Deloitte Names the Key Trends for the Payments Sector in 2026

• Deloitte, a member of the “Big Four,” published its payments outlook for 2026.
• The firm’s experts believe the sector is undergoing global, transformative change.
• These shifts are being fueled by AI, faster payments, and regulatory support.

Audit firm Deloitte, which is part of the “Big Four,” published a report on payments trends for 2026. In it, the organization’s experts highlighted the market’s key drivers, including instant settlement, data standardization, autonomous AI systems, and digital assets. 

The report emphasizes that, heading into 2026, the payments industry is undergoing rapid change under pressure from regulation, technological progress, and rising customer expectations. Using the U.S. as an example, the experts noted how economic instability, the development of digital assets, real-time payments, and the active adoption of AI are shaping a new architecture for the sector. 

Against this backdrop, the firm identified five key trends for 2026. 

Deloitte’s experts noted that multinational companies have faced higher costs and greater complexity in cross-border payments due to tariffs, inflation, and fiat volatility. Against this backdrop, stablecoins have emerged as a faster, more reliable, and more efficient alternative. 

A turning point was the signing of the GENIUS Act, which laid the regulatory framework for the sector. At the same time, this poses a threat to the banking industry, forcing its participants to rethink their business models. 

At the same time, the report notes that the regulatory environment is no longer purely a limiting factor and is increasingly becoming a catalyst for technological change.

The firm’s experts noted that instant payments have shifted from a competitive advantage to a baseline customer expectation, both in the B2C and B2B segments. The report’s authors cite a JPMorgan Chase forecast, according to which the volume of such transactions will grow by 289% from 2023 to 2030. 

A major role in this was played by:

• the rollout of real-time settlement systems. FedNow, launched by the Federal Reserve in 2023, is cited as an example;
• migration to the ISO 20022 standard
• 24/7/365 settlement availability.

Share of RTP settlements by year. Source: Deloitte. 

The ISO 20022 international standard for exchanging financial data has been mandatory for SWIFT transfers since late 2025. This forced institutions to implement it or migrate. 

At the same time, the standard gave counterparties access to “richer” payment data. This makes it possible to:

• automate compliance and reporting
• improve anti-fraud measures
• increase the accuracy of analytics and scoring
• build new data-driven products.

The development of AI agents is one of the report’s key themes. These are systems capable of independently initiating, verifying, and processing payments. 

The company’s experts believe that as AI agents evolve, they will take over all payments, from routine transactions to investments. The report also highlights several use cases for this technology:

• agents that simplify shopping. The system will automatically analyze data, selecting items on optimal terms while factoring in a range of variables — price, delivery, reliability, and speed
• optimization and automation of recurring payments, for example, bills
• real-time filtering of scam transactions and suspicious accounts
• a broker that tracks the most profitable positions, portfolio changes, and the reliability of investments
• automation of accounting operations for businesses

According to the report, AI-powered fraud schemes — such as deepfakes — are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Against this backdrop, there is a need to rethink traditional protection measures. 

As a solution, Deloitte sees the adoption of AI, as well as AI-based tools, namely:

• behavioral biometrics
• real-time AI models, including agents
• multi-layer authentication systems.

In the company’s view, the market is entering an “AI vs. AI” phase, where innovation-driven attack methods evolve in parallel with defensive measures. 

The report emphasizes that in 2026, the payments sector will become faster, more automated, and more tightly integrated with AI and other innovative technologies. And the companies that treat regulation, data, and AI not as mandatory costs, but as strategic tools, will be able to take leading positions in the market.