Executive Summary
According to a global study by payment technology firm ACI Worldwide, 63% of executives believe that regulatory requirements pose a significant barrier to innovation, forcing institutions to allocate increasing resources to comply with local, regional, and international rules.
Key Findings
- Delayed Modernization: 55% of executives admit not fully utilizing available technology, causing a delay in modernizing payment systems within the global financial industry.
- Outdated Systems: While maintaining obsolete systems may provide short-term financial relief, it increases structural costs, limits new solution integration, and heightens exposure to fraud and cybersecurity risks.
- Limited Modernization Plans: Only 36% of payment sector executives have a clear modernization roadmap, and just 25% are phasing out legacy infrastructure despite its direct impact on costs, operational agility, and competitiveness.
- Fraud and Regulation Pressure: 63% of executives consider regulatory requirements a significant barrier to innovation, as they compel institutions to allocate growing resources to comply with local, regional, and international rules.
Context and Implications
Javier García, Principal Leader at ACI Worldwide, emphasizes that the modernization issue is fundamentally strategic. The industry acknowledges rapid innovation, but top management’s attention to technological updates falls short. The delay in modernization occurs amidst an increasingly challenging environment, as 77% of executives recognize that sophisticated fraudsters now threaten the sector’s competitiveness.
Beyond direct losses, fraud impacts the industry through rigid systems that increase false rejections, blocking legitimate payments and affecting revenues. Despite claims of wanting technological advancement, modernization doesn’t receive the necessary attention when allocating resources.
Immediate Payments and Legacy Systems
Mexico has a robust infrastructure for electronic transfers via SPEI, but its local standards limit scalability and elevate integration costs compared to other markets. Brazil, with Pix, has advanced towards a more standardized model that reduced friction and accelerated adoption.
“It’s not that the system doesn’t work; it just becomes more expensive and complex without using international standards,” García explains.
Key Questions and Answers
- Q: What percentage of executives believe regulatory requirements are a significant barrier to innovation? A: 63%
- Q: What percentage of executives admit not fully utilizing available technology? A: 55%
- Q: What percentage of payment sector executives have a clear modernization roadmap? A: 36%
- Q: What percentage of institutions are phasing out legacy infrastructure? A: 25%
- Q: What percentage of executives consider fraud a threat to the sector’s competitiveness? A: 77%
