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COMMERCE TRENDS

2025 digital commerce trends for businesses — insights from our payment experts

3 min read · 2025

Faces of the top payment experts

With ever-increasing consumer expectations and technological advancements, we anticipate digital commerce across the globe will continue to bring new possibilities and unknowns for our customers.



We strive to help your business stay ahead of the curve by preparing you for these potential challenges and opportunities. To kick off the year, we sat down with our own top payment experts to provide their insights on the areas businesses should be focusing on in 2025 and how they could impact their 2025 results.

Transact at the speed of life

 

As consumer expectations and technology evolve, it’s crucial to prepare for potential challenges and opportunities.

As consumers, time is our currency. We live in an increasingly time-poor world, whereby our daily tasks and actions far outweigh the time we have available to achieve them.



  • We don’t want to wait for a taxi at the airport; we want to have a ride-share booked and waiting for us on arrival.

  • We don’t want to wait in line for our morning coffee; we want to preorder and pick up from the counter.

  • We don’t want to carry bulky grocery items from the shelf to the trolley, to the car, to the home; we want to have it delivered to our doorstep.

These are but some of the basic expectations we have as consumers, and it is for these reasons I maintain that consumer payments in 2025 need to be lightning fast, reduce friction and enable rapid checkout — no more manually entering shipping and card details.



I hope that 2025 is the year that the outdated checkout experience perishes, and merchants adopt faster and better methods of paying.

Alex Wilson

Director, Product Management‎

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As merchants aim to grow their businesses and enter new markets, navigating the complexities of local (and foreign) regulatory requirements combined with the necessity to offer local payment methods can be challenging. Increasingly, countries are mandating that card processing occurs through their local national switches. Additionally, contrasting regulatory requirements for issuers to select processors regardless of card brand, from that of merchants being able to offer least cost routing to various networks, may deter companies from pursuing expansion.



As we move into 2025, we will continue to see the rise of nationalism in payments as countries look to have tighter control of the payments flowing within their borders. While these alone may be enough to put merchants off — leaving money on the table by not offering the (sometimes) dominant local payment method just doesn’t make good business sense.



Partnering with a gateway that can eliminate the requirement for merchants to maintain separate integrations for processing domestic and international transactions will be essential. It’s all about letting your customers pay the way they want to, rather than how you let them.

Elad Schreiber

Director, Product Management‎

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As we look ahead to 2025, the future of transit payments is about more than convenience — it’s about creating seamless, inclusive, and efficient systems that redefine how we move through cities. Here are the top trends shaping this space:



  • Proliferation of contactless: Tap-and-go payments using credit cards, mobile wallets, and wearables devices will become the norm, eliminating the need for physical tickets.

  • Account Based Ticketing: Emerging technologies like biometric authentication will allow passengers to board seamlessly with their identity — via phone, card, or biometric data — while the systems will calculate the best fare automatically.

  • Integration with Mobility-as-a-Service: Unified platforms will allow payments across transit, bikes, scooters and more, fostering seamless multimodal travel.

  • Innovative Payment Methods: From QR codes to digital currencies, payment options will cater to diverse commuter needs depending on regions.

  • AI will gain traction, offering personalized fare recommendations, travel bundles and incentives. This evolution will not only enhance commuter experiences but also redefine public transportation by bridging technology, sustainability and urban mobility.

Vishaal Chudasama

Commercial Product Manager, Transit Solutions‎

Protect the entire merchant ecosystem

 

Advancing payment security technologies you use in your business will be pivotal for success in the evolving digital landscape, as they help meet regulatory requirements and align with global authentication standards.

As e-commerce and digital transactions rise, so can the risk of cybercrime. In today’s digital age, companies are eager to enable the newest technologies for their consumers, but as they race to do so, they need to stay vigilant. While advancements in payment technology have significantly improved security, merchants are still facing a range of vulnerabilities that can potentially put their consumers’ data and their own brand at risk.



To get the best benefits of new payment technology, merchants need to understand the power in data to identify their customer. For instance, robust network tokenization frameworks that integrate seamlessly with existing payment infrastructures including in-app and mobile payments aim to minimize the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access for merchants, ensuring that consumers can trust the integrity of their transactions. With network tokenization transforming the way transactions are processed, the opportunities for merchants to implement network tokenization solutions are immense.



