Latest Payments reports and research: Finextra Research

Impact Study

How can businesses bridge the gaps in their cashflow?

Macroeconomic forces are ratcheting up the cashflow pressures of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large middle market (LMM) enterprises. How can they optimise cashflow? While the consumer space has experienced a wave of digitisation – with credit initiatives thriving, such as embedded finance and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) schemes – the equivalent trend has been slower to advance within the business world. This may be for several reasons, such as structural, regulatory and governance delays – particularly in Central Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, given the increasingly debit-heavy market in Europe, the need for cashflow solutions remains. More than ever, businesses stand to benefit from revolving credit facilities (RFC) to bridge gaps in their working capital, boost liquidity and sharpen their short-term financial health. Such solutions offer a means to weather the unpredictability of global market forces and get behind new projects that require upfront investment, like expansions or productivity hikes. Some SMB markets, however, show more receptiveness than others. In France, Italy and Germany, there has been strong adoption of deferred debit, along with overdrafts and loans – with less enthusiasm for classic RCFs. The United Kingdom (UK)’s SMB sector, meanwhile, has welcomed credit cards to bolster its books. Yet across the board there is a need for solutions that are tailored to each vertical and cover the full gamut of businesses’ modern-day requirements, including transparent e-invoicing, dynamic discounting, chargebacks, factoring, interest-free credit, digitisation, and so on. Historically, banks have been good at serving the large corporate space vertically, though not so good in the SMB space; typically viewing it from a one-size-fits-all perspective. This approach is no longer tenable, as evidenced by the success of newer entrants. SMBs and LMMs are not just looking to hand down instant and embedded credit services to their customers, they are looking to pass it on to the organisations they transact with – ensuring their sales journey and purchasing experience is cutting-edge and flexible. This Finextra impact study, in association with Visa, explores: New market pressures and the evolving needs of SMBs and LMMs; How organisations can bridge cashflow gaps with working capital solutions; The benefits of tailoring solutions by vertical; and Real-life case studies to showcase the options available.

11 July 2025 2 downloads

Impact Study

Case Management: The key to revolutionising cross-border payments

While the challenges of case management and inefficient E&I processes are not new, the need to address them is more pressing than ever – especially given the G20’s roadmap deadline and the impending global migration to ISO 20022. In today’s digital era, end-users expect payments to be faster, cheaper and more convenient than ever before – whether domestic or cross-border. As global payment barriers are overcome, banks are tasked not only with meeting customer demands, but business and regulatory ones too. Enhanced cross-border payments – as supported by the G20’s roadmap and the richer data that ISO 20022 provides – are becoming a real differentiator, with the capability to unlock tremendous value for institutions. However, while a lot of attention is paid to seamless transactions, one area has historically been overlooked: exceptions and investigations (E&I). This continues to present a significant challenge for both payment providers and corporates, and is impacting numerous networks and technologies. Yet, if harnessed effectively, E&I tools can help institutions significantly reduce costs, speed up processing times, improve transparency and, by extension, satisfy the G20’s targets. This Finextra impact study, in partnership with Swift, explores: The advantages of effective E&I processes; Why solutions are needed to reach the next level; and How banks can effectively embed them in their infrastructures.

