Payments Modernization Stalls as Confidence Outpaces Action
Event summary
- A new study by ACI Worldwide and Globant surveyed 500 payments industry leaders across five regions.
- 69% of executives consider their organizations payments leaders, yet only 44% prioritize payments innovation at the C-suite level.
- 55% of executives admit to not fully utilizing existing technology, and 44% cite legacy platforms as a major obstacle.
- By 2026, the report predicts secure, instant, and seamless transactions will be the baseline expectation for customers.
- The study identifies eight key predictors of leadership, grouped into three pillars, linking modernization efforts to outcomes.
The big picture
ACI Worldwide's study highlights a critical inflection point for the payments industry. While innovation is broadly acknowledged, the inability to translate ambition into action, driven by legacy infrastructure, cultural resistance, and talent gaps, threatens to create a significant divide between leaders and laggards. The accelerating demand for instant, secure, and seamless transactions, coupled with looming regulatory changes like ISO 20022 migration, will exacerbate this divide and necessitate rapid modernization.
What we're watching
- Execution Risk
- The widening gap between confidence and readiness suggests a significant execution risk for many payments firms, potentially leading to a two-tiered market by 2026.
- Regulatory Headwinds
- The pressure from regulatory requirements, cited by 63% of executives, will likely intensify, forcing accelerated modernization efforts and potentially impacting profitability.
- Talent Scarcity
- The persistent talent shortage, impacting 14% of respondents, will constrain modernization efforts and could lead to increased wage pressures within the payments sector.
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