February 2026 Payments Industry Roundup

February has seen continued focus on pricing transparency, payment resilience and the accelerating evolution of account-to-account payments. As cost pressures remain across UK sectors, payment performance is becoming a board-level priority rather than a back-office function.

Below is Payment Lynk's February summary of the developments shaping the payments landscape.

Interchange and Scheme Fee Scrutiny Continues

Ongoing adjustments from global networks including Visa and Mastercard are keeping interchange and scheme fees firmly under review. While individual updates may appear incremental, cumulative impacts across high volume merchants can materially influence effective blended rates.

Merchants operating on legacy pricing agreements may find that margin creep has developed gradually over time, particularly where reporting lacks transparency.

Commercial takeaway:

•Annual pricing reviews are essential

•Effective blended rate should be calculated quarterly

•Acquirer margin should be clearly identified and benchmarked

Open Banking Adoption Accelerates in Mid Market

Open Banking volumes continue to grow across retail, travel and professional services as merchants look to reduce transaction costs on higher value payments.

The commercial appeal remains clear:

•Lower transaction fees compared to traditional card rails

•Faster settlement improving cash flow

•Reduced chargeback exposure

However, adoption remains strongest when implemented as part of a structured payment strategy rather than as a standalone cost exercise. User experience, reconciliation processes and refund workflows remain critical to successful implementation.

Payment Resilience Remains a Strategic Priority

February discussions across the industry have highlighted the operational risk of single provider dependency. Outage events in recent years have reinforced the importance of secondary acquiring or gateway capabilities.

Businesses increasingly recognise that resilience is not simply about having a backup contract in place. True resilience requires:

•Technical integration readiness

•Commercial viability of secondary routing

•Ongoing testing of failover processes

Revenue protection and uptime continuity are now central to payment strategy conversations.

IC++ vs Blended: Transparency Debate Grows

Following increased scrutiny on scheme costs, more merchants are reviewing whether IC++ or blended pricing structures remain appropriate.

The conversation has shifted from simplicity versus complexity to control versus opacity.

High turnover businesses with varied card mix are revisiting IC++ structures for improved benchmarking visibility. Meanwhile, smaller merchants continue to favour blended pricing for predictability.

Understanding effective rate, not headline rate, is emerging as the critical metric.

Payment Lynk Comment

"Across February we have seen a clear pattern. Businesses are no longer accepting payment costs as fixed overhead. They are asking structured questions around transparency, resilience and commercial optimisation.

In our experience, small percentage improvements create meaningful annual savings. The key is aligning pricing structure with turnover profile, sector behaviour and long-term growth strategy."

Looking Ahead to March

As we move into Q2 planning cycles, we expect to see:

•Increased renegotiation activity

•Greater interest in dual provider strategies

•Continued Open Banking integration

•Heightened focus on effective blended rate reporting

Payment performance is now directly linked to commercial performance. Businesses that actively review their payment infrastructure will be better positioned to protect margin and drive operational efficiency.

Request a Payment Performance Review and discover how Payment Lynk can help you optimise your payment infrastructure for improved acceptance rates, reduced costs and enhanced resilience.