Connected payments matter because if your sales channels do not work together in payments, your omnichannel selling effort will not work at all. You may be able to take sales from various channels, but if the customer data, sales data, and returns data do not all go through the same system, you will find yourself in a world where data reporting is challenging, and sales visibility is greatly reduced. Payment Nerds even described connected payments as a payment system that works for online, in-store, and mobile sales channels.
The real question for 2026, then, will not be whether people can take payments from various channels. Instead, the question will be whether the payment processor can be connected to the customer and sales data to ensure that each channel feels like one business. Companies like Stripe and Adyen are already focusing on the omnichannel customer experience and the connected back end of the sales channel rather than the number of sales channels a business offers.
Why Omnichannel Merchants Are Adopting Connected Payments in 2026
Merchants are adopting connected payments to reduce friction in commerce, where customers are very particular about the experience. From buying online and picking up in store to returning in store after buying online, saving a credit card for later use, and more, customers and merchants both benefit from connected payments that allow for a seamless shopping experience. Adyen’s documentation on unified commerce explains that to manage omnichannel commerce successfully, merchants must connect their customer-facing systems to their back-end systems to maintain a holistic view of customers’ purchasing activity.
Payment Nerds explains the operational challenges faced by merchants who do not implement connected payment solutions. Currently, merchants who want omnichannel functionality must purchase and operate multiple systems across their different environments. Stripe’s guide to omnichannel payments explains that many businesses use these payment solutions to provide a more seamless experience for customers and merchants by unifying features and operations across their different channels. For the merchants, this means simplifying their systems and reducing the need to manually fix issues that can arise during the shopping experience.
Who Needs Connected Payment Systems in 2026?
Merchants who sell in more than one place, or who plan to soon, will benefit most from a connected payments system. Merchants with both ecommerce and in-store sales, or with pop-ups and events, will benefit from a single system to manage returns, customer history, and sales reports. Both Payment Nerds and Adyen note that businesses that benefit most from a connected payment system are those that need a single system to manage online, in-store, and mobile sales for their products and services.
Merchants that depend on multiple selling channels will find greater value in implementing a connected payments system than those with a single selling channel. Omnichannel merchants will ultimately find it more difficult to implement and manage separate payment systems for each sales channel than single-channel merchants.
Connected Payment Systems Compared
| Setup Type | Best For | Main Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-channel payment stack | Small merchants selling in one place | Simple setup | Breaks down quickly across multiple channels |
| Connected payment system | Omnichannel merchants with online and in-store sales | Shared payment data and cleaner reporting | Requires stronger implementation discipline |
| Unified commerce platform | Merchants wanting payments and customer journeys on one platform | Better cross-channel visibility | Can increase platform dependence |
| Hybrid processor-plus-integration model | Merchants wanting more flexibility across software systems | Better fit for custom workflows | More planning and integration work up front |
The difference is not just in software architecture, but in how well systems share data across channels. A connected setup lets the merchant treat orders, customers, and payment events as part of the same operating system. That is the core idea behind Payment Nerds’ connected-payments positioning and the omnichannel guidance published by Stripe and Adyen.
How to Choose the Right Connected Payment System in 2026
Start with workflow. If your biggest pain point is returns across channels, customer recognition across channels, shared reporting between channels, or in-store pickup of online orders, these factors should influence your payment system purchase more than the brand of the payment terminal you use. Stripe and Adyen both talk about omnichannel payments in terms of customer journeys and operational connectedness, which is the right lens for viewing the space when choosing a payment system.
Look at four things: channel support, customer data support, reporting improvements, and security improvements. A good connected payment system will offer online, in-store, and mobile payment functionality, maintain payment and customer data across channels, improve reporting capabilities, and make ecommerce payment page security easier to manage. If it fails in any of these areas, it is likely not a connected payment system but one that offers payment solutions for multiple channels without the connectedness required for a true connected payment system.
Cost of Connected Payment Systems
There’s no single price for connected payments; it generally comes down to the cost of processing payments versus the cost of the software itself. Ultimately, it depends on whether a connected payments system can reduce your current reconciliation efforts, improve customer experiences, and eliminate workarounds across individual channels.
Companies like Payment Nerds and Stripe focus on the efficiencies of connected payments rather than the payments themselves. So the question becomes: what does the connected payments system eliminate for your business? If a business can eliminate duplicate payment tools and reduce reporting issues for online and in-store sales, any system that does so will provide more value than one that is cheaper but requires more manual effort across different business software programs. For businesses that utilize multiple sales channels, this cost is usually more important than a small difference in payment rates.
