What will define payments in 2026? These 4 trends.

Trend 1: AI-driven fraud controls mature.

Digital payment fraud is expected to exceed $50 billion in 2025. Attack rates remain high, with fraud affecting 3.3% of global transactions.

Fraud patterns are evolving. Attackers are using automation, synthetic identities and social engineering in more coordinated ways. AI has become an essential tool for keeping pace with new threat vectors and both finance and iGaming are investing in systems that can adapt in real time.

AI-driven risk engines can spot irregular behavior quickly and they learn from patterns that humans cannot detect at scale. This helps operators reduce exposure without slowing down genuine customers.

Fraud controls have a direct link to performance. If risk rules are too strict, false positives increase, leading to declined legitimate payments. Declines turn into churn and churn harms revenue. When risk scoring is powered by AI, accuracy improves, allowing more real customers to pass through smoothly.

The goal is balance.

Operators need strong fraud protection while also providing a frictionless experience for genuine users. AI makes this possible and 2026 will be the year in which this type of intelligent fraud prevention becomes standard practice.

“AI is reaching a point where it doesn’t just help us fight fraud, it fundamentally changes how we approach it. The biggest gains come from systems that learn on their own and react in real time.

That’s how you reduce false positives without slowing down genuine users. In 2026, relying on manual processes simply won’t be enough anymore.“

Mikael Brandin, CTO at Zimpler

Trend 2: Pay-by-bank moves toward the default choice.

Pay-by-bank is stepping into the mainstream.

The global digital payment market was valued at $114.41 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $361.30 billion by 2030, with a projected CAGR of 21.4% from 2025 to 2030.

The Instant Economy Payment Insights report shows that 73% of respondents are familiar with pay by bank as a digital payment method. Awareness is even higher in some markets, reaching 90% in the UK and 97% in the Netherlands.

The shift toward Pay-by-bank payments is growing across both finance and iGaming because customers want faster settlement and operators want more predictable costs. As instant bank payments become common, the idea of waiting for funds to clear feels outdated.

The rise of real-time payment rails is a major factor. When money moves directly from a bank account to a merchant account in seconds, the experience is simple, secure and reliable. Users benefit from fewer steps at checkout and operators gain a payment method with fewer points of failure than traditional cards.

Cost efficiency is another driver. Pay-by-bank payments reduce dependency on card schemes and their variable pricing structures. Operators gain greater control over fees, which matters in a landscape where margins are closely watched.

Users expect payout times to match deposit times and instant pay-by-bank payments make this possible. Faster withdrawals build trust, increase repeat activity and reduce churn.

Speed, cost and reliability converge here. Pay-by-bank delivers on all three, which positions it as one of the most important payment trends for 2026. This is especially relevant in a market where investment budgets are tight and every percentage point of performance matters. 

High approval rates become essential when resources are limited and the quality of the pay-by-bank connection directly influences conversion and revenue stability.

Performance is a commercial advantage, not just a technical metric.

“Pay-by-bank is quickly becoming the payment method people expect. As real-time rails spread, nobody wants to wait for funds or deal with uncertainty. For operators, the shift is also about cost control and performance. The companies that treat pay-by-bank as the new standard in 2026 will be the ones that build the strongest and most trusted user experiences.”

Johan Strand, CEO at Zimpler

Trend 3:
Next wave of EU regulations: Bringing challenges and opportunities.

The European payments regulatory landscape is entering a decisive phase over the coming two years. With PSR and PSD3, the EU will further modernize the framework for access to payment systems, and consumer protection while accelerating open banking across the market. In parallel, the IPR will extend real-time payments across the EU, including to non-euro currencies, raising expectations around speed, fraud prevention, and pricing transparency.

In financial crime compliance, the EU’s AML package will tighten requirements for risk management, data sharing, and supervision. This will further reward businesses that invest early in scalable, data-driven compliance capabilities. At the same time, operational resilience remains firmly in focus as DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) moves from legislation to execution, with heightened expectations on ICT (Information and Communication Technology) risk management, third-party oversight, incident reporting, and resilience testing.

Beyond core payments and AML, there are evolving EU initiatives on harmonised requirements for data access and broader data sharing. All these developments increase compliance complexity, but also create strategic opportunities to deliver trusted, user-centric services.

The road ahead is not merely about meeting new regulatory requirements. It is about using them as catalysts for better customer journeys, stronger controls, and more resilient operations. Fintechs that align product development, risk management, and technology early will be best positioned to turn regulatory convergence into a lasting competitive advantage.

“Regulation is raising the bar across payments compliance and operational resilience, but it is also clarifying the playing field.

By investing in robust, future-proof capabilities, we can meet new obligations with confidence while delivering smarter, simpler and safer payment services at scale.”

– Petra Schück, Head of Legal & Compliance, Zimpler

Trend 4: UX and user journey optimization intensify.

User expectations are rising. They want instant deposits, fast withdrawals and a checkout that feels intuitive from the first tap. Faster withdrawals are now a prerequisite for growth expectation. 

A Visa study shows that almost 90% of users expect real-time payouts, which has become one of the strongest drivers of trust and loyalty in iGaming.

Users also expect an experience that adapts to their preferences. This is driving investment in personalization and friction reduction across the entire user journey. Operators are rethinking the moment the user arrives at the cashier.

The goal is to present the right payment method at the right time, which improves conversion and reduces abandonment. Pay-by-bank payments help here because they shorten the deposit flow significantly.

Another trend shaping UX is the shift toward embedded payments. In iGaming and fintech, embedded flows create shorter journeys, fewer drop-offs and higher conversion rates. Operators increasingly prefer payment steps inside the experience rather than as redirects that break the flow and add friction.

Speed is one part of the equation. Predictability is the other. Users return when they trust that deposits and payouts happen consistently. This takes us back to performance. Smooth routing, high uptime and intelligent method selection create predictable user experiences. For iGaming, this becomes a revenue advantage because trust and speed influence repeat activity.

UX in 2026 will not be about adding more features. It will be about creating an intuitive simplicity with purpose. The operators that master this will stand out.

Performance has always been part of payments, but rising user expectations, real-time rails and tighter margins have pushed it to the strategic level for both finance and iGaming. Faster approvals improve conversion. Stable infrastructure reduces churn. Intelligent routing improves risk accuracy. Smooth integrations reduce operational effort. Payment performance creates business performance.

It is the foundation that supports cost efficiency, fraud accuracy, compliance alignment and user trust.

“User expectations keep rising. In 2026, great UX will be less about adding features and more about removing friction. The simpler the journey, the more trust you create.”

Aytan Eminova, UX Designer Zimpler