As payments and the fintech companies behind them continue to evolve rapidly, 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for treasurers, finance teams and payments providers.
Juniper Research’s Top 10 Fintech & Payments Trends 2026 report highlights the most influential developments expected to reshape financial infrastructure, risk management, and transaction flows over the coming year.
Stablecoins are moving beyond experimentation to challenge legacy interbank settlement systems. With regulatory clarity improving and transaction volumes surging, stablecoins and tokenised deposits are increasingly seen as faster, programmable alternatives for cross-border and B2B payments.
Agentic AI – systems that can autonomously make decisions and execute transactions - will begin transforming both consumer and B2B commerce. Payments infrastructure will need to support machine-driven purchasing while maintaining security, consent and control.
The EU Digital Identity Wallet will standardise digital identity across member states by 2026. This is expected to unlock new efficiencies in onboarding, compliance and payments, while raising the bar for privacy, interoperability and data governance.
Tokenisation of real-world assets such as property, private credit and government debt is forecast to accelerate rapidly. By enabling fractional ownership and 24/7 settlement, tokenisation promises greater liquidity and access to traditionally illiquid asset classes.
GenAI will have a material impact on banking efficiency, customer service and compliance. From hyper-personalised engagement to automated regulatory processes, banks investing early in GenAI are expected to gain competitive advantages in speed and cost control.
Flexible card credentials allow users to choose funding sources – debit, credit, instalments or prepaid – on a single card. This innovation is helping card networks defend market share against digital wallets and account-to-account payment methods.
The rise of deepfakes and synthetic identity fraud is pushing institutions to significantly increase spending on AI-driven fraud detection. Real-time monitoring, behavioural biometrics and advanced document verification will become core defences.
Commercial Variable Recurring Payments are expected to accelerate Pay by Bank adoption in the UK. For businesses, this promises lower costs, real-time settlement and reduced reliance on card networks.
No-code anti-money laundering (AML) platforms are gaining traction among fintechs and non-bank sectors facing expanding regulatory obligations. These tools allow rapid deployment of compliance workflows without heavy engineering investment.
Virtual cards are set to become a cornerstone of B2B travel payments, particularly for online travel agencies and corporate travel management, driven by improved control, reconciliation and fraud reduction.
Together, these trends point to a payments system defined by automation, programmability and data-driven decision-making. As the report concludes: “The financial technology industry is undergoing rapid and dynamic changes; market participants are pushed to innovate to remain competitive.”
Philip Smith is editor of The Treasurer
