For our 2026 outlook, we picked six trends to better acquaint you with what to expect this year in the payments arena, but then we went a step further in selecting three worthy of a deeper dive. See all four stories below, and a brief explanation of why we focused where we did.

Our senior reporter, Justin Bachman, dug deeper into the AI-driven agentic payments topic to help readers better understand when and how this tech tool really becomes a reality. Spoiler: not in 2026. Still, his story describes the challenges being tackled this year that are likely to lead to bot payments as early as next year.

Another trend we highlighted is the personalization of payments. Reporter Patrick Cooley delved into how merchants, card issuers, fintechs and other companies are increasingly using data to offer consumers more payment options suited to their tastes. Providers may benefit too by steering them to certain choices.

Both of those trends underscored increasing risks for the industry. So, our lead editor, Lynne Marek, investigated the ways in which payments players are doubling-down on defenses, including pivots to passkeys and biometrics, while also contemplating system, software and regulatory upgrades.

Read on to prepare yourself for 2026.