25 June 2025 152 downloads

Future of Report

The future of payments in major global markets: A mid-decade review

2025 is a significant year for the global payments industry. Marking the midpoint of the decade, and witnessing pivotal trends like the rise of real-time payments, advanced fraud detection and prevention, data portability, and open finance—these interlinked developments will set the stage for innovation through to 2030 and beyond. The payments industry is now at the tipping point of global innovation, especially with global e-commerce market revenue projected to reach over $4.3 billion in 2025 and grow by 8% (CAGR 2025-2029). Further, by 2026, 5.2 billion people, or more than 60% of the global population, are expected to use digital wallets. The value of global transactions through account-to-account (A2A) payments is also predicted to rise from $1.7 trillion in 2024 to $5.7 trillion by 2029 – an increase of 230%. This will also pave the way for real-time payments to boom, with an expected CAGR of over 35% from 2024 to 2032. Looking at major global markets, the UK has continued to be at the forefront of the global payments revolution, quickly emerging as a hub for open banking as a result of the PSD2 directive and the UK’s pioneering standard. In October 2024, the Data Use and Access Bill was introduced to the House of Lords, signalling the UK’s commitment to bolstering open banking’s data sharing principles. Similarly, a month later, the National Payments Vision was unveiled, charting a clear path for the entire ecosystem to leverage technologies such as AI and DLT. The payments revolution is also taking over Europe. The Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) is rolling out instant payments by amending SEPA and adding specific provisions on instant credit transfers in euro to existing cross-border regulation: the Settlement Finality Directive (SFD) and the Payment Services Directive (PSD2). IPR also demands for Verification of Payee (VoP), confirming a recipient's account details before a payment is made and bringing down increasing numbers of fraud, particularly in the instant payments space. Similar to other regions, the US has made significant steps toward the innovation and interoperability of real-time payments – most recently through the launch of FedNow in 2023, the Federal Reserve’s real-time payment rail. Predictions show a total value of $95 billion in-app social commerce payments by 2030 in the US alone, meaning the integration of open banking is pivotal to maximising the value to be gained from e-commerce. However, the impact of the Trump administration’s strains on the CFPB and how that will effect Section 1033 and open banking in the US will be seen. This Finextra report, in association with Form3, examines the impact of these crucial advancements on the future of global payment schemes in the UK, Europe and the US, highlighting insights from experts at Bank of America, Crédit Agricole, ING, J.P. Morgan Payments, Lloyds, Santander, and Truist.

23 June 2025 319 downloads

Report

PaaS, cloud and instant payments: Navigating the outsourcing question

Today’s institutions are in some ways faced with far greater challenges than ever before. Be it from the demand for ever-faster services; the pressure of always-on compliance; or the need to remain agile and competitive. Is PaaS the holy grail FIs have been looking for? Outsourcing payments is an increasingly irresistible proposition for FIs. With end-user demand constantly evolving; real-time requirements on the rise; macro-economic trends becoming ever more unpredictable; and the pressure of regulatory compliance ratcheting up, the provision of proprietary payments has become a thorny pursuit. Enter the stage: cloud technology. By leveraging modern tools and techniques to build, deploy, run, and manage software in a cloud-computing environment, FIs of all kinds can take advantage of scalability, elasticity, and automation. But the benefits of Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) can extend beyond these practicalities – serving to revolutionise bank operations, unlock broader efficiencies, and enrich the end-user experience. Mining this potential, however, obliges institutions to navigate some challenges. First, FIs must understand the potential of cloud-native technology as an engine for modernisation and embrace the cultural shift that is triggered by cuttingedge technologies. It may involve training, testing and concerted integration efforts. Another key challenge is delegation: which tasks should be handed to third parties, and which should remain in-house? Indeed, when systems evolve, FIs must always keep one eye on compliance. As ever, approach and growth potential are directly impacted by the type and size of the institution in question, so approaches should be tailored. This Finextra whitepaper, produced in association with FIS, evaluates: The key considerations when placing client transaction data in the public cloud; The art of delegation: Determining which tasks to offload; The role of regulation and compliance; and A PaaS checklist for finding the right solutions and partnerships. Register to watch the related Finextra webinar, hosted in association with FIS – PaaS, cloud and instant payments in the spotlight: Overcoming outsourcing challenges

09 June 2025 273 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of European Fintech 2025: A Money20/20 Special Edition

A special edition for Money20/20 Europe 2025. The European fintech space is seeing leaps and bounds in digital innovation, financial technology, and operational resilience. With incoming regulation focused on standarising the sector and disruptive fintech firms challenging banks - the ecosystem is in a transitional period. Among these challenges, the fintech boom is sweeping the continent. New developments in AI, tokenisation, digital identity, open banking, and more is redefining the banking sector. Europe is primed to act as the epicentre for global fintech innovation. This Finextra report dives into industry sentiment on what the future holds for European fintech, featuring key insights from NatWest Group, Standard Chartered, BNY Mellon, Magnetiq Bank, GoCardless, Moore Kingston Smith, Stripe, and Augmentum Fintech. It explores: AI and predictive analytics integration in payments; Enabling financial inclusion and accessibility in emerging markets; The role of digital identity and behavioural biometrics in financial services; Innovation in regulatory practices; The revolutionary power of smart data and decentralised finance.

