Frictionless payments dip globally, threatening black friday conversions

By Puja Sharma

A new global study has urged eCommerce merchants to reassess their payment strategies ahead of Black Friday, as declining frictionless authentication rates threaten to disrupt checkout experiences and reduce sales conversions during the peak shopping season.

Published today, Ravelin’s Global Payments Report 2026 reveals that frictionless authentication has fallen in 76% of countries, meaning fewer customers are enjoying a smooth checkout experience. Frictionless rates — successful authentication attempts without challenge — have declined in every region and now stand at just 54% in North America, 62% in Europe, and 58% globally.

Ravelin’s report further shows that 78% of merchants are trying to reduce friction through exemptions, but issuers are increasingly rejecting these requests as their expectations tighten.  This creates a vicious circle that pushes up false positive rates, leading to abandoned shopping carts and lost revenue.

“This peak season, the winners will be merchants who offer their customers the smoothest checkout experiences,” said Martin Sweeney, CEO at Ravelin. “Our research shows that shopping experiences are increasingly interrupted by authentication challenges, and merchants are not taking full advantage of the opportunities for frictionless checkout. This means fewer conversions at a time when consumers’ attention spans are shorter than ever.

“Merchants can deliver frictionless shopping experiences by better utilising the data they gather, sharing richer, contextual information with issuers, and optimising their authentication strategies.” The report also finds that overall 3D Secure (3DS) success rates have improved only modestly, largely driven by US gains (a 47% increase in 3DS success rate), while the UK remains the global leader in authentication performance.

As the seasonal surge approaches, Ravelin advises retailers to focus on three priorities:

1. Share more and better data: provide richer data to the card issuer to support the legitimacy of the transaction. Learn from the data you receive back.
2. Optimise intelligently; don’t always chase the highest exemption: issuer risk tolerances vary, so blanket exemption requests – for example, based on transaction value – can fail. Smarter, adaptable models that tailor decisions to each issuer and transaction can dramatically improve frictionless rates and approval success.
3. Invest in intelligent authentication systems: utilise historical data and machine learning to predict and prevent friction before it happens.

“Merchants that master data-powered AI-native authentication will convert more customers, protect revenue, and build lasting loyalty at the busiest time of the eCommerce calendar,” added Sweeney.

UK plans to move beyond PSD2

The Global Payments Report also explores the impact of the UK  reforming the currently-applicable European Commission’s Payment Services Directive’s (PSD2) Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) mandate within the country. The UK government’s National Payments Vision (November 2024) outlines plans to explore new, “outcomes-based” approaches to authentication, a move aimed at reducing friction for consumers while maintaining fraud protection.

According to the report, more than half (51%) of British merchants would like to see SCA abolished altogether, reflecting growing frustration over the impact of regulation on customer experience. This could make the UK an outlier internationally, although the landscape is fast-shifting and merchant attitudes vary. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are tightening authentication mandates.  Around  72% of merchants have concerns about how the upcoming PSD3 legislation will affect conversion rates in the EEA — indicating potential support for an alternative approach, such as the UK’s.

Ravelin’s AI-native solutions are designed to help merchants manage this complexity at scale — including preventing fraud, boosting 3D Secure success, and optimising transactions. Ultimately, they enable merchants to accept more payments with confidence and craft seamless customer journeys without compromising on risk or compliance.