The subscription blind spot

This article is part of our Opinions section, where we invite industry professionals to share their views on the most pressing technology questions of our time.

In this article, Katerina Linhartova, Product Manager at Tapix by Dateio, examines the growing challenge of subscription management and the role banks can play in helping customers take control of recurring payments.

Consumers are accumulating more digital subscriptions than ever, yet they frequently lose track of what they are paying for. This creates a silent, continuous drain on personal finances.

When they finally notice, the race to cancel begins. Hunting through external app settings, trying to remember which debit card was saved, or contacting customer support transforms a minor UX oversight into a point of total frustration.

Because managing subscriptions across multiple merchant websites is fragmented and frustrating, the banking app is the logical venue to see, predict and manage what you pay for. 

The data-driven mandate: what consumers actually want

A global study by Mastercard and Datos Insights revealed that 77% of consumers want to manage all their recurring subscriptions directly inside their primary banking app. Crucially for bank product managers, 39% of respondents stated they would consider switching banks specifically to gain access to superior subscription management tools. Furthermore, joint research from Mastercard and FT Strategies highlights that 74% of consumers are more willing to sign up for new services if cancellation is easy, even as monthly subscriber churn across digital merchants approaches 20%.

This demand for clarity is particularly acute among younger demographics who carry high subscription volumes. Data from Visa shows that Gen Z consumers in the UK spend an average of £305 per month on subscriptions, significantly outspending Millennials (£261), Boomers (£108), and Gen X (£91). Yet, 35% of Gen Z respondents reported paying for a subscription or bill they no longer wanted, 25% missed a cancellation deadline, and 75% reported a negative experience with recurring payments. Similarly, an Ipsos study conducted in France revealed that 58% of 18-24-year-olds have forgotten to cancel a subscription, with 38% reporting mental fatigue from managing multiple commitments.

This pattern holds across regional markets in Central and Eastern Europe as well. In the Czech Republic, survey data from Revolut indicates that 82% of Czechs hold subscriptions, with 42% maintaining services they actively do not use, and, what I find astonishing, 17% of them forget they even hold any kind of subscription service.

Industry frameworks are now accelerating to meet this demand. Visa, for example, launched its Enhanced Subscription Manager alongside Pinwheel in early 2026. So why are so many banking apps behind?

How banks can build subscription tools that just work 

When talking about subscriptions, many imagine a list of streaming logos. However, flagging Netflix and Spotify is the easy part; after digging deeper, we found complexities that make subscription management essentially a data intelligence layer. To build the solution effectively, financial institutions must first distinguish between two distinct payment types: subscriptions and recurring payments. 

Subscriptions represent merchant-driven billing arrangements for ongoing services, such as streaming apps, digital software, or gym memberships, that are typically charged using saved payment card details or digital tokens. In contrast, recurring payments cover a broader category encompassing all scheduled financial obligations, including bank transfers and pattern-based transactions (e.g., public transport coupons, highway toll tickets). 

While most banks now offer overviews and relative control of standing orders and direct debits, the same is not true about subscriptions. There are four ways banks can deliver greater value to customers through subscription management:

• Subscription list: A passive feed displaying card-based subscriptions that have already been billed, complete with cleaned merchant logos and historical records. 
• Subscription overview: A planning tool that aggregates card subscriptions, standing orders, and direct debits into a single forecast. By identifying payment frequency, predicting the next billing date, and calculating upcoming committed spend, the overview positions the app as a personal financial planner and directly reduces chargebacks caused by forgotten charges.
• Subscription controls: The action layer that allows users to block, pause, or initiate cancellations directly within the app. However, banks must maintain clear messaging: blocking a card transaction declines the charge, but it does not legally terminate the customer’s contract with the merchant. Effective subscription control tools combine payment stopping with direct links to the merchant’s cancellation webpage.
• Subscription audit: A security-focused capability that reads network token vaults (such as Visa VTS or Mastercard MDES) to show every merchant holding the customer’s card credentials on file. This gives users visibility over dormant e-commerce tokens and forgotten merchant relationships.

Digital banking is moving from passive transaction lists to smart financial forecasting. Driven by evolving regulations and a new Visa mandate requiring European partner banks to offer in-app subscription controls by April 2026, subscription management is becoming essential to daily financial health.

Predictive forecasting in practice

A practical example of financial forecasting can be seen in how recurring payment intelligence can move beyond simple merchant categorisation. An intelligence layer can evaluate payment frequency, anticipate billing dates and predict charge amounts across both card transactions and bank transfers, giving banks a clearer picture of customers’ upcoming financial commitments.

By mapping the predicted billing date and predicted charge amount against real-time account balances, the system enables actionable, event-driven user guidance. Imagine that your Strava subscription is set to renew in two days. The system automatically cross-references the predicted renewal cost against available account funds and triggers a notification informing you that your balance is insufficient for the upcoming charge.

This allows account holders to top up their balance or cancel the subscription prior to billing, eliminating chargeback disputes and failed payment retries.

Ultimately, pairing a comprehensive subscription overview with actionable subscription controls provides the highest strategic value for digital banks. The financial institutions that want to win engagement will be those that move past simple transaction listings and will become a real financial partner to their customers.

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