03 June 2025 242 downloads

Event Report

Business@EBAday 2025

Your Essential Guide to Payments Innovation: Business@EBAday 2025 is Here! Business@EBAday 2025 is your exclusive digital companion to this year's premier payments and transaction banking event. This comprehensive supplement provides the latest insights from the leading companies exhibiting and sponsoring EBAday, offering a unique perspective into the innovations driving our industry forward. What's Inside? Inside, you'll find articles and thought leadership pieces covering the most critical topics in payments today, including: The Road Ahead for ISO 20022 Migration: Understand the challenges, opportunities, and strategic implications as the industry moves towards richer data. Strengthening Defenses with Verification of Payee (VoP): Explore the latest strategies and technologies in fraud prevention. The Transformative Power of AI in Payments: Discover how artificial intelligence is reshaping operations, enhancing security, and creating new possibilities. Unlocking Efficiency with Virtual Accounts and Instant Payments: Dive into cutting-edge solutions for streamlined liquidity management and real-time processing. And much more! Hear diverse perspectives on cross-border payments, regulatory shifts, building robust ecosystems, and achieving operational excellence. This supplement is an invaluable resource for: Payments professionals seeking strategic foresight. Financial institutions looking for actionable insights. Fintech innovators exploring collaborative opportunities. Anyone keen to understand the future trajectory of the payments industry. Get a head start on the EBAday experience and equip yourself with knowledge from the industry's thought leaders. Have a look inside! Business@EBAday 2025 is produced jointly by EBA and Finextra Research.

19 May 2025 296 downloads

Survey

Navigating the Nordic financial landscape: 2025 challenges and priorities

As the Nordic financial sector faces new hurdles and opportunities, a variety of issues are front and centre for financial institutions, technology providers, and fintechs. Our latest survey of 150 responses reveals how Nordic institutions across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are navigating the current landscape and their strategic priorities for 2025. Providing valuable insights into areas such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), Verification of Payee (VoP), AI’s growing role in financial services, perspectives on central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoin, and evolving payment trends such as Account-to-Account (A2A) and instant payments.  Analysis of our survey responses provides a comprehensive overview on how Nordic institutions are navigating transformation shaped by innovation, regulation, and evolving customer expectations, with progress and priorities varying by country. We explore regional specific views towards: Key priorities for 2025 Readiness for Verification of Payee (VoP) Strategic AI integration for real impact The rise of A2A, instant, and mobile payments Attitudes towards central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoin The impact of DORA

28 April 2025 338 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of US Digital Payments 2025: ACH & Beyond

A special edition for Nacha's Smarter Faster Payments 2025. The US digital payments landscape stands at a transformative crossroads. With the launch of RTP in 2016 and FedNow in 2023, the foundational infrastructure for instant payments is finally in place - poised to revolutionise the speed, efficiency, and security of transactions across the economy. Yet despite these advancements, the path to widespread adoption remains complex and cautious. Entrenched systems like ACH and Wire, with their deep integration and long-standing reliability, continue to dominate due to their established utility and the significant investment required to pivot toward newer rails. It’s not just a question of technological readiness, but of mindset, cost, and strategy. The advantages of instant payments—real-time access to funds, reduced credit risk, and improved liquidity—are clear. However, to truly unlock these benefits, banks and institutions must overcome the inertia of legacy systems and embrace modernisation, often with the support of flexible, cloud-native solutions that can de-risk and streamline the transition. This Finextra report, in association with Form 3, explores industry sentiment on the future of US digital payments and showcases the views of BNY, Citizens, Green Dot, J.P. Morgan, U.S. Bank, and the US Faster Payments Council. It explores: Evolving ACH infrastructure; Enhancing RPT and FedNow capabilities; How new rails interact with existing rails; Redefining transactional architecture through emerging technologies; Recognising risk as a strategic advantage in fraud prevention; Prioritising innovation and compliance at the same time.

25 April 2025 384 downloads

Event Report

ISO 20022 for CBPR+: Driving Efficiency and Innovation in Financial Messaging

How far is the industry along its ISO 20022 for CBPR+ journey? The financial industry is on the brink of a significant transformation with the implementation of ISO 20022 for cross-border payments and reporting (CBPR+). This new standard promises to revolutionise transaction handling by offering enhanced data quality, improved compliance, and greater operational efficiency. The shift from the current MT format, which is becoming insufficient in today’s data-driven and regulatory-focused environment, to ISO 20022 addresses these challenges with a more structured and comprehensive framework for financial messaging. This transition is crucial for banks and non-bank financial institutions to understand and prepare for as it enables more effective communication across borders and systems. The reconciliation of payments, especially for corporate and SME sectors, demands accuracy in linking all related data. ISO 20022 significantly streamlines this process by enhancing data richness and interoperability across various payment systems. This report highlights the key takeaways of a Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Finastra, by a panel of industry experts. Discover: How far the industry has come in the transition, the challenges organisations are facing, and the strategic importance of ISO 20022 for CBPR+ adoption.

