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Frameworks, Insights, and analysis from Finix.

Healthcare payment trends: What's changing in 2026

Healthcare payments are changing fast. Patients now pay a larger share of their own bills. They expect to tap a phone or click a link the way they do everywhere else. And the rules around protecting their data keep tightening. This guide is for clinic operators and healthcare software leaders who want to understand what's shifting and what to do about it. It walks through the biggest healthcare payment trends in 2026 and how to prepare your business for them.

The 5 best payment processors for merchants in 2026

If you’re investigating the best payment processors for your business, you’ve likely already seen dozens of identical lists saying the same thing. They cover the providers and their rates, but tell you almost nothing about which processor is best for your business. What these guides miss is that the fee you see advertised is rarely the fee you pay. The processor you choose doesn't just determine your transaction costs - it decides what happens when a payment is disputed, whether your funds are stable as you grow, and how difficult it becomes to switch if the relationship stops working. This guide covers five of the best payment processors for merchants in 2026: Finix, Stripe, Adyen, Helcim, and Square. We evaluate where each one fits, where it doesn't, and what to look for before you sign anything.

Loan Processing Automation: What It Is & How It Works

Loan processing automation refers to the software that handles a loan from application through final repayment. It helps your team spend less time on manual tasks like data entry, document chasing, and payment follow-up. This guide is designed to help lenders decide which parts of the process to automate and which systems own each part. It walks through the loan lifecycle stage by stage, compares the four tool types that automate it, and shows where payments fit the picture.

How loan payment processing works: A guide for lenders

Loans move money in two directions. When a loan is approved, funds go out to the borrower. Then repayments come back in over time. Loan payment processing refers to the systems that move the money on both sides. This guide is for lenders, loan servicers, and the software platforms that support them. It explains how disbursement and repayment actually work, what affects timing, and where compliance fits in.

Best Payment Platform for Lenders: What to Look For

Lenders need a payment platform that does two jobs well: send loan funds to borrowers and collect repayments over time. The right solution moves money reliably in both directions, prices each transaction clearly, and keeps your account stable as volume grows – the pillars lending actually runs on. This guide covers how lending payments work and how to identify the best payment platform for lenders.

8 best healthcare payment solutions in 2026 for providers & platforms

Healthcare payments are more complex than most industries. Providers need to manage insurance, HSA and FSA cards, patient balances, compliance requirements, and multiple payment channels. Whether you run a medical practice or build software for healthcare providers, choosing the right payment processor can reduce administrative work while improving the patient payment experience. This guide ranks the eight best healthcare payment solutions in 2026, comparing each on compliance, payment types, integration, pricing, and channel coverage so you can match one to your situation.

Merchant services for hospitality: What hotels and restaurants need

Hotels, restaurants, and lodging businesses take payments in ways most other businesses don't. A guest books online, checks in at the front desk, charges dinner to their room, and settles up at checkout. A restaurant splits a check four ways and adds a tip at the table. Merchant services for hospitality are designed to support the way hotels and restaurants actually accept payments. Generic payment solutions can process transactions, but they often lack the workflows, reporting, and integrations hospitality businesses rely on every day.

7 best hospitality payment solutions in 2026 (hotels, restaurants & platforms)

Hospitality businesses have payment needs that most general processors aren't designed to handle. Hotels need pre-authorization holds and multi-currency support. Restaurants need table-side tipping and split-bill capability. And hospitality software platforms need to embed payment processing directly into their products.

8 best restaurant payment solutions in 2026

Restaurant payment needs vary by service model, not just business size. This guide ranks eight restaurant payment solutions for 2026, matched to the setup each one fits best: quick service, full service, food truck, multi-location, or restaurant software platform.

How small businesses can accept payments

Many guides on how small businesses can accept payments assume you've already invested in a point of sale (POS) system, hired a developer, or built an ecommerce website. For many founders, freelancers, and service businesses, that's simply not the case. If you're starting from scratch or looking for a simpler way to get paid, it helps to first understand small business payment processing and the different ways businesses can accept payments. This guide covers four practical ways to start accepting payments, from taking card payments over the phone to sending payment links and creating an online checkout, so you can choose the option that best fits your business.

iGaming payment processing: How it works & key considerations

iGaming payment processing is the system that moves money from a player's chosen payment method through the banking system to the operator's account, then back to players as payouts. It covers every stage of the payment lifecycle, from authorization and settlement to fraud prevention and compliance. Every step in that lifecycle carries compliance requirements, fraud exposure, and cost considerations that don't apply to standard merchant processing. For gaming platform operators and SaaS founders building iGaming products, understanding how payment processing works helps you evaluate providers, improve approval rates, and build a more resilient payments operation.

7 best CBD-friendly payment processors in 2026 (Ranked & Compared)

Finding a CBD-friendly payment processor is harder than it should be. Most mainstream providers, including Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify Payments, don't support CBD businesses. Many providers that do operate in the high-risk space offer opaque pricing, unpredictable account stability, or limited support. This guide ranks the seven best options available to hemp CBD businesses in 2026, evaluated on account structure, pricing transparency, underwriting experience, and support quality.

CBD credit card processing: How to accept payments without getting shut down

Many CBD businesses run into the same problem: a payment processor that accepts them initially, then freezes their account or holds their funds. This guide explains why CBD credit card processing is treated differently, which processors support legal hemp-derived businesses, and what to look for before choosing a provider.

WooCommerce CBD payment processing: How to accept payments without WooPayments

Selling CBD on WooCommerce is allowed, but getting paid for it is where most store owners hit a wall. WooPayments, the checkout tool built into WooCommerce, won't process CBD sales. Merchants need a payment processor that supports CBD businesses. This guide explains why WooCommerce CBD payment processing isn’t straightforward, what to look for in a processor, and how to set up payments that won't get frozen.

iGaming payment solutions: What gaming platforms need to know

iGaming payment solutions combine the processing, fraud monitoring, payout tools, and compliance support that gaming platforms need to accept deposits and pay out winnings reliably. For gaming platform operators, getting this payments stack right is a high-stakes decision. The wrong setup can lead to account instability, higher chargeback risk, failed transactions, and a poorer player experience.

Reduce Disputes With Real-time Fraud Monitoring

Any company that sells products or services has to deal with disputes and chargebacks. It’s an inevitability in the world of commerce. The good news is that you can limit the number of disputes and chargebacks with real-time fraud monitoring.

Credit Card Processing Outages and the Customer Experience

Have you ever visited a store, in person or online, only to find its payment processing system was down? I think we can all agree it’s not a very good customer experience (CX). Still, it’s the businesses that get the shortest end of the stick. They’re the ones that have to deal with the aftermath of an outage, such as customer fallout, managing publicity, and serious financial implications like lost revenue. Here’s the thing: Your payment capabilities are only as strong as your provider’s APIs and infrastructure. Luckily, with the right payments provider, you can avoid unnecessary payment processing downtime.

Fast API Response Times For Better Payment Experiences

In the virtual world, consumers expect immediacy and great experiences when interacting with businesses throughout their buyer journey. How quickly customers are able to checkout and pay have a significant impact on your conversion rates—especially for online retail and e-commerce platforms. The API that powers your payments solution plays a large role in the overall checkout experience as it dictates the speed and efficiency of making a purchase.