For out 2026 outlook, we picked six trends to better acquaint you with what to expect this year in the payments arena, but then we went a step further in selecting three worthy of a deeper dive. See all four stories below, and a brief explanation of why we focused where we did. Our senior reporter, Justin Bachman, dug deeper into the AI-driven agentic payments topic to help readers better understand when and how this tech tool really becomes a reality. Still, his story describes the challenges being tackled this year that are likely to lead to bot payments as early as next year. So, our lead editor, Lynne Marek, investigated the ways in which payments players are doubling-down on defenses, including pivots to passkeys and biometrics, while also contemplating system, software and regulatory upgrades.