Ecommpay reveals customer tolerance for payments friction has hit zero

Inclusive payments platform, Ecommpay has published a new 2026 Payments Predictions Report, revealing a decisive shift in consumer expectations. The report also highlights rising commercial pressure on merchants to deliver seamless, resilient and inclusive payment experiences.

Based on insights from merchants, industry partners and Ecommpay’s own experts, the report reveals that consumer forgiveness of friction in payments has run out. Payment failure was the biggest source of lost customers for all those taking part in the research. Consumers will walk away if their payment fails, and they will blame the merchant, which means they are unlikely to return as a customer in the future.

Highlights

• Failed or declined payments are the top reason for abandonment
• Approval rates are the new competitive metric
• Merchants now prioritise multi-provider strategies to protect against outages
• Early mainstream adoption of open banking is accelerating
• Tokenisation has become a retention tool
• Accessibility-by-default has become a commercial imperative

The report brings together perspectives from leaders across the ecosystem—including Ecommpay’s operational, product and compliance experts, as well as partners from GoCardless, Hyvä, Paypr.work, Retail InMotion, JH Agency, Mastercard, ekko and Project Nemo.

“In this new report, we have explored where merchants are really losing customers. Performance, approval rates and experience have become the critical battlegrounds for growth,” commented Willem Wellinghoff, UK Chair and Chief Compliance Officer of Ecommpay.

“There is no doubt that payments are becoming more complex, but that does not have to mean the customer payment journey should be more confusing or complicated. Customer expectations are rising, and tolerance for friction is falling. Removing pain points from the payment journey is vital for continued success and customer satisfaction. It is time for payments to get smarter.”

Across interviews, contributors emphasised operational excellence, orchestration discipline, inclusion, regulation and agentic commerce as the trends shaping the year ahead. Merchants need to focus on delivering smooth and inclusive checkout experiences, reducing costs through intelligent optimisation, increasing approvals through stronger performance and creating deeply localised payment journeys when expanding globally.

“Ecommpay was founded on the belief that payments should be simple and accessible, empowering merchants to expand locally and internationally,” added Willem Wellinghoff. “In 2026, we are focusing on helping them to turn industry change into commercial advantage. We are reducing friction and providing wider payment choice as well as full compliance, whilst leaving full control in the hands of the merchant.”

The full report, ‘2026 payments predictions: Why friction is no longer tolerated’, is available to download free from the Ecommpay website.