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Real-time payment (RTP) acceptance is experiencing a remarkable surge, with 43% of merchants currently endorsing it, and projections indicate a significant rise in adoption by the year 2026.
Simultaneously, while cost efficiency has emerged as the foremost strategic aim for merchants, challenges related to data and technology continue to vex them. Fortunately, incidents of fraud are on the decline, highlighting advancements in preventive measures.
These insights are gleaned from a comprehensive report by Visa Acceptance Solutions, the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), and Verifi.
The findings, based on a global survey completed in the fourth quarter of 2025 involving over 1,200 merchant professionals engaged in e-commerce payments and fraud management across four major geographic regions, provide significant perspectives on the e-commerce payment landscape.
It scrutinizes payment acceptance practices, emerging trends, and the strategies and challenges in fraud prevention.
RTP Acceptance on the Ascend
The global acceptance of RTP is escalating rapidly. In this year’s survey, 43% of merchants welcomed RTP, indicating a 6% year-on-year growth, making it the fifth most prevalent payment method globally.
Survey findings further suggest that RTP adoption is slated to surge in 2026. Merchants accepting RTP reported robust customer engagement, with 83% observing “a definitive increase in real-time payment usage” over the previous year, while 86% anticipate this upward trajectory to persist over the next twelve months.
Merchant insights on customer engagement with real-time payments (2026, payment professionals currently accepting RTP), Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Among the 57% of merchants yet to adopt RTP, 38% expressed a likelihood of initiating acceptance within the next year, while an additional 49% consider a moderate to substantial possibility of integrating this payment method.
Prospects of adopting real-time payments (2026, payment professionals not currently accepting RTP), Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Globally, merchants typically accept between four and five e-commerce payment methods on average, with cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers leading the pack, each embraced by more than 60% of merchants worldwide.
Over the past year, digital wallets, bank transfers, and mobile payments showcased the most significant adoption rates, with 34%, 22%, and 22% of merchants, respectively, incorporating these options.
Additionally, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions are rapidly proliferating, with 19% of merchants adopting this model over the last twelve months.
Payment methods currently accepted and newly adopted in the past year (2026, all payment professionals), Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Merchant Enthusiasm for Agentic AI Payments
As merchants embrace RTP within their e-commerce offerings, a growing interest in agentic artificial intelligence (AI) payments emerges. These involve payment processes initiated by AI assistants or applications on behalf of consumers.
Currently, just 19% of merchants are equipped to handle agentic AI payments, according to the study. The majority, 63%, are in various stages of planning and implementation, with 32% at an early implementation phase and another 31% still exploring options.
A mere 15% have no imminent plans to adopt solutions for agentic AI payments. Preparedness to accept agentic AI payments (2026, all payment professionals).
Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the concept of agentic shopping is still emerging, with approximately 29% of consumer businesses currently utilizing AI agents, according to Deloitte’s State of the AI research. However, this percentage is projected to escalate to 76% within the next two years.
Research by McKinsey anticipates that by 2030, agentic commerce could facilitate global transactions amounting to US$3 trillion to US$5 trillion.
This substantial value will stem from AI agents increasingly influencing consumer choices, decision-making, and transactions across diverse product categories.
Cost Pressures Escalate, Yet Data and Technology Pose Major Challenges
In recent years, merchants have concentrated on curtailing fraud and chargebacks while enhancing customer experiences.
However, since 2024, data reveals a marked shift in strategic focus, with an increasing number of merchants identifying cost minimization as their primary objective.
In 2024, 10% of merchants cited cost efficiency as paramount, while this figure surged to 29% in this year’s survey.
Leading fraud management priorities (2021-2026, fraud professionals). Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Merchants indicated that the “lack of internal resources” represents a significant hurdle in fraud management this year, with 52% anticipating stagnation or reduction in expenditures for personnel in this sector over the next two years, while 45% expect the same for investment in fraud management tools and technologies.
This data suggests that fraud management professionals grapple with the challenge of effectively addressing diverse fraud threats while navigating constrained resources in pursuit of cost savings.
Amidst these financial restrictions, it is the complexities surrounding data and technology that predominantly frustrate merchant fraud management professionals.
Faced with 15 distinct challenges, respondents in this year’s survey highlighted data and technology-related issues among the top six challenges affecting fraud management overall.
Key concerns included effective data usage for fraud management (31%), the precision of AI and machine learning (ML) fraud tools (31%), accessibility to relevant data (29%), and customization of fraud tools (26%).
Collectively, 80% of respondents reported grappling with at least one of these five data and technology-related issues within the survey context.
Fraud management obstacles (2026, fraud professionals). Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Data and technology have emerged as the foremost focal points for enhancements and investments among merchants, with many now prioritizing the refinement of AI- and ML-powered fraud tools, better integrating them for effective collaboration, and amplifying automation in fraud prevention efforts over the upcoming one to two years.
Primary improvement areas for the next 12 months (2025-2026, fraud professionals), Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026
Decline in Fraud Instances
Fraud continues to pose a pervasive challenge for merchants, with 98% reporting at least one type of fraudulent activity within the past year.
Nevertheless, for the second consecutive year, Visa’s data indicates an overall reduction in the proportion of merchants affected by the 14 specific types of fraud examined in the survey, with the average range of different attacks experienced by merchants decreasing markedly from 4.2 last year to 3.8.
Despite this downturn, the five most prevalent forms of fraud have remained consistent over the past three years, including refund and policy abuse, real-time payment fraud, phishing, pharming, and whaling, as well as first-party misuse and card testing, which have impacted at least a third of merchants globally.
Types of fraud encountered in the past year (2024-2026, fraud professionals). Source: 2026 Global E-Commerce Payments and Fraud Report, Visa Acceptance Solutions and the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), Mar 2026.
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