Payment and identity fraud is no longer the work of isolated individuals: it has become an industry. In 16 pages, the Meelo 2026 report shows how it operates in the deepfake era, how Europe is fighting back (eIDAS 2.0, VoP, CCD2), and what you need to decide before the end of 2026.
Download the full report (PDF)Payment fraud reached 4.2 billion euros in the European Union, up 17% in one year. Behind that figure lies a turning point: identity theft, deepfakes and AI-generated fake accounts have turned artisanal fraud into an organised industry. The report deciphers this criminal value chain and its blind spots, the ones classic identity verification (KYC) no longer sees.
Facing the industrialisation of fraud, Europe is overhauling digital identity, payments and credit in parallel: the European identity wallet (EUDI Wallet, eIDAS 2.0) expected by the end of 2026, Verification of Payee (VoP) already in force, the CCD2 credit directive in November 2026 and the AI Act postponed to December 2027. The report lays out this regulatory calendar and identifies who will bear liability when fraud occurs.
For the fraud, risk and compliance teams of banks and financial services, insurance, automotive and leasing and energy. They all face the same questions: how to secure onboarding, detect document fraud and prepare for the European wallet without weighing down customer journeys. 16 pages, verified sources from 12 European institutions, a 20-minute read.