2026 Fintech Predictions: What’s Coming in Payments & Infrastructure

The fintech landscape may be entering one of the most transformative periods since the rise of smartphones and embedded finance. After a decade of rapid digitisation, the industry is shifting from experimentation to scaled, interoperable, intelligent infrastructure. Payments may  become more autonomous, more invisible and more interconnected across borders. Regulation may  evolve rapidly . And the competitive edge will increasingly depend on data infrastructure, regulatory adaptability and the ability to offer seamless financial experiences across modes, devices and networks.

Driven by the maturation of real-time payments, the surge of AI agents and tokenisation and a wave of consolidation and regulation, the industry is shifting from early-stage experimentation into scaled, infrastructure-driven maturity. Institutions that invest in secure, interoperable, intelligent systems and consider regulatory needs, potential impacts and user experience as foundational, may be better positioned to progress. 

Based on current data and market trends, let’s explore these five crucial forecasts for the payments and financial infrastructure sector in 2026.

1. Digital Wallets May Become a Dominant Payment Interface by 2026 - 2030

Digital wallets are becoming more common as an alternative to traditional physical wallets and cash. In the UK, one of the more mature digital-payments markets, a recent study found that fewer than half of adults now carry a physical wallet or purse for daily use, signalling a strong shift away from cash and cards. 

Meanwhile, broader global and institutional analyses have noted that cash and traditional deposit-based money may be evolving in response to new forms of digital money, e-money, digital wallets and stablecoins, as discussed in Finextra’s long-read on the evolving “face of money.” 

As we approach 2026, digital wallets may evolve into multi-asset, multi-rail financial hubs, potentially storing not only payment credentials but tokenised assets, digital IDs, loyalty points, and authorisations for digital transactions. Convenience-first wallets (e.g., NFC or QR-based mobile wallets) may dominate everyday spending, while specialised wallets (for remittance, cross-border transfers, digital assets, or regional financial inclusion) may grow gradually .

This shift may not just change payment preferences, it could reshape the architecture of finance. Control over the wallet layer could influence who owns the customer relationship, the identity layer, and the orchestration across rails and assets. In 2026, wallets are expected to play an increasingly important role. 

2. Real-Time Payments May Become More Global

Real-time payments (RTP) may no longer be considered niche. According to a recent forecast cited by FinTech Magazine, the total value of instant payments globally in 2025 reached an estimated US$60 trillion.

In the UK alone, the Faster Payments Service processed 5.9 billion transactions in 2024. 

As 2026 progresses, cross-border RTP interoperability is likely to increase , potentially connecting domestic RTP rails into a more integrated global network. For businesses and consumers, this means:

• Cross-border payroll, supplier and partner payments with timely settlement.
• Improvement in cash-flow liquidity for SMEs and gig-economy firms operating internationally.
• Payment service providers building FX and oversight layers to support more integrated cross border global transfers with faster settlement.

RTP may increasingly be viewed as essential rather than optional, emerging as a key component of payments infrastructure in many markets. 

3. AI Agents & Automation May Reshape Payment Workflows

The rise of AI-driven automation could be considered a major fintech shift. Simple chatbots may evolve into AI agents, systems that may be capable of executing complex, multi-step financial workflows, from compliance checks to transaction reconciliation. 

Meanwhile, fintechs are already ramping up AI adoption. In 2025, studies reported that around 75% of financial organisations use AI in some capacity, up from approximately 58% in 2022. 

In 2026, that momentum may translate into:

• Autonomous routing and execution of payments (both B2B and consumer), with minimal human intervention.
• Integration of AI agents for compliance, fraud detection, identity verification and transaction monitoring, enabling 24/7 risk management.
• Personalised financial assistants embedded in banking/wallet apps, automatically optimising spending, FX, rewards and investment decisions.

As automation increases, manual work decreases but the stakes for accuracy rise. The AI-powered backend is expected to be a major differentiator.

