Emerging Payments Survey 2026: Agent Adoption Surges, Biometric Authentication Grows

Consumers are moving from awareness to practical use of two fast-maturing payments technologies: biometric authentication and AI-enabled agentic tools. Drawing on Javelin’s Emerging Payments survey data, this report shows that biometric authentication is no longer a niche behavior, with many consumers already using it to complete financial transactions. It also explores how attitudes are hardening as exposure grows, why age and use case matter, and why availability—not consumer reluctance—is often the biggest constraint on adoption. 

Readers will also learn how consumer use of AI and agentic tools is expanding, how preferences among tools are shifting, and what those changes mean for payments providers, merchants, financial institutions, vendors, and fintechs. The report helps strategy, product, innovation, and customer experience leaders separate hype from actionable signals, identify which consumer segments and use cases deserve closer attention, and prioritize research, partnerships, and pilots before emerging behaviors become entrenched.

Key questions discussed in this Emerging Payments report: 

• How are consumers’ attitudes toward biometric authentication changing as real-world exposure and financial transaction usage increase?
• Which biometric authentication use cases are gaining traction, and how do availability, consistency, and consumer segment differences shape adoption?
• How are consumers using AI and agentic tools, and what do shifting tool preferences imply for payments providers, merchants, and financial institutions? 

Companies Mentioned: 

ChatGPT/OpenAI, Claude/Anthropic, Copilot/Microsoft, Gemini/Google, Perplexity