Two B2B Payment Signals for 2026: Virtual Cards and Fraud
Juniper Research projects global virtual card transaction value will reach $6.8 trillion in 2026. AFP reports that 76% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2025.
By Finexio · Published Jun 25, 2026 · Updated Jun 30, 2026
Methodology: Finexio reviewed the two linked third-party publications and limited the quantitative claims in this summary to the figures they report. The operating recommendations are Finexio's interpretation for finance teams.
Industry
Executive summary
Juniper Research projects global virtual card transaction value will reach $6.8 trillion in 2026. AFP reports that 76% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2025. For finance teams, the practical question is not whether AP should be automated. It is who owns the work after an invoice is approved: supplier outreach, payment method selection, exception handling, fraud controls, support, and reporting.
- $6.8T
- Projected global virtual card transaction value in 2026
- Source: Juniper Research
- 76%
- Organizations reporting attempted or actual payments fraud in 2025
- Source: AFP 2026 Payments Fraud and Control Survey
Why it matters now
The two published benchmarks make payment-method growth and payment-fraud exposure concrete. Finance teams can use them to examine the controls and operating work around supplier outreach, exceptions, status, and reconciliation after approval.
Finexio point of view
Finexio gives finance teams a way to modernize payment delivery without replacing the approval workflow. The buyer sends an approved payment file, and Finexio manages rail routing, supplier outreach, exceptions, controls, status, and reconciliation.
Operating moves to consider
- Separate invoice approval automation from payment execution ownership.
- Measure check share, supplier count, payment exceptions, and status requests together.
- Treat supplier enablement as an ongoing operation, not a one-time campaign.
- Review fraud controls around bank-account changes before moving more volume electronically.
Questions to validate
Which payment work still happens after invoice approval?
List the post-approval tasks that still sit with AP, treasury, or support, including supplier outreach, payment routing, exception handling, and status follow-up.
What share of supplier payments still need checks, reissues, or manual status follow-up?
Use check volume, failed payment count, reissue count, and supplier-status requests together so the team sees the real operating load, not only payment-method mix.
Which controls verify supplier changes before money moves?
Confirm who reviews supplier identity and bank-account changes, what independent evidence is required, and how the approval is logged before release.
What reconciliation output does finance need to close cleanly?
Define the fields accounting needs back from the payment workflow, including invoice, supplier, amount, date, tracking ID, funding record, and final status.