Trends from 2018 are accelerating while economic outlook darkens.

Mobile technology, open banking, and artificial intelligence will be the leading technological drivers of change in the payments system. Increasing overlap between traditionally separate payment systems will increase competition, leading to increased merger and acquisition activity. Faster payments as well as risk and fraud prevention will continue to be major areas of focus for the payments industry and key research themes for Mercator Advisory Group in 2019. At the same time, an increased focus on customer engagement and global payments will help mitigate the impact of a forecasted slowdown in the U.S. economy.