By PYMNTS | October 12, 2026
A failed payment can look small on a transaction screen. For the business waiting on the money, the effects can spread fast. Revenue gets delayed, staff spend more time fixing problems and customers can lose confidence in the payment experience.
“The Payment Guarantee Gap: Why Adoption Lags Despite Perceived Value,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced in collaboration with Plaid, examines why payment guarantees draw strong interest but still see limited adoption. The report is based on a survey of 150 senior payment and finance executives across seven industries. It examines how firms view payment guarantees, the benefits they expect and what is stopping more companies from using them today.
The data points to a clear gap between interest and action. Two-thirds of firms have either evaluated or used a payment guarantee, but only 13% use one today. At the same time, 95% expect at least some positive impact from using them, and none of the executives surveyed expect a negative impact.
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Download the Report The Payment Guarantee Gap: Why Adoption Lags Despite Perceived Value
In “The Payment Guarantee Gap: Why Adoption Lags Despite Perceived Value,” learn how:
- Firms see payment guarantees as more than a way to cover losses. Sixty-five percent value simpler risk management. Sixty-three percent point to better customer experience and trust, while the same share expects lower operational and reconciliation costs.
- Confidence in current fraud controls can hide gaps. Among firms that say their existing controls are sufficient, 44% can’t detect suspected fraud in real time or within minutes. Across the full sample, 6% of transactions blocked by fraud controls later prove legitimate.
- Firms with stronger real-time payment capabilities are moving faster. Seventy-two percent of firms with fraud controls highly adapted for real-time payments expect to adopt or expand payment guarantees within two years. That compares with 22% of the least-adapted firms.
For payments leaders, finance teams, risk executives and companies handling large payment volumes, the report offers a closer look at where payment guarantees may fit into broader payment protection strategies.
Download the report to see where the adoption gap is widest, which firms are moving first and where payment guarantees could deliver the clearest business value.
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