Electronic PaymentsBlog

March 10, 2026

2026 Payment Processing Trends: The Year of the ISV and the Shift to Software

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The list of payment processing trends for 2026 is long—faster funding, new rails, better security, more automation. But underneath all of it is one change that’s having the biggest impact on agents and ISOs: software is starting to control how payments are bought, used, and kept. This article looks at the major payment processing trends shaping 2026, with a closer focus on what the shift to software means for those selling and supporting payments.

General Trends Roundup

Most 2026 payment trend analyses agree on a few major themes: payments are getting faster, more automated, and more connected to other systems.

What ties these trends together is how they’re being delivered. Across nearly every major shift, payments are increasingly shaped, controlled, and experienced through software.

Agentic Payments Are Rising

Mastercard expects broader adoption of agentic commerce in 2026, where software can initiate or manage parts of the payment process automatically. McKinsey reinforces this shift, pointing to AI becoming embedded directly into how transactions are initiated, routed, and resolved.

Merchants may not ask for “agentic payments,” but they will expect fewer manual steps, fewer exceptions, and faster resolution when something goes wrong—all of which are driven by the software around the payment.

Digital Assets Move Closer to Everyday Payments

Regulatory movement around stablecoins is pushing digital assets closer to real-world payment infrastructure in 2026. The biggest impact isn’t at checkout, but in settlement, payouts, and cross-border money movement, often handled inside the platforms merchants already use.

For merchants, questions about speed, cost, and access to funds increasingly come down to how their software manages settlement behind the scenes.

Speed Becomes the Default

Deloitte highlights real-time infrastructure as a core driver of payments strategy in 2026. Faster funding, real-time visibility, and fewer delays are now basic expectations.

Merchants benchmark payment speed against the fastest tools they use anywhere, and software-driven payment experiences are setting that standard.

Trust, Identity, and Security Take Center Stage

As payments become faster and more automated, fraud methods adapt. Trust, identity, and security now directly affect approvals, chargebacks, and customer confidence.

These protections increasingly live inside software, through embedded authentication, identity checks, and fraud controls that operate before and after the transaction.

Payments Fragment Across More Rails and Ecosystems

McKinsey describes a payments landscape with more rails, more platforms, and more competing systems. Merchants experience this as more choices and more complexity.

Rather than comparing processors side by side, many merchants now choose a business system first, then take the payments that come with it.

Digital Wallets Become Table Stakes

For many merchants, wallet support is no longer a feature—it’s assumed. Wallet adoption is often driven by the software environment a merchant operates in, not by individual payment decisions.

Merchants expect their systems to support how customers want to pay, without added complexity.

Software: The Shift That’s Reshaping Payments in 2026

All of the trends above point to the same underlying change: payments are no longer being bought on their own. In 2026, they’re increasingly bundled into the software merchants use to run their businesses.

This is the shift that’s quietly reshaping the payments industry, and it’s the one agents and ISOs feel most directly.

It doesn’t mean you have to stop selling the way you sell today. But it does mean you need a strategy that helps you stay visible to merchants, grow accounts without starting over, and compete in a market where software platforms increasingly influence who wins the deal.

1. Sell Solutions and Brand (Not Just A Terminal)

Keep doing what works, but make sure merchants experience payments as your solution, with your relationship and support at the center. When your brand is present in the day-to-day flow, you’re less likely to get replaced the moment a merchant upgrades software or changes systems.

Practical takeaway: position your offer as an end-to-end solution the merchant can grow with, not a one-time hardware drop.

2. Use Software Upgrades And Bundles To Move Merchants Up-Market (Without Re-Selling)

Merchants are being trained to expect upgrades: turn on new features, add capabilities, expand into new workflows—not rip-and-replace. If you can help them level up through software-based add-ons and integrated upgrades, you keep the relationship as their needs get more complex.

Practical takeaway: build a simple “upgrade path” for your core verticals (the common moments where merchants want more features, more channels, or more efficiency) so you can expand accounts without starting from scratch.

3. Win Software Companies With APIs

To stay competitive, you need a way to win deals that originate in software, either by partnering with ISVs or supporting merchants who already run on a platform.

You don’t have to be technical to start. Your edge is still sales: find pain, match it to a payments + integration solution, and help the software company (and its merchants) run smoother.

Practical takeaway: pick one vertical you already sell into, identify a short list of software vendors in that niche, and start outreach with a simple message: “We help your users get paid inside your workflow.”

Bottom Line for 2026

To respond to the software shift, focus on three moves: stay visible in the merchant experience, make growth upgrades easy, and build a path to win software-led deals. Done well, this isn’t a replacement for what you already do—it’s how you protect residuals, reduce churn, and open the door to larger, stickier accounts.

Want more detail on this approach? Watch our guide to building a winning ISV strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the biggest payment processing trends for 2026?

Faster funding, more automation, stronger security/identity controls, wider wallet adoption, and more payment rails. The common thread is that more of this is being delivered through software.

Why is software a top payment processing trend in 2026?

Because many merchants choose their business software first and take the payments that come with it. That shifts influence away from standalone processors and toward platforms.

How does the shift to software impact agents and ISOs?

It changes how deals are won and kept. More merchants evaluate payments based on whether they fit their workflows and systems. Agents who can support software-driven setups are better positioned to reduce churn and grow accounts.

What does an ISV strategy mean for an ISO?

It means having a way to win and support payment deals that originate in software, either through partnerships with software companies or by supporting merchant platforms. You’re aligning payments to the software environment, not selling payments in isolation.

Do agents need to understand APIs to compete in a software-first market?

No, most agents don’t need to be technical. You just need partners and platforms that can support integrations so payments work inside the software your merchants use.

Are standalone terminals still relevant in 2026?

Yes, especially for simpler use cases. The risk is when merchants outgrow that setup and switch to a platform that bundles payments, so having an upgrade path matters.

Electronic Payments, Inc. (EPI) is a privately-held payment processor, acquirer, and financial technology company that delivers innovative POS systems, merchant services, and integrated payment solutions to businesses nationwide. Backed by over 25 years of industry experience, EPI is known for its transparent partnerships, proprietary technologies—including Exatouch® POS, ProCharge®, and Cygma®—and exceptional 24/7 in-house U.S.-based support. EPI serves a wide range of industries, from retail and restaurants to service-based businesses and professional offices, and acquires new merchants through a national network of POS value-added resellers (VARs), agent banks, independent sales agents, and ISOs.

800-966-5520 | www.electronicpayments.com