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The business environment is evolving rapidly as a result of European regulatory pressure, the mandatory adoption of new tax systems such as Verifactu, and the consolidation of TrustTech technologies. In this context, digital identity is positioned as the core of transactions, directly impacting customer onboarding, electronic signature, payment, and regulatory compliance processes.
Anticipating trends in digital identity, intelligent automation, and automated tax compliance is key to maintaining competitiveness and minimizing legal and operational risks. This article identifies and analyzes the eight strategic drivers that will redefine sales processes in 2026 from a technical, regulatory, and business perspective.
Unified Digital Identity With EUDI Wallet and eIDAS 2.0
The rollout of the EUDI Wallet (European Digital Identity Wallet) and the new eIDAS 2.0 framework are redefining how businesses verify identities and manage digital business relationships.
What changes for companies and users in digital business relationships?
- Unified and reusable identity: fragmented and repetitive processes are eliminated. Users share credentials that are verified once and reuse them across multiple services, always under their control.
- Increased security and drastic reduction in fraud: by relying on credentials issued by qualified authorities or entities, the risk of impersonation, false documents, or synthetic identities is minimized.
- Integrated onboarding and electronic signature: customers identify themselves and sign contracts in a single flow, without uploading documents or repeating steps. Advanced or qualified electronic signatures, recognized by eIDAS 2.0, provide immediate legal validity and traceability for evidence purposes.
All of this translates into less friction in the sales funnel, higher conversion rates, fewer abandoned digital transactions, and more consistent, secure, and reliable user experiences.
A real-life example of this trend is Pensumo, a savings and loyalty platform that has opted for digital identity and user verification to scale its business model securely. With the support of Tecalis, it has implemented robust digital identification processes that comply with European regulations and improve the end-user experience.
This is undoubtedly a success story that has enabled the company to reduce fraud, streamline onboarding, and build greater trust among its users, anticipating the requirements that will become standard in 2026.
Intelligent Automation of Onboarding and Sales Processes
This year, automation is not limited to digitizing forms. Companies are moving from manual, disconnected workflows to intelligent, orchestrated, and automated processes from start to finish.
The key in 2026 lies in designing comprehensive, autonomous commercial flows that integrate identification, verification, signature, payment, and activation into a single process.
Tecalis' Customer Hub exemplifies this trend by integrating identity, scoring, advanced electronic signatures, instant payments, and service activation in accordance with eIDAS 2.0, PSD2, Verifactu, and MiCA. It enables companies to:
- Verify the identity of individuals and companies (KYC/KYB).
- Apply intelligent business rules (scoring, risk validation, restrictive lists).
- Capture instant payments with enhanced authentication using SCA: card, Bizum, SEPA Instant.
- Sign contracts with a qualified electronic signature (QES) or advanced electronic signature (AES).
- Activate services in real time: mobile lines, bank accounts, insurance policies, etc.
This zero-friction approach not only improves the customer experience, but also increases conversion by 30-50%, according to internal data from more than 200 European customers.
At events such as Tecalis Industry Morning, it has been confirmed that more than 80% of B2C sales in regulated sectors will be fully digital and autonomous this year. In fact, the leading companies will be those capable of:
- Orchestrate complex digital flows in real time.
- Adapt processes to different sectors and channels.
- Dynamically incorporate business rules, scoring, and AI.
Companies that fail to adopt this vision will face higher operating costs, higher churn rates, and increasing regulatory risks. Intelligent automation will be a differentiating factor against competitors who continue to operate with fragmented systems.
Smart Kiosks and The Expansion of In-Person Self-Service
Despite the rise of digital commerce, in-person sales are being reinvented with smart self-service kiosks that combine the physical and digital worlds. By 2026, these devices will enable users to complete a registration or purchase process in less than three minutes, integrating digital identity, instant payments, and electronic signatures into a single flow. They thus become the perfect bridge between the physical and digital worlds, especially in regulated sectors such as banking, financial services, and Fintech.
The omnichannel model will allow customers to start a transaction in-store and continue it on their mobile device, or vice versa. This is supported by:
- Reusable digital identity (no need to re-upload documents).
- Real-time verification with AI engines.
- Integration with CRM and back office for full traceability.
- Immediate payments and activation (card, Bizum, SEPA).
A representative example is the Orange kiosk network deployed alongside Tecalis in Spain and France. These terminals activate mobile lines or cloud services without human assistance, which has generated a 25% increase in sales and a 40% reduction in costs, while also reinforcing the brand's innovative image.