Another area where merchants can evolve their data strategy to secure payments is with EMV 3D Secure 2.0. While this new process has made strides in reducing CNP fraud, some merchants still haven’t fully utilized all the data aspects of the new authentication process. Notably, the 3DS Method URL, which has been recommended by Mastercard and other payment technology companies, is still not widely supported. This is despite many businesses clearly demonstrating the huge performance boost that frictionless payments provide through lower challenge rates when both merchant, issuer and their Access Control Server (ACS) are supporting the 3DS Method URL.



By utilizing all the smart data enhancements within new technology, merchants can enhance customer satisfaction while safeguarding their transactions. Embracing these opportunities and challenges will be pivotal in ensuring success in the ever-changing world of e-commerce.

Gunjan Arya

Director, Product Management‎

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As merchants aim to grow their businesses and enter new markets, navigating the complexities of local (and foreign) regulatory requirements combined with the necessity to offer local payment methods can be challenging. Increasingly, countries are mandating that card processing occurs through their local national switches. Additionally, contrasting regulatory requirements for issuers to select processors regardless of card brand, from that of merchants being able to offer least cost routing to various networks, may deter companies from pursuing expansion.



As we move into 2025, we will continue to see the rise of nationalism in payments as countries look to have tighter control of the payments flowing within their borders. While these alone may be enough to put merchants off — leaving money on the table by not offering the (sometimes) dominant local payment method just doesn’t make good business sense.



Partnering with a gateway that can eliminate the requirement for merchants to maintain separate integrations for processing domestic and international transactions will be essential. It’s all about letting your customers pay the way they want to, rather than how you let them.

Simone Paul Tamussin

Vice President, Product Management‎

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Customer success

 

As we move into 2025, enhancing customer experiences will remain a top priority. We recognize the quality of customer service can significantly influence your success. From the way you interact with our team, to how you manage your customers, every single touchpoint mattersAs consumer expectations and technology evolve, it’s crucial to prepare for potential challenges and opportunities.

Relying on fragmented connections to various markets, acquirers, and value-added services — such as tokenization and fraud prevention — can create unnecessary complexity and missed opportunities. Instead, partners should prioritize working with providers who offer a single seamless connection to a broad, global network and benefits beyond just accepting payments.



At Merchant Cloud, we deliver a single, robust connection to multiple markets and acquirers, paired with advanced value-added services. This not only simplifies operations but also unlocks new growth opportunities by enabling businesses to scale efficiently and serve customers better.



As we navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2025, businesses need trusted partners that provide both globalization and hyper-localization, combining global reach with tailored, market-specific insights. Merchant Cloud’s innovative technology and strategic expertise empower businesses to thrive in a competitive landscape, driving success across commercial, regulatory, and technological domains both now and in the future.

Stephen James

Vice President, Head of Global Partnerships‎

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Offering a positive customer experience will always be a critical aspect of any service offering and it is often the differentiator for customers when making a purchasing decision.



Maintaining control of the customer experience can be difficult for resellers as some aspects are heavily dependent upon the quality and timeliness of information that they are themselves provided with from their gateway partner.



To master this and be successful in 2025, it is critical that resellers utilize a provider that has a solid communication structure in place around operational and product updates as well as incident communications. Resellers need instant access to the latest technical specs and developments. Resellers should also consider outsourcing their customer support as they build their own team’s experience to tackle gateway issues.

Deepak Achar

Vice President, Head of Customer Success‎

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When selecting a payment gateway partner, it is imperative to ensure you aren’t overpaying for payment processing. One effective strategy is to choose a partner with extensive relationships with local acquirers across your potential markets. This approach helps maintain low fees and high approval rates, enabling your business to operate more efficiently and profitably.



Merchant Cloud, for example, looks and feels like a single connection to the merchant but, behind the scenes, is connecting to hundreds of local acquirers around the globe. By leveraging local acquirers, Merchant Cloud can minimize the costs associated with cross-border transactions and reduces the risk of declines due to unfamiliarity with the issuer.



Conversely, other global gateways may route your transaction offshore to a limited number of preferred acquirers. This practice can introduce additional costs and complexities for the merchant, as transactions may be subject to higher fees and lower approval rates. It is crucial to evaluate the hidden costs and potential inefficiencies associated with such routing practices.



In addition to economic considerations, partnering with a gateway partner that has robust relationships with local acquirers can enhance the overall customer experience. By reducing friction during the payment process and ensuring seamless, reliable transactions, merchants can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. This, in turn, can lead to higher conversion rates and repeat business.

Jared Smith

Vice President, Head of Gateway Sales

Disclaimer: The information contained herein constitutes forward-looking opinions from individual employees. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Merchant Cloud.