Payments modernization: Playing the long game
November 17, 2020
November 17, 2020
We’ve seen remarkable disruption—in all areas of life—due to COVID-19. The payments industry is no different. The pandemic has accelerated our movement away from cash toward digital payments, and the payments modernization trend shows no signs of slowing down. Accenture forecasts nearly 2.7 trillion transactions worth US$48 trillion will shift from cash to cards and digital payments in the next decade.
This is an important opportunity to innovate.
To understand whether banks are ready to take advantage of this opportunity, Accenture surveyed executives about their payments modernization programs. Even though most acknowledged the importance of investing in payments modernization, only a handful have unlocked material business value from their programs.
7 out of 10
executives agree that transforming the payments industry is a core pillar of their larger digital program
13%
of executives say their institution has increased payments revenue in the last three years by more than the average market growth of 6 percent
Accenture identified two key opportunities for incumbent banks to capture returns from their payments modernization investments.
With increasing pressure from incumbent and emerging competitors in the payments arena, banks understand that it’s time to step up their transformation. Customers were already migrating to digital, and the pandemic has only accelerated this trend. There is significant value to be unlocked by banks that take a holistic, coordinated and strategic approach to modernizing their entire payments architecture. We've identified four important steps in this journey:
Banks that take a step back to look at the big picture, and then focus on business-led payments transformation instead of urgent regulatory mandates, will be best positioned to drive long-term value.
As you develop your business-led payments transformation strategy, there are a few questions that are worth considering:
We would love to hear your questions and feedback on our report, “Playing the long game in payments modernization”. If you would like to talk through any of the issues raised above, please get in touch; one of our payments experts will contact you to set up a call.
There is significant value to be unlocked by banks that take a holistic, coordinated and strategic approach to modernizing their entire payments architecture.