Merchant Risk Council Releases 2026 Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report, Delivering New Insights on Payments Innovation and Fraud Trends

Merchant Risk Council Releases 2026 Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report, Delivering New Insights on Payments Innovation and Fraud Trends

REDMOND, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES, March 18, 2026 -- The Merchant Risk Council (MRC), a global non-profit membership association for payments and fraud prevention professionals, has released the 2026 Global eCommerce Payments and Fraud Report, offering one of the most comprehensive looks at how merchants worldwide are navigating the rapidly evolving eCommerce payments and fraud landscape.

Developed in collaboration with Visa Acceptance Solutions and Verifi, the report draws on insights from 1,278 merchant professionals across 37 countries, providing a global perspective on emerging payment technologies, evolving fraud threats, and the operational strategies organizations are adopting to stay ahead in digital commerce. The research spans organizations of all sizes—from small and mid-sized businesses to large enterprises—across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Latin America (LATAM).

"The MRC is thrilled once again to be partnering with Visa and Verifi on our annual Global Ecommerce Payments & Fraud Report," said Keith Briscoe, VP of Education and Advocacy for the MRC. "The pace of the payments industry continues to keep industry professionals on their toes. Understanding how payments and fraud professionals are seeing – and preparing for – the latest developments in areas like agentic commerce, first-party misuse, payments optimization and fraud prevention is vitally important insight. There are always a few surprises in the findings, and anyone who plays a role in the payments and fraud prevention ecosystem will find actionable takeaways."

Among the report's key insights:

• 43% of merchants now accept real-time payments, highlighting rapid growth in emerging payment methods.
• 63% of merchants are actively exploring or planning to implement agentic AI payments in the near future.
• 72% of merchants use one or more forms of payment tokenization, reflecting its growing importance for payment security and optimization.
• 64% of merchants report increasing rates of first-party misuse, with one-quarter reporting increases of 25% or more.
• Merchants reported an average of 3.7 different fraud attacks in 2025, down from 4.2 the previous year.

The report examines five key areas shaping the payments and fraud prevention landscape: payment acceptance, payment metrics and tactics, fraud management strategies and challenges, fraud management metrics and tactics, and post-purchase fraud and abuse. Together, these insights provide merchants with benchmarks and strategic guidance to optimize payment performance, reduce fraud losses, and better navigate today's fraud challenges in an increasingly complex global market.

The full report is available now. To explore the findings and download the report, visit The Merchant Risk Council website.

About the MRC

The MRC is a non-profit 501(c)(6) global membership organization connecting payments and fraud prevention professionals through educational programs, online community groups, conferences, and networking events. Encompassing 780+ companies, including merchants and solution providers, it provides education on fraud prevention, payment optimization, and risk management. For more information visit MRC.

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