Pay360 2026 survey reveals payments priorities

TL;DR

Pay360 Survey Released: Report unpacks findings from 7,595 PAY360 delegates and 115 MT360 merchants on payments challenges and opportunities.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)
AI Tops Opportunities: 29% of delegates cite AI as the biggest opportunity, while 60% prioritise cross-border payments.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)
Divergent Priorities: Views split by spend level, industry, and role, with merchants focusing more on fraud than strategic themes.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)

The story at a glance

The Payments Association released a report analysing survey responses from PAY360 2026 and Merchant Transact 360 (MT360) delegates. It covers challenges like customer understanding and opportunities such as AI and cross-border payments among professionals from tech providers, banks, and other sectors. The report is based on registration surveys and highlights how priorities vary by spend, industry vertical, and role. This comes after the March 2026 events to inform the payments sector's 2025 landscape.

Key points

Customer understanding leads challenges at 16% for PAY360 delegates, followed by new payment methods and digital transformation at 14% each.
AI is the top opportunity cited by 29% overall, but less so among higher-spend organisations.
Cross-border payments interest 60% of delegates across industries, roles, and geographies.
Financial crime is a key challenge that aligns strongly with AI priorities, with 50% of those citing it also selecting AI.
MT360 merchants prioritise fraud at 30%, differing from the broader PAY360 focus on opportunities.
Higher-spend groups favour new payment methods and cross-border; lower-spend align with AI.
Tech and solutions providers lead on customer understanding; banks on regulation and digital currencies.

Details and context

The report draws from 7,595 valid PAY360 responses and 115 MT360 responses collected during event registration, covering 13 industries, six seniority levels, and over 25 countries. PAY360 attendees skew senior, with nearly 60% at C-level or director, and business development as the top function at 43%. MT360 has a similar profile but more product roles and a merchant focus.

Priorities diverge: cross-border specialists emphasise new payment methods at 24%; budget holders tie customer understanding and new methods at 18%. Operational pressures like fraud and compliance contrast with strategic focuses like AI and digital currencies, especially between general delegates and merchants.

Segmentation uses spend level, industry, role in buying (budget holders 26%, influencers 30%), and geography, with small cells noted as directional.

Key quotes

None.

Why it matters

The report maps a payments sector with no single agenda, shaped by structural dynamics like AI adoption and fraud risks amid commercial pressures. Professionals, firms, and investors can use the segmented insights to align strategies with peers in their spend bracket or vertical, such as targeting cross-border for growth. Watch year-on-year shifts from future PAY360 surveys, though findings reflect self-reported attendee sentiment only.

FAQ

Q: What are the top challenges for PAY360 delegates?

A: Customer understanding tops the list at 16%, with new payment methods and digital transformation tied at 14%. Regulation and compliance ranks fourth at 12%, varying by industry like higher digital transformation in professional services. Financial crime also features strongly, linking to AI investments.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)

Q: How do priorities differ by spend level?

A: Higher-spend organisations prioritise new payment methods and cross-border expansion. Lower-spend ones focus more on the AI opportunity narrative. AI importance overall declines with larger organisational scale.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)

Q: Why do merchant priorities differ from general delegates?

A: MT360 merchants cite fraud as the primary challenge at 30%, reflecting operational delivery pressures. PAY360 delegates lean toward opportunity themes like AI and cross-border. The groups have separate question sets and are never combined in analysis.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)

Q: What is the role breakdown among respondents?

A: Budget holders make up 26% of PAY360, with influencers at 30%, buyers 9%, and information gatherers 25%. Concentration is highest among C-level (57%) and founders (63%). MT360 skews toward influencers at 38% and budget holders at 31%.[[1]](https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/pay360-2026-unpacked-key-survey-findings/)

What changed

Omit, no before/after described.