October’s critical software vulnerabilities highlight the need for urgent patching, access controls and fraud prevention as payment businesses prepare for Black Friday.

The FCA’s review urges payments firms to demonstrate how they identify vulnerable customers, tailor support and use data to improve outcomes under the Consumer Duty.

High-value legal payments need more than callback checks, with integrated identity verification, approval and reconciliation helping reduce fraud and errors.

As APP fraud shifts across payment rails and borders, banks need shared, cross-network visibility to detect scams before funds move beyond recovery.

Zombie identities expose gaps in embedded lending, highlighting the need for continuous identity verification and cross-platform fraud detection beyond onboarding.

For banks processing high payment volumes, dedicated cloud infrastructure may offer better long-term economics, operational control and predictability.