The Future of Cybersecurity in Payment Systems: From Preventing Attacks to Building Trust in The Global Digital World

Abstract: This study investigates the evolving role of trust as a central pillar in contemporary cybersecurity strategies within global payment systems. Employing a qualitative meta-analytical approach and multi-case comparative analysis, the research explores how trust influences the design, adoption, and regulation of three major payment innovations: mobile money platforms in sub-Saharan Africa, cryptocurrency ecosystems, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in Nigeria, China, and Sweden. Data were drawn from empirical studies and institutional reports, analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings reveal that technical security alone is insufficient for user engagement; instead, institutional credibility, regulatory assurance, and positive user experience significantly drive trust. In low-resource settings, such as Africa, platforms like M-Pesa gain user confidence through reliability and accessibility. In contrast, in cryptocurrency markets, systemic failures like FTX erode trust despite blockchain transparency. For CBDCs, adoption depends largely on public confidence in state institutions and their data protection practices. The study concludes that the future of cybersecurity must shift from reactive threat mitigation to proactive trust-building, emphasising trust-by-design, digital literacy, regulatory transparency, and international cyber norms. Trust is not a secondary outcome of secure systems—it is the strategic foundation upon which they must be built.