2026 payment processing trends you should know

Payment processing fraud has quietly become one of the fastest-growing financial threats facing medical practices today. While physicians tend to focus on clinical risk, compliance and reimbursement challenges, fraud tied to credit cards, patient portals and electronic payments is often overlooked — until real money is already gone.

As more practices rely on digital tools to collect co-pays, settle balances and communicate with patients, they are also exposing new entry points for bad actors. Patient portals, online bill pay, stored card information and even front-desk workflows can be exploited if safeguards aren’t in place. In many cases, fraudsters don’t break in — they blend in, using stolen credentials, social engineering or subtle payment manipulation that can go unnoticed for weeks or months.

By understanding how payment fraud works and where vulnerabilities exist, physicians and practice leaders can better protect their revenue, their patients’ data and the financial health of their organizations.

Medical Economics spoke with Stephanie O’Connor of Wind River Payments about how fraudsters target practices and what practices can do to protect themselves.