AI customers, smarter fraud, frictionless checkouts and new ways to pay. The payments landscape is changing fast. Rob Crutchington, CEO of Encoded, explores seven shifts businesses can’t afford to ignore in 2027.
What if your next customer isn’t a person, but an AI assistant buying on their behalf?
It might sound futuristic, but it’s already happening. In July 2026, Visa announced live AI-initiated purchases at participating European merchants.Â
Meanwhile, Mastercard is working towards removing manual card entry from European e-commerce by 2030.Â
For customers, payments are becoming easier. For businesses, they’re becoming more complex.
The payments industry has never been short of innovation, but what’s most interesting about the year ahead is how these developments will affect businesses in practice. Making payments easier for customers is one thing. Delivering that experience securely, reliably and across multiple channels is where the real challenge lies.
More channels, more providers, new fraud risks and rising expectations. So, what should businesses prepare for?
Here are seven payment trends we believe will shape 2027.
1. The AI customer arrives
AI is moving beyond helping people find products. It’s starting to buy them too.
Visa’s live agentic commerce transactions show how AI assistants could increasingly complete purchases within customer-approved parameters.
But this creates new challenges. How can businesses verify an AI agent is authorised? How do they distinguish genuine transactions from fraud?
Our prediction: AI-powered purchasing will gain momentum in 2027, putting greater pressure on authentication, security and payment infrastructure.
For businesses, the priority is having flexible payment infrastructure that can adapt as new transaction models emerge.
As AI changes how people shop and pay, businesses need payment technology that can keep up. Explore Encoded’s Gateway Services and discover how flexible payment infrastructure can help you prepare.
2. Customers stop thinking in payment channels
Customers don’t care whether they’re paying through eCommerce, IVR or PayByLink. They just want it to work.
And their expectations are changing. UK Finance reports that 65% of UK adults were registered for a mobile payment service in 2025, up from 57% in 2024.
Imagine a customer starting a purchase online, calling for support and completing payment through a secure payment link. To them, it’s one journey. Behind the scenes, it could involve several disconnected systems.
Our prediction: Connected, omnichannel payments will become increasingly important as customers expect the same convenience wherever they pay.
Encoded helps businesses bring online payments, IVR, Agent Assist and PayByLink together, creating smoother payment experiences across channels.
As we explored in How will life pan out when long card numbers disappear?, the shift towards digital payments must also consider customers who prefer telephone payments or human support.
3. Payment friction becomes a commercial problem
Every failed payment is a potential lost sale. Every unnecessary checkout step gives customers another reason to leave.
Mastercard’s plans to phase out manual card entry in European e-commerce by 2030 show where checkout is heading. Technologies such as Click to Pay are helping make online payments simpler.
But friction isn’t limited to checkout. Declined transactions, poor routing and disconnected systems can also affect revenue.
For a business processing 100,000 payment attempts a month, improving its payment success rate by just one percentage point could result in 1,000 additional successful transactions, demonstrating how even modest improvements can make a meaningful commercial difference.
Our prediction: Businesses will pay closer attention to payment performance, treating authorisation rates and failed transactions as commercial priorities.
We’ve explored this challenge further in Are declined transactions damaging your business?.
Failed payments could be costing you more than you think, so smarter payment routing could be a wise option to help.
4. Fraud gets smarter. Security has to as well.
Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, and AI could make impersonation and scams harder to detect.
UK Finance reported almost £1.3 billion stolen through payment fraud in 2025, with Authorised Push Payment fraud losses rising 19% to £576.4 million.
Businesses face a difficult balance. Too many security checks frustrate genuine customers. Too few can increase fraud exposure.
Our prediction: Security will become more intelligent, with businesses looking for ways to detect suspicious activity without making legitimate payments harder.
The goal isn’t simply more security. It’s better security with less friction. As I explored in Encoded’s article How to boost payment card security and customer confidence, businesses need to protect payments while maintaining customer trust.
5. PCI moves further into the customer journey
PCI DSS compliance isn’t just about protecting a transaction. It’s about understanding where sensitive payment information travels.
PCI DSS v4.x introduced additional requirements for protecting e-commerce payment pages, including controls addressing malicious scripts and unauthorised changes. These became effective in March 2025.
Contact centres face similar risks when customers read card details aloud, making it essential to build a secure and effective payment environment.
Secure IVR, Agent Assist and PayByLink solutions can help reduce exposure by allowing customers to enter payment details without sharing them directly with agents.
Different payment environments introduce different risks and the onus is on businesses to consider how cardholder data is handled throughout the customer journey.
Our prediction: Businesses will take a broader view of PCI DSS, focusing on security across the entire payment journey.
Want to make payment security simpler without compromising the customer experience? Discover how Encoded can help.
6. Open Banking moves from alternative to mainstream
Cards aren’t going anywhere. But they’re no longer the only option worth considering.
In June 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority welcomed the launch of the UK Payments Initiative, supporting the development of commercial variable recurring payments.
This could create new opportunities for businesses collecting subscriptions, bills and other regular payments.
Our prediction: More businesses will consider where Open Banking fits into their payment mix, rather than treating it as a separate alternative.
The opportunity isn’t replacing cards. It’s giving customers more choice without adding complexity.
Encoded’s Gateway Services help businesses manage different payment methods through connected infrastructure.
7. Payment orchestration becomes strategic infrastructure
More payment choice is good for customers. Managing it all is another matter.
Multiple acquirers, gateways and payment methods can quickly create operational complexity.
Payment orchestration brings these elements together, allowing businesses to manage providers, route transactions intelligently and improve resilience.
For a deeper look at how businesses can improve payment performance and maintain control across multiple providers, explore Encoded’s Payment Orchestration: The Ultimate Guide.
Encoded’s independent Payment Gateway connects with more than 80 acquirers and gateways through a single API.
Our prediction: Payment orchestration will become a more strategic priority for businesses that want greater control over costs, payment performance and provider relationships.
With more payment methods, and more providers, who is actually in control? Discover how Encoded can help simplify your payment infrastructure.
Is your payment strategy ready for 2027?
The future of payments isn’t just about adopting new technology. It’s about making payments easier for customers while keeping security, performance and complexity under control.
From AI-powered transactions to smarter payment routing, businesses need payment infrastructure that can adapt as the industry evolves.
Is your business ready for what’s next?
Whether you’re looking to reduce failed payments, connect your payment channels or prepare for emerging technologies, Encoded can help you build a more flexible payment strategy. For a deeper look at each of these shifts, download The Definitive Guide to the Future of Payments 2027.
Talk to Encoded about preparing your payment strategy for 2027.
