The world of merchant payments is undergoing a fundamental shift, not one marked by flashy launches or viral trends, but by a steady, layered evolution reshaping how value is delivered in the background. At The Banking Scene, we’ve long followed the innovation narratives in payments, and it’s increasingly clear: the future is being built not through disruption, but through deliberate construction of intelligent, resilient infrastructures.

This article is based on a rich and candid conversation at Money 20/20 Europe with two experts from IXOPAY, a leading orchestration platform provider: Adam Vissing, VP Global Enterprise Sales, and Yasser Abou-Nasr, Senior Vice President of Product. We discussed the roadmap of where the industry is going: grounded in practical realities, tempered by experience, and open to what’s next.

It offered a uniquely balanced view: optimistic about technology, but firmly rooted in merchant needs.

Here’s how they see the future of merchant payments unfolding.

Orchestration: The Infrastructure That’s No Longer Optional

Only a few years ago, orchestration was a headline theme at nearly every major fintech and merchant conference. This year, it was far less visible, at least at Money 20/20 Europe, but not because it’s any less important. On the contrary, the reduced noise is a sign that orchestration is now expected and has matured as an industry. It has become the invisible backbone of payment operations, especially for enterprise merchants operating across multiple geographies and platforms.

“Orchestration has moved from innovation to expectation; it’s the silent engine driving global payment strategies.”

These merchants no longer seek out orchestration as a point solution. Instead, they demand it as part of a broader, integrated strategy: connecting 200+ payment processors, supporting 300+ payment methods, and adapting to regional mandates with agility.

Whether the goal is top-line expansion into new markets or bottom-line optimisation of legacy systems, orchestration has become a universal enabler.

The platforms that succeed will be those that offer both depth and adaptability, catering to merchants at different stages of their payment maturity.

AI in Payments: The Realism Behind the Hype

Artificial intelligence continues to dominate headlines across industries, and payments is no exception. Yet the industry is growing wary of inflated expectations. The most forward-looking players today are not asking, “How can AI revolutionise everything?” Instead, they look at where AI can help now, and where it should wait.

In merchant payments, the most promising AI use cases today are not in transactional decision-making, but in supporting operational efficiency:

• Assisting support desks in resolving issues faster.
• Helping solution engineers configure PSPs more intuitively.
• Accelerating time-to-market through semi-automated onboarding.

These are pragmatic, low-risk applications. As for the more exciting vision, the agentic AI capable applications of making routing decisions, optimising payment flows, and acting independently, it is still in the trust-building phase.

Merchants, understandably, want to see and understand recommendations before allowing AI to act autonomously. Trust will be built gradually, through reliable insights, transparency, and demonstrable value. Until then, AI will remain a co-pilot, not the pilot.

The Merchant Mindset: Control, Trust, and Data Sovereignty

One message came through loud and clear: enterprise merchants want control. Control over their data. Control over their PSP relationships. And above all, control over the decisioning logic that determines how payments are processed.

Tokenisation is one key enabler here, allowing merchants to retain ownership of payment data across providers. But orchestration also plays a central role in giving merchants the flexibility to route payments strategically, to reconcile efficiently, and to reduce dependency on single providers.

“Enterprise merchants want to own their data, direct their flows, and see through the black box of payments.”

Some platforms, like IXOPAY, now go a step further, offering advanced post-processing and reconciliation layers that turn fragmented, multi-provider data into a single, intelligible view. For large merchants like DHL, this isn't a nice-to-have; it’s a game-changer.

This level of visibility and control will increasingly define the leaders in merchant payments.

European Sovereignty: More Architecture Than Advocacy

In Europe, there is growing discussion around payment sovereignty and the region’s dependency on non-European payment rails. It’s a valid concern, especially in a world shaped by geopolitical tensions and regulatory shifts.

“Payment sovereignty in Europe is less about protest and more about platforms, designed to flex across borders, providers, and mandates.”

Sovereignty alone is not yet a catalyst for change. What matters most to merchants is resilience: the ability to navigate complexity, mitigate risk, and scale with confidence. Orchestration provides a practical approach to integrating sovereignty into the architecture, eliminating the need for top-down structural reform.

In that sense, sovereignty becomes not just a political statement, but a technical requirement for adaptability.

Conclusion: Evolution, Not Disruption

What we are seeing is the rise of a new paradigm, I would call industrialised agility. It’s not about being the most innovative, nor the most conservative. It’s about being able to:

• Scale globally without compromising control.
• Integrate rapidly without introducing risk.
• Automate smartly without losing human oversight.

The platforms that succeed will be those that are built not for one future, but for multiple possible futures, agentic AI or not, new payment mandates or not, regional fragmentation or global consolidation.

The future of merchant payments will not be won through disruption. It will be built through architecture, trust, and readiness. It will be enabled by tools that support both growth and governance, and by partners who understand that value lies as much in what you don't see as in what you do.

Thanks again to Adam Vissing and Yasser Abou-Nasr for their openness and insights during our discussion. At The Banking Scene, we’ll continue to follow these developments, challenge assumptions, and surface the voices shaping this evolution.

Because the future of payments is not a headline - it’s a blueprint.