Sustainability in 2026: A regulatory outlook
An overview of recent ESG regulatory developments affecting payments firms, including EU sustainability reforms, UK consultations and supervisory priorities.
March 16, 2026
An overview of recent ESG regulatory developments affecting payments firms, including EU sustainability reforms, UK consultations and supervisory priorities.
UK payments regulation has shifted from EU alignment to a domestic framework focused on fraud, consumer protection, competition and stablecoins.
Paymentology and Liabify partner to deliver payroll-linked financial services, expanding access to credit, remittances, and financial tools across emerging markets.
CASS 15 lands 7 May 2026. Our free Health Check helps EMIs and PIs assess readiness, identify gaps, and strengthen controls before scrutiny intensifies.
Paymentology and Chikwama Pay launch Africa’s first WhatsApp neobank, delivering borderless payments and inclusive financial services across SADC markets.
EMIs are rethinking treasury as rates rise. LVNAV money market funds offer FCA-aligned liquidity, diversification and yield beyond traditional bank deposits.
UK and EU payments regulation is entering a decisive phase, with reforms on fraud, safeguarding, open banking and instant payments reshaping the sector.
Global leaders are using partnerships to accelerate payments modernisation, drive innovation, and meet rising customer expectations across banking and retail.
UK and EU payments regulation is entering a decisive phase, with reforms on fraud, safeguarding, open banking and instant payments reshaping the sector.
The Payments Forward Plan sets out 2026 priorities across regulation, stablecoins, open banking and digital ID, driving UK payments modernisation and innovation.
Mobility payments are widely adopted, but disruption, security concerns, and inconsistent experiences show seamless, trusted unattended payments are still lacking.
Cards remain central in a multi-rail world, with modern issuing, AI, and digital wallets driving evolution rather than replacement of existing payment models.
FactSet and ComplyAdvantage partner to embed compliance into banking workflows, reducing onboarding friction, boosting RM productivity, and accelerating time-to-revenue.
Real-time liquidity is now critical, but fragmented systems and manual processes still limit visibility, slowing decisions and increasing risk across payments operations.
Customer screening is central to FCA-regulated onboarding, but phonetic matching and fuzzy search limits mean firms must test tools carefully to avoid missed risk signals.
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Banks face a growing talent crisis as legacy system experts retire and younger engineers reject outdated tech, making core modernisation a workforce priority.
Paysecure outlines six practical strategies to help merchants boost payment acceptance rates, recover declined transactions, maximise revenue, and deliver seamless global experiences in an increasingly complex digital commerce landscape. In
Financial crime cost the UK $99 billion in 2023 alone and as fraud grows faster, smarter, and more borderless, the institutions charged with stopping it are under mounting pressure to
As A2A payments expand in UK commerce, clear “certainty of fate” confirmation is vital to ensure trust, avoid duplicate payments, and support reliable merchant fulfilment.
Payment fees were once a fixed cost to be managed. Now they’re a margin variable to be optimised and the operators who understand the difference are quietly pulling ahead. Cardaq
As trading venues expand across both traditional and digital asset markets, settlement infrastructure is emerging as a critical differentiator. OpenPayd and LMAX Group explain how a shared infrastructure approach is
The launch of The Payments Manifesto 2026 at the House of Commons has signalled a unified industry push to position the UK as a global payments powerhouse, with financial inclusion
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is inviting Payment Association members to a morning briefing at its London Customer Innovation Centre on 31 March 2026, bringing together industry specialists to explore how cloud-enabled
As UK payment businesses face mounting pressure to scale internationally while managing complex regulatory demands, Enter’s All-In-One offers a solution, offering multi-currency accounts, cross-border payments, and compliance support under one
Working Group Annual Group Meeting 25th March, 3:00pm – 3:45pm, Global Exchange Theatre Join us at 3:00pm in the Global Exchange Theatre on Day 1 of PAY360, 25th March, for The
NoCFO has partnered with open banking provider Salt Edge to embed payment initiation directly into its AI-native financial platform, allowing small business owners to approve and pay invoices without leaving
UK e-commerce is maturing fast, pushing banks to support both cards and open banking. Success will depend on orchestration, fraud control, and modern acquiring infrastructure.
RelyComply will host its second Topics Left on the Table event on 9 March in London, bringing together senior leaders to discuss financial crime and regtech in the UK.
A practical guide to H1 2026 merchant payment reforms, mapping regulatory change, legal risk and the actions required to stay compliant and competitive.
TransferMate has completed a global rollout of Vivox AI’s explainable KYB automation platform to scale onboarding and due diligence while maintaining regulatory compliance.
ComplyAdvantage’s 2026 research finds financial institutions are falling behind AI-enabled criminal networks, exposing gaps in detection, screening and real-time monitoring.
Open banking is growing steadily, but trust, commercial viability and regulation will determine whether it reaches mainstream scale.
Despite rapid innovation, cross-border payments remain costly and complex, as banks, platforms, and policymakers pursue faster, more transparent global flows.
Autorek’s 2026 report explores the payments ‘Great Paradox’, as firms pursue real-time innovation while still constrained by manual processes and fragmented data.
Paysecure wins Best Payments Industry Newcomer at the Card and Payment Awards 2026, recognising rapid growth and its expanding global orchestration platform.
A balanced assessment of Europe’s payments market highlights continued growth alongside rising fraud, cost pressures, regulatory complexity, and strategic uncertainty.
ComplyAdvantage outlines five 2026 milestones set to reshape UK and EU financial crime compliance, from AMLA data demands to AI governance and digital identity rollout. The landscape of financial crime
UK BNPL faces FCA regulation from 2026, requiring affordability checks and greater transparency, reshaping provider models, merchant partnerships, and embedded finance.
A new Bottomline report highlights “Payment Pioneers” leading in real-time payments, ISO 20022 readiness, and verification tools to improve efficiency and trust.
A webinar outlining how PSPs in non-EU SEPA countries can prepare for mandatory Verification of Payee, addressing regulatory, technical, and customer experience challenges.
An analysis of why legacy AML systems are failing in real-time payments, and how flexible, risk-based and collaborative compliance platforms can support sustainable growth.
Designing a future-ready payment hub means building modular, interoperable systems that integrate AI, digital currencies, smart contracts and scalable infrastructure to support new payment models.
Torus highlights three overlooked realities about payments profitability, showing why transaction-level analytics is becoming essential for sustainable growth.
A replay of Verafin’s UK Trends and Technology webinar reviews major UK fraud and AML trends from 2025 and explores technology-led responses for 2026.
Large e-commerce retailers, travel and ticketing platforms, marketplaces, and subscription businesses rely heavily on paid acquisition, with a significant share of revenue driven by channels such as Google, Meta, and affiliates.
Payments profitability now depends on transaction-level visibility. Blended pricing hides losses, and analytics, not regulation, is the real lever for control.
Optimus has rebranded as Optimus Money, reflecting its evolution into a broader, regulated payments platform supporting banks, fintechs and digital asset firms.
