Person holding a mobile phone and payment card

30 December 2025

Polar Moment’s Payments Perspective: December 2025

Read how payment choice is shaping UK consumer behaviour and what Lloyds’ acquisition of Curve means for the future of digital wallets in this month’s Payments Perspective.

Payment Choice Now Drives Purchasing Decisions

New Access Paysuite research confirms that payment choice is becoming one of the strongest predictors of customer conversion in the UK.

According to the study, nearly half of consumers say they have abandoned a purchase because their preferred payment method wasn’t available. The data highlights a wider trend we see across retail and subscription businesses: customers increasingly expect seamless choice — from direct bank payments and digital wallets, to traditional card rails.

The report also notes rising comfort with alternative payment methods, particularly among younger demographics who expect low-friction, mobile-first experiences. For merchants, the takeaway is clear: offering a broad range of payment options is no longer a “nice to have” but a key differentiator, which directly influences revenue, loyalty, and customer satisfaction.

Find out more here: Access Paysuite research shows payment choice driving UK consumer behaviour. (opens in a new tab)

Lloyds and Curve: the Future of Digital Wallets

Lloyds Banking Group’s acquisition of Curve highlights a growing belief among incumbent banks that digital wallets will become ubiquitous in everyday banking and payments.

Rather than competing head-on with big tech wallets, Lloyds is backing Curve’s model as an aggregation and orchestration layer, which sits above cards and accounts. Curve allows customers to consolidate multiple payment cards into a single app, control how transactions are routed, and access enhanced features such as spend tracking, switching payment sources after purchase, and integrated rewards.

The acquisition reflects a strategic shift: banks recognising that customer engagement increasingly happens at the payment interface, not just within traditional current accounts. By acquiring Curve, Lloyds gains a ready-made wallet platform that can evolve independently of legacy banking infrastructure, while still benefiting from bank-grade trust, scale, and regulatory oversight.

Find out more here: Lloyds and Curve: betting on the future of digital wallets (opens in a new tab).

Merry Christmas!

We’d like to express our sincere thanks to all our clients, partners, and friends across the payments industry.

At Polar Moment, we remain committed to bringing clarity, expertise, and technical excellence to every engagement. Thank you for the trust you place in us.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a successful year ahead.

The Polar Moment team.