When discussing risks in digital payments, most conversations immediately focus on cyberattacks, fraud, system outages, or operational failures. These risks are real, and they deserve attention. But there is another risk that receives far less attention despite having the potential to undermine the long-term success of an entire digital economy. That risk is fragmentation . Ironically, as digital payment ecosystems become more advanced, more innovative, and more interconnected, they can also become more fragmented. And fragmentation is often far more dangerous than a single system failure. The Risk We Talk About vs. The Risk We Ignore A system outage is visible. Everyone notices it. Transactions fail. Customers complain. Institutions mobilize. The issue is investigated and resolved. Fragmentation is different. It happens gradually. No alarms go off. No major incident occurs. Yet over time, the ecosystem becomes increasingly divided into separate platforms, isolated payment...