Common Connected Payment Mistakes Omnichannel Merchants Make
The first mistake is thinking that omnichannel means accepting payments in more places. You could accept payments online and in-store, but if your system is not connected, you will miss out on the benefits of integration. Adyen makes it very clear in their documentation that merchants who do not have their back-end systems integrated with their payment systems will miss out on valuable insights into their business.
The second mistake is focusing solely on the front-end of checkout while ignoring ecommerce payment page security. According to the Payment Card Industry’s 2025 data, ecommerce merchants must protect their online payment systems against e-skimming. This is only as strong as the weakest link in your connected payment channels.
What Should Connected Payment Systems Handle in 2026?
Online, In-Store, And Mobile Checkout
Payment Nerds, Stripe, and Adyen all make it clear that a connected payment system should support merchants receiving payments online, in-store, and from mobile devices. If a merchant can only accept payments from these three channels, they likely do not have a connected payment system that functions appropriately.
Shared Customer Profiles And Payment History
Adyen, Stripe, and Square all indicate that an omnichannel payment system should allow a merchant to track the same customer that completed an online purchase at the store in person. If a merchant cannot connect these two systems, they will struggle to provide customers with the best experience and support.
Returns, Exchanges, And Cross-Channel Order Handling
If a customer purchases an item online from a company’s website and returns the item in person at a store, the store should not have to research the purchase to take inventory of the item. Omnichannel payment systems like Stripe and Square aim to allow customers to move seamlessly between channels without difficulties.
Reporting And Reconciliation Across Channels
A strong omnichannel payment system should allow a merchant to easily track aspects of sales including how much money settled, how many items were sold online and in person, how many items were refunded, and from which channel the sales were made. Companies like Payment Nerds and Adyen indicate that disconnected payments and sales channels leave merchants without the sales and transaction insights they require to manage their business appropriately.
Secure Ecommerce Payment Pages
Regardless of the payment system in place, ecommerce merchants are required to secure their payment pages. The 2025 guidance from the PCI Security Council on securing ecommerce payment pages requires merchants to protect their pages from script activity and tampering. This requirement applies to all channels, online and in person.
Future Channel Expansion
A good payment system will work for a merchant’s current channels, but also have the flexibility to accommodate additional channels in the future. Payment Nerds specifically mentions that a good payment system should work across all environments to avoid the need for merchants to implement separate systems for each environment. Omnichannel merchants will eventually expand their sales channels, so the payment system should be able to handle this expansion to avoid difficulties in the future.
FAQs
Q: What are connected payments?
A: Connected payments refer to payment systems that hold all transactions within one system. Companies like Payment Nerds and Adyen have described this as having one payment system across channels with connected back-end visibility.
Q: What does a connected payment processor mean for an omnichannel merchant?
A: It means connecting the processor with existing business systems for omnichannel merchants. Instead of having individual systems for each channel to manage transactions, the merchant can manage transactions for all channels by connecting them to their existing systems.
Q: Why do omnichannel merchants need connected payment systems?
A: Merchants need connected payment systems because customers are moving between channels so easily. Using disconnected systems for payments will make it harder for merchants to accommodate this need.
Q: What should merchants compare payment systems on?
A: Merchants should compare channel support, shared customer and payment history, reconciliation, and online payment page security. These are the top factors for omnichannel merchants, ahead of the number of available payment methods.
Q: Will using connected payments reduce reconciliation work?
A: Yes, if the systems are connected and implemented correctly. Payment Nerds specifically stated that using a connected payment system would reduce reporting gaps between online and in-person channels.
Q: Does ecommerce security still matter with a connected payment system?
A: Yes, even with a connected payment system, merchants that participate in ecommerce are responsible for securing their payment pages from unauthorized scripts and data tampering.
Conclusion
The best connected payment system for an omnichannel merchant will make it feel like every sales channel is part of the same business. The system should automate sales channels, returns, reporting, and payments to maximize visibility and minimize manual processes.
If your current connected payment system makes it harder for your business to manage returns, reporting, and customers, then the Payment Nerds can help you compare connected payment systems that might work better for your business. It’s not about the number of sales channels you can add payments to. It’s about how well they all work together.
Need Connected Payment Solutions for Your Omnichannel Business?
Sources
- Payment Nerds. “Connected Payments | Unified & Seamless Processing.” Accessed April 2026.
- Adyen. “Omnichannel.” Accessed April 2026.
- Stripe. “Omnichannel Payments Platforms: What You Need to Know.” Accessed April 2026.
- Square. “Omnichannel Retail: Definition, Strategy, and Examples.” Accessed April 2026.
- PCI Security Standards Council. “Payment Page Security and Preventing E-Skimming.” Accessed April 2026.
