Leo Daboub is a payments industry executive with more than two decades of experience designing and scaling credit card and ACH processing solutions across public and private sectors. As chief revenue officer of Atlantic Pacific Processing Systems, Leo Daboub oversees the development of merchant services programs that support municipalities, health care providers, educational institutions, and commercial enterprises. His work focuses on aligning payment infrastructure with evolving technology, regulatory expectations, and customer behavior.
Over the course of his career, he has led initiatives involving government payment programs, centralized processing platforms, and electronic payment adoption. These experiences position him at the intersection of finance, technology, and operational efficiency, where payment industry trends are reshaping how organizations manage transactions. The growing role of artificial intelligence, digital wallets, fraud prevention tools, and mobile-first payment experiences continues to influence how merchant services are delivered. Understanding these shifts is critical for organizations seeking secure, efficient, and future-ready payment systems in an increasingly digital economy.
Important Trends Shaping the Payment Industry
Several payment industry trends have shaped the industry in 2025 and will continue to influence merchant services for the next few years. Many of these trends involve the use of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and other new technologies. Generative AI, for example, has demonstrated the potential to improve fraud protection efficiency by up to 300 percent.
Preventing cybercrime has long stood as one of the leading focuses in the payment industry. Cybercriminals have also used generative AI tools to create deepfake videos and highly personalized phishing messages designed to steal money, data, or both. Studies indicate that the cost of cybercrime will approach $10 trillion in 2025.
Fortunately, merchant services professionals can use the same AI tools to outsmart criminals. Several payment industry operators have begun training AI models to anticipate and prevent fraud threats in real time. Decision Intelligence Pro by Mastercard, for example, can review approximately 1 trillion data points and determine whether a transaction is genuine in 50 milliseconds. Mastercard estimates that the program can enhance fraud detection by an average of 20 percent. Mastercard has also integrated AI tools into its existing consumer fraud risk solutions to help prevent authorized payment scams, ensuring the money never leaves the targeted account.
AI tools and other technology resources have allowed smaller payment industry businesses to keep up with larger corporations. Businesses of all sizes must continue to embrace and refine electronic payments, e-commerce solutions, and other digital tools to remain competitive.
That said, the proliferation of digital tools and services across numerous platforms poses a unique challenge for small businesses. With this in mind, merchant services professionals should closely monitor trends involving centralized payment service platforms. Small businesses can tailor these platforms to their specific needs and keep a watchful eye on a range of automated administrative tasks.
Digital wallets have grown increasingly popular over the last few years, a trend industry insiders do not expect to reverse anytime soon. In fact, consumers no longer view digital wallets as an added luxury but as a basic necessity for secure, convenient e-commerce transactions, particularly among younger Americans. A Federal Reserve study from 2024 found that more than half of Gen Z and millennial consumers used digital wallets in 2023, while 80 percent of the same consumer base placed a high priority on mobile payment options.
That said, digital wallets do not just benefit merchant service providers targeting younger shoppers. The McKinsey 2024 Digital Payments Consumer Survey found that nearly 90 percent of Americans use some digital payment tool. Perhaps more startling is that 76 percent of consumers will abandon a transaction if the merchant cannot offer their preferred payment method. With this in mind, more companies should consider embedding mobile-optimized checkout processes that cater to Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal, among other popular e-commerce solutions.
The growth of in-app payments is another trend impacting the merchant services industry. In-app payment adoption rates leapt from 44 percent in 2021 to 60 percent in 2024, underscoring consumers’ desire for a seamless and integrated payment experience.
These are only a few of the key trends influencing the payment industry in 2025 and beyond. Other important trends include the rise of account-to-account payments, on-demand digital identities that facilitate seamless checkouts, and enhanced support for contactless payments.
About Leo Daboub
Leo Daboub is a payments industry executive with extensive experience in credit card and ACH processing. As chief revenue officer of Atlantic Pacific Processing Systems, he oversees the design and delivery of scalable merchant services across government, health care, education, and commercial sectors. His background includes building government services divisions, managing municipal payment programs, and supporting electronic payment adoption. Leo Daboub remains actively engaged in industry organizations focused on municipal finance and payment system innovation.
