Acquirers and PSPs and the 2025 consumer: Designing for diverse payment preferences

The 2025 Consumer Behaviour Report from The Payments Association delivers an urgent message to the acquiring and PSP community: the UK payments landscape is diversifying faster than many platforms are adapting. While mobile wallets and digital methods show impressive momentum, consumer behaviour remains complex, shaped by age, income, trust, and region.

For acquirers and PSPs, this isn’t just market intelligence but a product strategy blueprint.

Digital growth, but cash Is far from obsolete

Mobile wallets now account for the preferred payment method among 30% of 18–24-year-olds and 38% of full-time students. Yet cash is still used weekly by 38% of consumers and by over 70% of people aged 55 and above. Northern Ireland stands out further: 54% of its population uses cash weekly, 15 percentage points above the national average.

The data doesn’t just point to a generational gap. Instead, it reveals a strategic fault line.

Acquirers must support both worlds: the digitally native and the digitally excluded. Those who fail to serve both risk regulatory censure and commercial irrelevance. Payment acceptance infrastructure must support cards, cash, wallets, and wearables, and do so seamlessly.

Product portfolios must reflect consumer trust and risk perception

The report confirms that security is the primary factor influencing how people choose to pay for high-value items, particularly among women and older consumers. This matters deeply to acquirers because it highlights a broader truth: adoption of new tools is constrained by perceived risk, not just technical capability.

This means product innovation can’t stop at enabling new payment methods. It must include:

• Visible, user-controllable fraud protections
• Clear authentication journeys (e.g. SCA and biometric clarity)
• Tools that empower merchants to offer secure, low-friction experiences

And with 37% of consumers having experienced fraud, the case for layered, behavioural fraud monitoring, and device-based security is stronger than ever.

Regulatory expectations are rising, especially around inclusion

The FCA’s Consumer Duty is shifting expectations around financial inclusion, and acquirers and PSPs are increasingly in the frame.

The data shows that cash use and reliance remain high among C2DE consumers, economically inactive individuals, and retirees. This isn’t just a social observation; it’s a compliance flag. Platforms that phase out cash support or fail to accommodate slower adopters may be seen as contributing to financial exclusion.

Inclusion is no longer a CSR talking point. What it points to is a regulatory benchmark.

Wearables and wallets: Innovation with limits

Wearable payment adoption is doubling in London and climbing among affluent, young users. Mobile wallets are increasingly preferred for online purchases among LinkedIn users (45% of whom are open to adopting new payment methods). These users are the first wave of digital-first payment behaviour, but they are still a minority.

Acquirers should treat them as innovation testbeds, not average consumers.

Future-focused product design should account for:

• Tokenisation and embedded payments
• Wallet integration for high-frequency retail use cases
• Cross-device authentication (e.g. wearables + biometrics)

But these must be developed in parallel with enduring infrastructure like card rails and cash acceptance support.

What acquirers and PSPs should do now

1. Audit your product stack for inclusivity, not just innovation.
2. Invest in trust-building features: spend limits, customer-managed controls, and transparent transaction flows.
3. Enhance fraud prevention beyond check-box compliance. Use behavioural analytics, real-time alerts, and merchant education.
4. Plan for interoperability: your infrastructure must serve both early adopters and laggards.
5. Align with Consumer Duty: inclusion and accessibility should be designed in, not patched on.