Automated Tax Compliance and Verifactu's Maturity in 2026
In Spain, the Create and Grow Law has laid the foundations for the Verifactu system, which will become fully operational in 2027, but whose mandatory deadlines already affect 2026. This system, managed by the Tax Agency, requires all companies to issue interoperable electronic invoices that can be verified in real time and stamped with a qualified time stamp (eIDAS).
Invoices must include a verifiable public QR code and a qualified time stamp, in accordance with eIDAS 2.0. This requires companies to integrate their ERPs, POS terminals, and invoicing systems with certified platforms, such as those approved by the Spanish National Mint (FNMT).
Tax automation is not just a legal requirement: it is a competitive advantage. Companies that anticipate its implementation will avoid penalties, improve their relationships with suppliers and customers, and gain efficiency in audits and reconciliations.
AI Applied To The Business Cycle and Regulatory Compliance
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a complement but has become the core of the business cycle. It is no longer limited to chatbots or recommendations: it is integrated into risk management, fraud prevention, and sales optimization. The most critical applications include:
- Biometric verification with AI: detection of deepfakes, static photos, masks, or screens.
- Real-time scoring: creditworthiness or reputation analysis using public (commercial registers, bulletins) and private sources.
- KYC/KYB automation: automatic extraction and validation of corporate documents (deeds, tax identification numbers, powers of attorney).
- Anomaly detection: identification of suspicious behavior (e.g., multiple attempts with different IP addresses).
These capabilities not only reduce fraud, but also speed up decision-making: an SME can be verified and approved in seconds, not days.
A key resource for further reading is Tecalis' ebook “The Impact of AI on Your Business,” which analyzes real-world applications in banking, insurance, and e-commerce.
Consolidation of The TrustTech Ecosystem in Sales Processes
The TrustTech concept encompasses technologies aimed at generating digital trust. This year, it has been consolidated as a strategic pillar. Companies no longer purchase isolated tools, but rather integrated platforms that unify:
- Unified KYC and KYB (verification of individuals and companies in a single flow).
- Anti-fraud based on AI and relationship graphs (detection of fraudulent networks).
- Ethical data management with audited and traceable consent.
- Interoperability with European systems: EUDI Wallet, Verifactu, SII, etc.
These solutions offer a unified interface with AI engines that analyze data in real time, protecting businesses across all channels: web, mobile, physical stores, and kiosks.
The advantage is clear: fewer providers, fewer integrations, and more control. Platforms such as Tecalis allow you to manage the entire trust cycle from a single console, with complete traceability and automatic regulatory compliance.
The Expansion of Verified Payments and Advanced Signing
Both processes will become a central part of digital sales processes this year, especially in e-commerce and remote sales. Under PSD2 and the future PSD3, merchants are evolving from simple payment gateways to integrated verification, payment, and signature flows in a single journey. In the new commercial flows, three elements must be cryptographically linked:
- A verified identity (e.g., through EUDI Wallet or advanced KYC)
- A payment authenticated with SCA (card, Bizum, SEPA Instant)
- A qualified electronic signature (QES, in accordance with eIDAS).
When the customer's identity, payment, and signature are securely linked, only then can it be guaranteed that the customer is who they say they are, that they authorized the payment, and that they accepted the terms of the contract. This creates a “trinity” of digital trust that reduces fraud, improves the user experience, and provides legal certainty in the event of disputes.
This convergence is essential in sectors where contract values are high and regulatory risk is critical, and it also improves conversion: fewer steps, less abandonment, and transactions completed in minutes, fully traceable and auditable.
Fighting Deepfakes and Advanced Fraud in Digital Sales
Deepfakes pose a major threat to digital sales and remote contracts. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to imitate faces and voices so accurately that it fools verification systems. This compromises the authenticity of the identification process and the legal validity of agreements. If a signature comes from an impersonated identity, the contract loses its legal validity. As a result, companies may face financial losses, penalties, and reputational damage.
Leading companies incorporate multi-layered anti-fraud solutions into sales flows, accelerating conversions and customer trust:
- Analysis of microexpressions and eye movements to confirm that the person is alive and present—not represented by an image or video—ensuring that the person signing the contract is real and conscious.
- Detection of inconsistencies between voice and face, identifying mismatches in lip synchronization, tone, or accent that reveal synthetic content, especially critical in video identification processes.
- Cross-validation with official documents (ID card, passport, digital certificates), comparing live biometrics with the data on the NFC chip or the facial signature on the document, ensuring consistency between the declared identity and the actual identity.
- Passive environment verification, which confirms whether the interaction is occurring in front of a screen or in a real environment, without interrupting the user experience.
These layers turn security into a competitive advantage: agile flows, fewer dropouts, and irrefutable contracts in a world where identity is the primary transactional asset.
