between 2021 and 2022, the number of mobile payments increased by a factor of 2.36. The amount spent rose from €93 million in 2017 to more than €17 billion in 2022, a 192-fold increase in just five years. This trend is therefore being borne out in France.

4 advantages of X-Pays for businesses

It is generally accepted that mobile payment via X-Pays offers many advantages for users: it is fast, secure, convenient and has no spending limits. Furthermore, when shopping online, it avoids the need to re-enter information (card details, name, address, etc.) that is already stored in the wallet.

Lastly, mobile payment is one of the most secure payment methods on the market, as users must authenticate themselves via biometrics for each transaction.

For businesses, this payment method also offers many advantages:

  1. It facilitates, speeds up and streamlines transactions in-store or online.
  2. It increases conversion rates by reducing cart abandonment
  3. It increases the average basket size by encouraging higher spending limits;
  4. It enhances brand image by focusing on innovation and the latest trends in embedded finance.

Mobile payment to boost your growth with Treezor

Did you know that Treezor, a pioneering electronic money institution (EMI) in France with the rollout of Apple Pay for Lydia in 2017, offers its European customers a comprehensive BaaS (Bank-as-a-Service) package including X pay features. 

Treezor offers access to the main wallets on the market: 

Apple Pay

Treezor is (and will remain) the first French Fintech to offer Apple Pay payments to its customers, starting in 2017. With Treezor, any electronic money agent or distributor can now offer Apple Pay-compatible physical or virtual payment cards.

Google Pay

Treezor is one of the first Google Pay partners in France. Treezor cardholders can thus make contactless transactions via the Google Pay service in a 100% secure manner.

Samsung Pay

Treezor also offers its customers payment cards that are compatible with Samsung Pay technology.

What other alternatives are available?

There are several alternative solutions on the payments market.

Treezor expanded its range of services in 2024 by making other wallets such as Garmin Pay, Swatch Pay, Tappy and Xiaomi Pay available for payments with any device!

Click to Pay is a collaborative initiative by the major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) aimed at harmonizing and securing digital payments. Technically, this solution replaces sensitive card data with an encrypted token (“tokenization”), which reduces the exposure of financial information and minimizes the risk of fraud. Its deployment offers a seamless and interoperable payment experience, contributing to the standardization of e-commerce.

Do you want to grow your payment project? One of our experts will get back to you as soon as possible.
Contact us!

Simplify your payments with digitized cards in a Treezor mobile wallet compatible with X-Pay

With Treezor, transform your traditional payment cards into secure, digitized cards in a mobile-wallet compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Swatch Pay, Garmin Pay… Simplify your users’ daily transactions while ensuring maximum protection of their financial data.

Discover more