In the last several years, change on the payments landscape has been ramping up. With regulations, end-user demands and payment methods in constant flux, payment service providers (PSPs) have been working at full capacity to stay afloat and continue innovating.
Some of the key topics the payments industry are highly focused on at the moment are integrating domestic and cross-border payments into unified systems, the birth of new business models through ISO 20022, and the influence of embedded finance and agentic AI.
Looking ahead at 2026, it is time to explore the ways in which these trends will shape the payments industry in the near future.
**This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Volante Technologies, investigates: **
* _The evolution of regional rails and real-time payments; _
* _How the industry will build on ISO 20022; and _
* _The roles of agentic AI, embedded finance and tokenisation in 2026. _
Payments predictions for 2026: Regional visions for a global future
In the last several years, change on the payments landscape has been ramping up. With regulations, end-user demands and payment methods in constant flux, payment service providers (PSPs) have been working at full capacity to stay afloat and continue innovating.
Some of the key topics the payments industry are highly focused on at the moment are integrating domestic and cross-border payments into unified systems, the birth of new business models through ISO 20022, and the influence of embedded finance and agentic AI.
Looking ahead at 2026, it is time to explore the ways in which these trends will shape the payments industry in the near future.
**This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Volante Technologies, investigates: **