15 April 2025 315 downloads

Event Report

The US Instant Payments Landscape: Navigating Growth and Challenges

The increasing demand for instant payment solutions is a key trend driving the adoption of faster payments. This webinar report explores what is holding instant payments back in the US. In the US, real-time payments (RTP) have grown significantly since The Clearing House introduced them in 2017. Currently, the RTP network covers approximately 70% of customer accounts in the US, with transaction volumes and values rising dramatically. The Federal Reserve’s FedNow service, launched in mid-2023, has also contributed to this growth, processing a substantial number of payments in its initial quarters. These networks provide low-cost, efficient payment solutions that are gaining popularity for both consumer and business transactions. Despite this progress, challenges remain in the adoption of faster payments. Interoperability between different payment systems and networks is a primary issue. While domestic instant payments are becoming more common, cross-border instant payments face obstacles due to the complexity of multi-currency transactions and varying regulations across countries. Additionally, the regulatory environment in the US does not mandate the adoption of faster payments, which can slow down the pace of implementation compared to other markets with regulatory mandates. This report highlights the key takeaways of a Finextra webinar, hosted for the PREDICT 2025 campaign, by a panel of industry experts. It aims to answer: What is holding Faster Payments back in the US and how much progress can be attributed to open banking and the ISO 20022 standard? Which applications of Faster Payments in the UK are transferrable to the US? With RtP and FedNow, how much choice is too much choice? What evidence is there that the financial services industry is at a tipping point and technology must be leveraged to ramp up adoption?

28 February 2025 353 downloads

White Paper

Confirmation of Payee progress and APP fraud mitigation: Where are we now?

This report compares Confirmation of Payee progress and APP fraud mitigation across EMEA, APAC and North America, and features expert commentary from AccessPay, Bottomline, Finastra and NatWest. APP fraud losses are expected to double across EMEA, APAC and North America, and legislation mandating CoP on a national or regional basis must be established across the globe. It is estimated that APP fraud losses in the UK, India and the UK will hit $5.25 billion, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 21% across the 2022-2026 period, according to an ACI Worldwide and GlobalData report. Action must be taken, and if regulations are not put in place, financial institutions and PSPs must ensure they are leveraging technology solutions to bolster verification mechanisms themselves. Striking the balance between protecting the end customers, adding minimal friction to processes, and assessing fraud prevention procedures will be a cumbersome, yet important, project. This Finextra report, produced in association with LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, explores how to meet that need, and: The state of play for APP fraud and misdirected payment fraud across EMEA, APAC, and North America; How success stories in EMEA will set the trend for other regions; The impact non-CoP initiation in APAC will have on international payments; and What the future holds for technology solutions that can detect account activity in North America.

26 February 2025 614 downloads

Event Report

Risk-based authentication: Enhancing security and user experience in fraud prevention

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the importance of robust cross-channel authentication cannot be overstated. As businesses and consumers increasingly interact across multiple platforms, ensuring secure and seamless authentication processes is paramount. Online platforms have become integral to modern financial activities, which necessitates secure and seamless transactions, backed up by robust authentication mechanisms. Risk-based authentication offers a dynamic security approach, balancing user convenience with stringent fraud prevention. The integration of cross-channel data and advanced technologies like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) is vital, as well as access and understanding of data. High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective fraud prevention and detection, which is why organisations must invest in robust data engineering practices to ensure collected data is accurate and well-labelled. This investment enables the development of sophisticated models to better identify and prevent fraudulent activities. Prioritising data quality enhances fraud prevention strategies, protecting businesses and their customers from potential threats. So how can organisations holistically address risk-based authentication in a dynamic world? This webinar report summarises the discussion of a Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Mastercard, and explores: Risk-based authentication in fraud prevention; Adapting fraud prevention to evolving threats; Advanced authentication strategies for corporate fraud prevention; Digital IDs, channels, and exclusion.

