High-risk merchants face payment challenges that differ by market, industry, and customer behaviour. Local payment coverage, transaction failures, fraud, fees, and technical integration can all affect whether a payment completes.
SPAYZ.io's new whitepaper, “Winning Payments in Challenging Industries”, examines these issues through industry insights and data collected from High-Risk merchants and partners. It covers changing payment behaviour, alternative payment methods, payment orchestration, and the priorities businesses are considering as they plan for 2026.
Insight into High‑Risk payment trends
The Whitepaper examines payment trends affecting merchants and payment providers in High-Risk industries. It looks at how customers pay, why transactions fail, and which payment methods merchants prioritise.
The report also sets out practical considerations for merchants planning their payment strategy. The recommendations cover alternative payment methods, compliance, and payment orchestration, focusing on reducing failed transactions and supporting expansion into new markets.
It also looks at how merchants choose payment providers and why trust matters in relationships between merchants and PSPs.
The payments sector is scaling at pace. To be successful, payment processors and operators need to be equipped with the latest knowledge and insights to ensure they are actively responding to market needs, particularly in emerging markets.
— Tatjana Meluskane, Chief Commercial Officer at SPAYZ.io
Technology shaping High-Risk payments
New payment technologies are changing how merchants process transactions. Open banking payments and instant bank transfers give merchants additional account-to-account payment options alongside cards. Digital wallets have become one of the most widely used payment methods in global e-commerce. Local payment systems are also important in many markets. Examples include mobile money services such as M-Pesa in Kenya and real-time account-to-account systems such as UPI in India.
High-Risk merchants also face specific payment challenges. Limited access to local payment methods, technical integration burdens, and elevated fraud risks are persistent pain points. According to the Whitepaper, 64% of merchants struggle with operational failures and a lack of local payment options, while 57% cite high fees and poor conversion rates. The remedy is to route transactions across multiple providers to reduce false declines, with payment orchestration platforms providing the tools to implement it.
SPAYZ.io is known for its market intelligence, which is why we have decided to release this whitepaper. It provides a useful snapshot of where the industry is at the moment and what needs to be factored into the future decisions of operators and merchants as they begin to map out their growth strategies for 2026.
— Tatiana Sokolova, Chief Marketing Officer at SPAYZ.io
Download the full Whitepaper
The full findings from research are featured in SPAYZ.io’s latest Whitepaper titled “Winning Payments in Challenging Industries". Click here to download the Whitepaper.
