Payments leaders are projecting confidence in their innovation capabilities — but many are not prepared for the speed of change reshaping global payments. According to new research from ACI Worldwide and Globant, nearly seven in ten executives describe their organisations as industry leaders, yet fewer than half say payments innovation is a C-suite priority.
The report, Payments in Transition: Leadership in an era of transformation, surveyed 500 payments executives across North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. It found that 69% of respondents see their organisations as leaders, while only 44% cite innovation as a board-level focus.
The findings reveal a widening gap between confidence and readiness. More than half of executives (55%) admit they are not fully using the technology already available, and 44% identify legacy platforms as their biggest obstacle to progress. Internal resistance is also a growing issue, with 53% pointing to cultural barriers as the main drag on transformation.
By 2026, the report warns, instant and intelligent payments will be the industry baseline. Customer demand remains the strongest catalyst for change, cited by 79% of executives — reflecting expectations for payments to be instant, secure, and reliable. Yet only 36% of respondents say their organisation has a clear roadmap for payments modernisation, and just 25% are actively phasing out ageing infrastructure.
Fraud and cybersecurity remain top concerns. Over three-quarters (77%) list these as their main barriers to innovation, while 63% cite regulatory complexity as a brake on progress. Cost and talent pressures also persist, with only a quarter of respondents confident in their organisation’s ability to attract and retain top technology talent.
The research points to artificial intelligence as a defining force in the next phase of transformation. By 2026, AI-driven systems are expected to move beyond fraud detection to enable real-time anomaly detection, dynamic routing, and self-learning transaction models. The report predicts that “agentic commerce” — payments orchestrated by intelligent systems — will reshape the competitive landscape.
“The message from payments leaders is clear — ambition without modernisation will no longer be enough,” said Philip Bruno, chief strategy and growth officer at ACI Worldwide. “Modernisation is no longer a long-term goal. It’s an immediate need. Those who retire legacy systems and embed intelligence and agility into their platforms now will set the standard for 2026 and beyond.”
The full Payments in Transition report is available via ACI Worldwide.
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