21 February 2025 276 downloads

Impact Study

Cross-border payments: How is the market addressing G20 targets?

This impact study explores how far along the G20’s cross-border roadmap firms have travelled; why cutting-edge technology platforms are imperative in today’s instant payments world; as well as how financial leaders can go beyond the G20’s objectives, in order to ensure prosperity for the coming decade. The cross-border payments market is one of the fastest growing money movement markets in the world. It reached $150 trillion in 2017, and by 2027 is expected to reach $250 trillion – a rise of over $100 trillion in just ten years. There are several factors that have led to the increase in global remittances, be they wholesale or retail in origin, including expanding supply chains; globalised investment flows; international trade and e-commerce; as well as the increased global movement of people, resulting in more money being sent across borders. While cross-border payments are booming, many financial institutions are still struggling to keep their technology platforms up to speed, and the drive toward real-time is having deep ramifications for organisations’ operations. To address these challenges, a gathering of some of the world’s largest economies, known as the Group of Twenty (G20), set out a roadmap in 2021 to improve cross-border payments. Also providing impetus for widespread modernisation are mandated initiatives like new, and continually evolving, ISO 20022 message and data standards and the European Union (EU)’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) – forcing players in the highly-competitive payments space to invest in smarter services, customer centricity, and on top of that, become the engines of growth. This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Temenos, explores: A status update on the G20 cross-border targets; The need for modernisation - an overview of other factors affecting cross-border payments; A roadmap for change beyond G20; Real-life case studies.

19 February 2025 489 downloads

Impact Study

Are you ready for CBPR+? Accelerating modernisation and efficiency through ISO 20022

Challenges and strategies for financial messaging professionals to be CBPR+ compliant by November 2025. Financial institutions’ ISO 20022 for CBPR+ migration timelines vary enormously, yet the deadline is the same for all financial institutions – whether they have fully adopted ISO 20022 or are yet to make significant progress. By November 2025, ISO 20022 will become the sole globally recognised standard for interbank cross-border payments, and the new MX messaging format will fully replace the old MT messaging format. Concerningly, adoption has not picked up as significantly since the co-existence period began in November 2023. In January 2024, the ISO 20022 adoption rate of the top 175 financial institutions stood at 19%. By December 2024, this number had grown to 32.9%. It’s clear that institutions need to significantly accelerate their migration efforts over the next few months – or risk the consequences of non-compliance. ISO 20022 is not just a compliance update – the data-rich format enables organisations to enhance their analytical capabilities, improve their service offering, improve straight-through processing, strengthen anti-money laundering and compliance efforts, and more. This impact study explores readiness for the impending ISO 20022 for CBPR+ deadline and features commentary from experts at Finastra and Visa. It answers: What needs to happen between today and November? What are the main challenges institutions have been facing? How can they streamline successful strategies to hit compliance by November and beyond? What happens in November 2025 for organisations that have not made the deadline? Join the Finextra webinar, 'The ISO 20022 for CBPR+ deadline is looming: Are financial organisations prepared?', hosted with Finastra, to learn more.

05 February 2025 337 downloads

Impact Study

Bank Legacy Transformation: Exploring the Solutions

Where do banks stand with legacy transformation today? What are the market factors and changing consumer demands that make transformation increasingly crucial? Legacy transformation is not a new challenge for banks. However, as technology capability continues to advance, along with it the potential for innovation and new business models serving a digital customer base, the pressure of no longer being constrained by legacy infrastructure intensifies. Despite being the central nervous system for banks’ operations for decades serving a business purpose, legacy systems have become inadequate, and those trained to use them may lack the skills needed to meet sophisticated demands for real-time and seamless experiences. Here’s how banks can decouple their systems from each other to evolve and grow, untangle technology challenges to drive digitisation, and invest in technology and employees to ensure obstacles to rapid and gradual modernisation are removed. This impact study, produced in association with Veritran, will: Consider frameworks that prioritise initiatives based on their impact; Explore specific recommendations for each of these challenges; Propose strategies on how to integrate systems that will address data silos; Highlight clear ROI examples, efficiency gains, and enhanced customer outcomes; and Emphasise that there is no need for legacy system abandonment and modernisation can be conducted gradually without disruption.

14 January 2025 452 downloads