Immediate payments are a key revenue driver for 66 percent of banks in markets with IP schemes, according to a new survey from ACI Worldwide and Ovum.

The benchmark report also noted that although open APIs will benefit customer satisfaction for 65 per cent of banks, nearly half of respondents are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to an open API strategy.

Regardless of strategic focus, 57 per cent of all banks are growing their IT investments in 2017, with a distinct emphasis on operational efficiency (91 per cent) and fraud prevention (68 per cent), as security issues remain an ongoing concern for the banking industry.

Six in 10 respondents believe that immediate payments will enhance their service and proposition to customers, while 60 per cent of banks expect such payments to reduce costs, as the necessary investments in payment infrastructure and fraud systems ultimately deliver broader benefit to their institutions.

Mandy Killam, executive vice president of ACI Worldwide, commented: “Immediate payments and open API capabilities are increasingly viewed by banks as key drivers of revenue, customer satisfaction and cost reduction. Developing an open API strategy is essential for banks to create a friction-free customer experience – and to compete in this quickly evolving retail payments market.”

Kieran Hines, head of industries at Ovum, added: “The market is rapidly changing – banks must invest wisely in core payments platforms and infrastructure to take advantage of relevant opportunities. Financial institutions that proactively shape strategies around open APIs, fraud prevention and immediate payments will reap the benefits when it comes to both customer experience and revenue.”

Share Story: