2025: What happened in fintech?

Old MacDonald famously had a farm, but have you ever considered what the modern day song would be if he had a fintech? The chorus would likely go, and you can probably already see where this is going, A-I-A-I(S)O. Anyway, for those of you who haven't instantly clicked off this page, we'll park the jokes there and, in another surprising turn, we'll also end talk of AI there too.

Yes, we know it once again dominated the headlines in 2025, but so much more has happened over the past 12 months beyond artificial intelligence. From ISO to VoP, we'll walk you through some of the key topics that shaped the payments and fintech space this year.

ISO 20022 mandatory transition

On 22 November 2025, SWIFT officially switched off its old MT payment messages, making ISO 20022 the mandatory standard for all cross-border payments. This new format replaces the limited text fields of the old system with rich, structured data, giving banks clearer information on fees, remittance details, and compliance checks. Institutions that continue using MT messages could face additional charges or rejected transactions.

The shift fully changes payment operations. ISO 20022 enables end-to-end transparency across the payment chain, improving fraud detection, sanctions screening, and reconciliation through structured data that legacy formats couldn't support. Those that migrated early now benefit from faster processing, fewer errors, and more efficient compliance, while late adopters face operational pressure as the old standards are no longer supported.

Stablecoins and the evolution of cross-border payments

2025 was the year stablecoins stopped being only a cryptocurrency and became an accepted instrument for real-world payments and treasury flows. 

In the first half of 2025 alone, stablecoins processed over $8.9 trillion in on-chain volume, while their total market capitalisation reached $166 billion. This is especially evident in regions such as Southeast Asia, where 43% of B2B cross-border payments now utilise stablecoins, driven by their lower transaction costs and faster settlement times. 

For merchants, this means better cash flows and reduced FX friction. For consumers and SMEs in underserved markets, it’s a direct entry point into digital financial services without legacy banking rails. And, spoiler alert, this is a topic that will be heavily featured in 2026 too.

Verification of Payee

As real-time payments accelerated, so did the “Authorised Push Payment” (APP) fraud. In response, 2025 saw Verification of Payee (VoP) become a non-negotiable regulatory requirement, especially in Europe. 

On 9th October, the VoP mandate officially came into force, requiring banks, PSPs, and fintechs to implement payee identity verification as a critical fraud prevention measure. The regulation was a direct reaction to the APP scams, which cost UK consumers over £460 million in 2023.

The impact was immediate. The process reduced misdirected payments, strengthened fraud-prevention controls, and improved customer confidence in instant transfers. It also forced financial institutions to redesign their onboarding, identity verification, and payment authorisation flows, ensuring precise matching of names and account identifiers and implementing “near match” logic to prevent user drop-off.

Digital wallets

In 2025, digital wallets became the leading way people pay online, accounting for over 50% of global e-commerce transaction value. Here’s why:

• Tokenisation replaces card numbers with secure tokens, eliminating manual entry and reducing merchants' PCI compliance scope. 
• Biometric authentication (fingerprint, face ID) removes password friction while cutting fraud compared to PIN-based systems. 
• Dynamic security checks keep transactions clear, while unusual patterns trigger step-up authentication.

The impact goes beyond security reasons. Digital wallets combine payments, identity, and loyalty into one unified interface that follows users across devices and platforms. This creates a smooth purchase experience and increases the conversion rate compared to traditional payment flows.

What's in store for 2026? Keep an eye on our website and social media for our preview and predictions.