4. Tokenisation & Digital Assets May Drive New Infrastructure Layers

According to Marr, the market for real-world tokenised assets, from real estate and commodities to alternative assets, surged to US$25 billion in 2025. 

In 2026, tokenisation is likely to transition into a key financial infrastructure:

• More financial instruments (bonds, securities and alternative investments) will be tokenised, potentially enabling accelerated settlement, fractional ownership and broader access.
• Institutional and retail investors are anticipated to increasingly adopt digital wallets, not just for payments but potentially for holding tokenised assets, stablecoins or programmable liabilities.
• Embedded infrastructure inside platforms may evolve into a core component, moving beyond the current model of optional add-ons.

Tokenisation has the potential to refine banking, brokerage and fintech, supporting the development of a new financial infrastructure.

5. Embedded Finance Evolves Into Embedded Infrastructure

The last decade adding financial features inside the software. 2026 may see a shift towards embedding comprehensive financial infrastructure layers inside platforms.

That means:

• Unified ledgers for real-time reconciliation and atomic settlement.
• Payment routing engines embedded directly inside SaaS tools.
• Risk and identity APIs sitting inside merchant platforms, HR systems and B2B marketplaces.
• Tokenised settlement networks that reduce reconciliation friction in multi-party transactions.

6. Customer Experience & Compliance Become Strategic Differentiators

As services become more commoditised, user experience (UX) and operational resilience  may become significant competitive differentiators. 

In 2026, customer experience is expected to be a key competitive area.The convergence of user psychology, security requirements and regulatory expectations will create a new performance standard for payments and financial experiences. Consumers are expecting financial interactions to be seamless and secure, reshaping how payments and infrastructure must operate. Instant gratification may drive demand for real-time transaction finality, frictionless onboarding and invisible background checks, while growing urgency and restlessness push users toward one-click checkouts and ultra-fast payment flows with no tolerance for delays.

Banks and fintechs are expected to leverage AI for personalisation and predictive analytics to anticipate needs, simplify onboarding and support frictionless interactions.

At the same time, regulatory and security pressures are expected to increase . According to a recent industry survey by Fintech Finance News, fraud prevention is now a top priority for 71% of banks and 75% of fintech firms, pushing identity verification (IDV), real-time fraud monitoring and oversight automation to the front of the product roadmap. 

What The Predictions Mean for Leaders and Businesses in 2026

Companies that scale in 2026 are likely to be those that can:

• Deliver real time, predictive, context-aware experiences.
• Integrate robust security with invisible identity verification.
• Offer flexible options, localised, multi-rail payments.
• Build audit-ready, real-time compliance infrastructure.
• Translate complex processes into simple, fast end-user flows.

Trust, transparency, convenience and resilience are expected to be key factors for the next generation of successful fintech companies .

2026 May Mark a Shift Toward the Infrastructure Era

The fintech industry may be entering a pivotal moment, one potentially defined not by new front-end features but by deep, intelligent, interoperable infrastructure that powers the financial experiences consumers and businesses increasingly expect. Real-time payments, AI agents, tokenisation, embedded infrastructure and the growing adoption of digital wallets are  evolving concepts that may converge into a connected ecosystem where speed, security and intelligence are the baseline.

In this evolving environment, financial institutions, fintechs and platforms  are more likely to succeed if they can deliver experiences that feel instantaneous, intuitive and trustworthy, backed by systems that are stable, compliant and globally interoperable. Organisations that embrace this shift, investing in smarter back-end orchestration, robust measures, multi-rail architecture and user-centric design, are positioned to be competitive in the next generation of financial services. Those that remain tied to legacy processes and fragmented infrastructure may be left behind as users migrate toward platforms that offer seamless control of money, identity, and value.

2026 may represent not just another year of fintech evolution but potentially the start of a new foundation for global finance. Successful companies are likely to be those who recognise that infrastructure is the product and that building resilience, intelligence and real-time capability is essential for long-term growth and relevance.

This article on payment methods is for informational and educational purposes only.

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