Payments regulation rarely reaches merchants in a neat or consistent way. Some changes create direct obligations at checkout, while others affect merchants indirectly through providers, schemes, pricing or the payment methods available to them. This roadmap is designed to separate the two and focus attention where it matters.

This H2 2026 edition covers developments across payments regulation and infrastructure, digital money, AI and data, and consumer protection. Particular themes include rising acceptance costs, the reform of UK payment services regulation, commercial VRP, the developing crypto and stablecoin regimes, AI at checkout, and new consumer requirements on pricing and subscriptions.

Each entry identifies where the principal obligation sits, the key dates and what merchants should consider doing next, helping payments leaders distinguish between action required now, issues to address with providers and developments to monitor.