Authentication starts with who you are, and then it goes to what you intend to do. Christopher Omloo, UK Director of Sales at G+D Netcetera, cuts through the noise on what UK banks and PSPs actually need to know about payment security in 2026.
1. Chris, if you had to explain to someone in a lift why UK banks should care about authentication in 2026, what would you say?
Fraud doesn’t take a tea break. UK consumers lost over a billion to fraud last year, and the PSR’s new fraud rules mean issuers are now on the hook for reimbursement. Strong authentication should no longer be seen as a compliance checkbox; it’s the first line of defense. Authentication has become your revenue protector, not a cost center.
2. What’s your perspective on how UK PSPs are responding to the fraud reimbursement requirements?
The response says a lot about where the market really stands. PSPs with strong fraud-prevention foundations in place adapted smoothly; the new requirements simply aligned with what they were already prioritising: protecting customers and building resilience. For others, it exposed authentication gaps that should have been addressed years ago.
The difference comes down to mindset: some PSPs asked, “What’s the minimum we can get away with?”, while others asked, “How do we use authentication to genuinely build customer trust?” You can guess which approach actually works.
3. You work with issuers across Europe. What’s the one thing UK banks do differently when it comes to fraud prevention, for better or worse?
Across Europe, every market has its own approach to fraud prevention. What strikes me about UK banks is their bias toward action, the act! They want solutions that work now, not in a theoretical future state. They test fast, deploy faster, and aren’t afraid to change course if something is not delivering. In fraud prevention, that mindset is genuinely valuable.
The opportunity, and this applies across markets, not just the UK, is pairing that speed with a longer strategic view. You can not ignore the structural issues that will bite you in 18 months, so the combination of quick tactical wins with a roadmap that anticipates where fraud is heading next is crucial and separates good from great.
4. Every fintech claims its solution is “frictionless.” What should a UK issuer actually ask when they hear that word?
“Frictionless for whom?” Because zero friction for the customer often means maximum friction for your fraud team, or worse, your finance director when the chargebacks roll in. The real question is whether a solution is intelligent. Can it tell the difference between your customer buying coffee in Manchester and a fraudster testing cards in the other part of the world? Does it apply friction only when it’s actually needed? A properly implemented 3-D Secure solution, for example, challenges less than 5% of genuine transactions while catching the fraudulent ones. That is not frictionless; it is smart friction.
5. Agentic commerce, AI-driven fraud, shifting regulations, it’s a lot to navigate. But if you had to bet on one thing, what would it be?
Honestly, the human side of it, the moment when technology disappears completely, and a person just... gets what they needed. No friction or second-guessing, no declined transaction at the worst possible moment.
We talk a lot about infrastructure, protocols, and compliance. All of that matters enormously. But the reason why this industry evolves, transforms, and grows is because payments is about getting it right and this actually changes someone’s day. Millions of times a day.
Want to continue the conversation? Find Chris at Pay360 in London, or connect on LinkedIn.
Weitere Stories
Zu diesem Thema