BRIDGEWATER, NJ (April 23, 2026) |
Alacriti, a leading payments fintech, today released a new survey report, ‘The State of Payments Modernization: Insights from Financial Institution Leaders,’ revealing a stark disconnect between how financial institutions prioritize instant payments and their ability to deliver them. While 71% of financial institutions view instant payments as strategically important or critical, nearly half (45%) remain in the evaluation phase and are not yet able to offer them.
“As the payment landscape evolves, financial institutions can no longer afford to treat modernization as a future initiative,” said Mark Majeske, SVP of Faster Payments at Alacriti. “With more than 70% of DDA accounts in the U.S. now connected to instant payments, institutions that delay adoption risk falling behind. What this research makes clear is that success depends on taking a pragmatic approach—modernizing in phases while maintaining stability across existing systems, and preparing for the increasing demand for real-time capabilities.”
Alacriti’s findings point to a market at an inflection point, where demand for instant, multi-rail payments is surging, but legacy infrastructure and operational complexity continue to limit adoption. While speed often dominates industry headlines, the research shows that modernization efforts are driven by the need to improve security, increase efficiency, and support real-time payment capabilities.
Key Findings From the Research Include:
- Risk drives modernization: 63% of financial institutions cite fraud and risk reduction as a top driver for payments modernization, followed by customer experience (52%) and operational efficiency (51%).
- Legacy systems slow progress: More than half of institutions point to deeply embedded internal processes (53%) and legacy technology (52%) as primary barriers, with 47% citing disconnected systems as a major obstacle.
- Multi-rail future taking shape: 35% plan to adopt centralized, third-party payment hubs to better manage multiple payment types, reflecting a shift toward unified orchestration models.
Together, these findings highlight an industry balancing the urgency of real-time payments adoption with the realities of deeply embedded core systems and fragmented infrastructure.
Drawing on a survey of 100 bank and credit union executives, the report provides insight into how financial institutions are navigating modernization priorities, infrastructure challenges, and the transition to real-time, multi-rail payment environments.
Click here for more information and to download the full report.