As we look ahead to 2025, the payments industry stands at a pivotal moment. The drive for faster, more seamless transactions has never been more urgent, but this push towards innovation often comes with complex operational, fraud, and regulatory challenges. These are the hurdles that the payment industry must navigate in order to thrive in the years ahead.

At Thredd, we’ve gained first-hand insight into the challenges and successes businesses face as they grow in today’s rapidly evolving payments ecosystem. As a global payments provider, we are deeply involved in addressing critical issues such as operational inefficiencies, fraud management, and compliance through our work with fintechs, digital banks, and embedded finance providers.

In our latest report, Payments Unstitched: Protecting & Growing Your Payments Business in 2025, we dive into the key challenges we believe every payments business needs to address. With insights from industry leaders, we offer actionable strategies to help companies manage these challenges and build sustainable, long-term growth.

Streamlining back-office operations for growth

As businesses scale, back-office operations have become more complicated. What was once a straightforward process can become cumbersome as data silos build, manual interventions increase, and decision-making becomes less clear. This is where inefficiencies creep in, and these inefficiencies come at a cost. The impact of these inefficiencies becomes especially significant as businesses scale.

I’ve seen many companies struggle with this exact issue. As payment programmes mature, the manual processes and disconnected systems that once worked well simply cannot keep pace.

To address this, we recommend adopting modern, automated solutions that break down these silos and streamline operations. Automation is not just about reducing costs; it is about improving speed, reliability, and responsiveness. By leveraging technology to handle more routine tasks, businesses can unlock the agility needed to scale and respond to customer demands more effectively.

Also Read: Can the boundaries of payment innovation be pushed further?

Fraud and risk management: Staying ahead of the curve

Fraud has and always will be a persistent challenge in the payments industry. However, what we’re seeing now is an alarming rise in sophistication, as fraudsters are increasingly using emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning to conduct highly targeted scams. In fact, in 2023, global losses from fraud exceeded $1.03 trillion, and that figure continues to rise.

We cannot afford to sit back and hope fraud doesn’t affect our systems. As the tools to commit fraud become more advanced, so too must our tools for detecting and preventing it. That is why we’ve placed such a heavy emphasis on real-time fraud detection in our solutions.

With machine learning and AI-powered technology, we can identify suspicious activities quickly, reducing the chances of losses. For businesses, this is not just a matter of protecting assets – it is about preserving trust with consumers and partners.

Navigating the growing compliance burden

Compliance is one area where the stakes are incredibly high, yet many businesses find it challenging to stay on top of the ever-evolving regulatory landscape. The introduction of frameworks such as Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) regulations is only adding to the pressure, particularly for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.

Also Read: Scaling business growth and efficiency with embedded payments

I understand that the compliance burden can feel overwhelming, especially as regulations become more stringent. However, the good news is that technology can make it easier to stay compliant.

At Thredd, we advocate for automating compliance processes so businesses can meet regulatory requirements without excessive manual oversight. Real-time monitoring and automated compliance systems can help ensure that businesses are always up-to-date, reducing the risk of fines and penalties while freeing up resources to focus on growth and innovation.

The path forward

I am a firm believer in the power of partnerships. However, in today’s environment, these partnerships require transparency, readiness, and a higher level of control. Zedrick Applin, our Head of Regulatory Compliance, often says, “Finding and maintaining strong bank-fintech partnerships today requires a greater emphasis on transparency and controls.”

In a time where fraud, compliance, and operational efficiency are critical, maintaining strong relationships with our partners while ensuring clear communication and control is essential.

To successfully navigate these complexities, businesses must adopt an integrated, holistic approach that combines modern automation with a mindset of agility and transparency. These principles are at the heart of our approach to payments processing at Thredd. We work to set up our clients for sustainable success by enabling businesses to manage operational challenges, detect fraud in real time, and ensure compliance.

A resilient future for payments

Looking ahead, the road for payments businesses will be defined by a need to balance speed with resilience. Innovation must go hand-in-hand with operational control, fraud management, and compliance to drive sustainable growth.

The future of payments is not just about keeping up with change—it is about staying ahead of it.

For fintechs, digital banks, and other players in the ecosystem, adopting a mindset that prioritises transparency, efficiency, and security will be key to success. And as we continue to innovate, I am excited to see how businesses across the globe will leverage new technologies to transform the future of finance.

The post Rising to the challenge: How payments businesses can conquer 2025’s growing risks appeared first on e27.