Adyen Platform Update Boosted Merchant Conversion Rates
Merchants can reduce checkout friction by automating authentication protocols through machine learning.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Business Strategy
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Adyen has released an updated payment authentication platform that uses machine learning to streamline transaction approvals for global merchants. The system has already demonstrated significant improvements in payment conversion, with early adopters seeing gains between 11% and 12%.
Why it matters
The update allows businesses to offload the technical burden of maintaining multiple, evolving authentication protocols like 3DS. By automating the decision-making process for when and how to authenticate, merchants can reduce friction for known customers while maintaining security.
Adyen reports a 12% increase in payment conversion for Just Eat Takeaway.com and an 11% relative increase for Too Good To Go using the platform. The system leverages its network reach, which includes records of over 90% of shoppers on its retail platform, to evaluate more than 150 data fields.
The players
Adyen
A global payments company that provides end-to-end payment infrastructure for online, mobile, and in-store channels.
Just Eat Takeaway.com
A multinational online food order and delivery company operating a global marketplace for restaurants and consumers.
Too Good To Go
A social impact company that operates a marketplace connecting consumers with surplus food from retailers and restaurants.
The details
The Authenticate platform replaces static 3DS rules with machine learning to determine authentication necessity and method selection in real time. It automatically routes transactions to protocols such as 3DS, Google SPA, or Visa and Mastercard Payment Passkeys based on network-wide risk signals. This approach aims to maximize issuer approval rates while minimizing the manual management typically required to update authentication settings.
Timeline
Adyen announced the platform update on September 22, 2026.
The company plans to roll out further enhancements and global expansion through 2027.
Market Landscape
This development tracks the evolution of the 3D Secure (3DS) authentication protocol within global digital commerce. It marks a transition from manual, rule-based management of security requirements toward automated, machine-learning-driven transaction routing.
Operators managing high-volume payment processing should evaluate whether their current authentication stack relies on static manual rules that cause unnecessary friction. Moving to an automated routing model could yield significant conversion gains by optimizing which authentication method triggers based on shopper risk profiles.
The takeaway
The move demonstrates that streamlining security checkpoints through intelligent automation is a primary lever for boosting conversion in digital retail. Audit your current payment stack to determine if your authentication protocols are performing at the industry-standard levels seen by early adopters.
Further reading
For more on operationalizing platform shifts, visit the Business Strategy section.
Live Poll
Do you find the authentication steps during online checkouts make you less likely to complete purchases?
