2026 FinTech Predictions: Insights from Grant Evans of Worldpay

I'm delighted to bring you these 2026 predictions from Grant Evans, VP of Sales and Partnerships at Worldpay, about the key shifts shaping financial services in 2026.

With embedded payments becoming standard across the SaaS industry, Grant shares his perspective on why payment performance, not just integration, will define competitive advantage in the year ahead.

So let's hear from him. Over to you Grant - my questions are in bold:

What's the biggest shift you expect across financial services in 2026?

Embedded payments have become increasingly engrained in businesses over the past couple of years. By enhancing customer experience, driving loyalty, controlling the user journey and increasing revenues, it's become a no-brainer for SaaS platforms. But as embedded payments become standard, differentiation will come down to how well those payments perform.

With the global SaaS market already valued at over $300bn and projected to reach $1.2tn by 2032 (1), platforms will look to payments providers that can deliver robust authorisation optimisation to reduce payment declines, protect conversion and safeguard the customer experience at the point of purchase. AI will play a critical enabling role here, providing deeper insight into transaction patterns and helping businesses maximise acceptance rates at scale.

Which emerging technology will have the most practical impact on banks and the FinTechs that support them?

AI-driven authorisation optimisation will have the most practical impact. As embedded payments become the norm, the real challenge is no longer integration, but performance - especially for platforms building cross-border and omnichannel propositions as they expand internationally. AI enables banks and fintechs to analyse transaction patterns in real time, identify the causes of declines, and continuously optimise authorisation decisions across markets, channels and payment methods.

Supporting multiple payment methods is one thing, but ensuring they perform consistently at scale is what drives conversion, protects customer experience and maximises revenue. In an environment where margins are tight and expectations are high, technologies that reduce friction and prevent failed payments will deliver the greatest value.

What customer behaviours or expectations will most challenge banks and financial service providers?

Worldpay research shows that 31% of UK shoppers would currently allow an AI assistant to browse for them, rising to 45% among 18–34-year-olds, signalling a clear shift towards more agent-led shopping journeys. While only a minority are ready to hand over full control, most still expect to remain in the loop - with everything else happening effortlessly in the background. In that world, where AI increasingly acts on the customer's behalf, payments need to be seamless, instant and consistently successful.

Banks and financial service providers must support both human- and AI-initiated transactions without friction, delays or unnecessary intervention. Any failure - whether a declined payment, excessive authentication or broken handoffs between systems - undermines trust and loyalty in seconds. Meeting these expectations will require platforms to treat payment performance as strategic: investing in authorisation optimisation, data-driven decisioning and infrastructure that reduces declines and keeps the experience smooth and uninterrupted.

What risks or blind spots do you think the industry is underestimating as we move into 2026?

Underestimating the belief that simply embedding payments - or adding AI - guarantees better outcomes. In reality, not every payments platform is built the same and without authorisation optimisation, embedded payments can quickly become a source of friction: imagine the frustration of embedding a payment solution only to find that half of transactions are declined.

AI can help improve conversion and approval rates, but AI can't work on its own, it needs big datasets to train on. That's why global reach will become increasingly critical. Payment platforms operating across markets can access extensive transaction datasets, unlocking deeper insight into behaviours and trends - and ultimately driving higher authorisation acceptance rates at scale.

If you were advising a bank's leadership team today, what strategic priority should they focus on to stay competitive in 2026 and beyond?

Performance now needs to sit at the core of an embedded payments offering. With the SaaS industry continuing to grow at pace, and more platforms embedding payments as a standard capability, simply enabling embedded payments won't be the differentiator in 2026 and beyond.

The promise of embedded payments is vast, offering SaaS platforms and businesses a golden ticket to increased revenue and customer loyalty. However, that promise is only fulfilled when payments work seamlessly- which requires a strategic approach to authorisation optimisation and a commitment to leveraging data insights to improve approval rates, reduce declines, and protect the customer experience at the point of purchase.

Thank you Grant! You can connect with Grant on his LinkedIn Profile and find out more about the company at www.worldpay.com.