Merchants, often overlooked, are playing a defining role in which innovations succeed—and which fail
In the early 2000s, buying music online was a single click. For merchants like Apple, adding a card payment option to iTunes was straightforward. The infrastructure was fixed, the customer expectations were clear, and there were only a few ways to pay.
Two decades later, the payment landscape has shifted. Consumers expect more choice, and new methods – from instant bank transfers to QR code wallets – are entering the market faster than ever. Yet for many businesses, adding these options isn’t simple. The complexity behind the checkout is growing, and so is the burden on the merchant.
At this year’s Money20/20 Europe, a panel of experts from Adobe, PPRO, EPI, and the European Central Bank pointed to a growing gap in the conversation about payment innovation: the role of the merchant.
While much of the industry’s attention centres on what consumers want, Matt Wegner, VP of Payments and Risk at Adobe, reminded the audience that merchants face their own set of challenges. Speaking on stage, he explained that introducing too many payment methods can damage the customer experience at checkout.
“We don’t want too many decisions during checkout,” he said. “We’ve seen that it hurts conversion.” At Adobe, the company waits for clear consumer demand before integrating local payment methods. This means sometimes arriving late to market, but it helps avoid wasted effort and added complexity.
Wegner also emphasised the operational cost of rolling out a new method. Engineering resources are limited, especially in large organisations. At Adobe, some of the work is shared with payment service providers, who help simplify technical implementation or offer local insights. Without this support, he said, even the most promising new methods are hard to justify.
No one wants to go first
This hesitation isn’t limited to global firms. Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI Company, which is currently launching the European wallet WERO, acknowledged that early adoption is difficult. “No merchant wants to be the front runner,” she said. “The first question is always, how many customers do you bring?”
To overcome this barrier, EPI is focused on identifying high-frequency use cases—like public transport or EV charging stations—that encourage habit formation and repeat use. Weimert pointed to the Starbucks wallet as a model: a simple solution tied to daily behaviour that adds value for both the consumer and the merchant.
Building merchant trust is also a matter of scale. Large partners such as banks can help bring new solutions to market quickly. Startups, Weimert noted, often face a longer path, as they must build these networks from scratch.
Infrastructure and balance matter more than speed
While the private sector focuses on adoption and efficiency, the public sector brings a different perspective. Eric Tak, Head of Division at the European Central Bank (ECB), drew attention to the limitations of relying solely on consumer feedback or speed to market.
He recalled the launch of iDEAL in the Netherlands. Despite early research suggesting consumers were not interested, the method became a success. The same happened with contactless cards. “Asking the customer doesn’t always give you the right pointers,” he said. Behaviour often changes after launch, not before.
At the ECB, the focus is on inclusion and resilience. Cash remains important to many consumers, especially those not fully integrated into the digital economy. As the ECB works on developing the digital euro, Tak said the goal is not just to introduce a new payment method, but to offer one that mirrors the usability, privacy, and fallback qualities of cash – while also creating open infrastructure that others can use.
He also highlighted the need to avoid a one-size-fits-all model. Payment habits vary across Europe. In the Netherlands, requesting money through apps is common. In Spain, the same behaviour is less culturally acceptable. Flexibility, he said, should be built into the design.
Merchants have their own use cases
While consumer experience is often the focus of payment innovation, Wegner argued that merchants need to be part of the design process. At Adobe, recurring payments are central to the business model. He said many local or emerging payment methods are not built to support merchant-initiated billing; an essential feature for subscription-based services.
Without recurring functionality, many merchants simply cannot adopt a new method, even if consumer demand exists. Wegner encouraged payment providers and regulators to work with merchants during the design phase to ensure their operational needs are considered early.
Tak acknowledged this balance. While recurring billing offers clear value, it can also create issues for consumers who lose track of active subscriptions. He noted that a lack of visibility and control has led to consumer frustration and support challenges. Any system that enables recurring payments, he said, must also ensure clear cancellation paths and transparency.
Reframing the adoption conversation
The session made it clear that merchants are critical decision-makers. If a payment method is difficult to implement, doesn’t support the right use cases, or adds friction at checkout, it will not succeed, regardless of consumer interest.
Weimert emphasised that successful adoption requires coordination across the ecosystem. That includes banks, merchants, payment providers, and regulators. While consumer benefit is essential, focusing on consumer needs alone is not enough. “You need to get that balance,” she said.
For new payment methods to scale, there must be shared value. That means technical support for integration, recurring payment functionality for subscription businesses, and clear benefits for merchants beyond simply offering more choice.
