DIGITAL BANKING
F or years, instant payments in banking has been the ideal goal for efficiency in every market – a digital veneer over a slow-moving architectural core. But as 2026 unfolds, the industry has hit a point of no return. Global Payments’ 2026 Commerce and Payments Reports says that across all industry sectors and sizes, businesses are prioritising instant payments, investing in this technology more heavily than in two other rapidly expanding technologies.
Richard Ullenius, VP of Banking and Financial Services at CSG, highlights how banks can capitalise on realtime banking as demand for 24 / 7 payments increases.
Q. WITH THE 2026-2027 TRANSFORMATION AGENDA LOOMING, WHAT DOES‘ REAL-TIME BANKING’ ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR A BANK’ S DAILY OPERATIONS?
» In corporate and commercial banking, real-time banking is often reduced to faster or instant payments. That’ s a narrow view. In reality, it’ s a fundamental shift in how a bank operates. It’ s an operating model where data, workflows and decisions move faster – or at least at the same speed as the customer. That has profound implications day-to-day. Frontline teams are no longer forced to reconstruct information across systems. Instead, they work with connected data and real-time business logic that informs decisions as they are being made.
“Banks have plenty of data, but how do they actually get it to the frontline so staff can use it to help customers in the moment?”
Richard Ullenius VP of Banking and Financial Services CSG
Whether it’ s a pricing deal, risk assessment or responding to a customer request, the bank operates as a coordinated system rather than a sequence of disconnected, manual steps.
The most important shift is from reactive to pre-emptive. We’ re starting to see leading banks anticipate needs, manage risk earlier and intervene before issues escalate. As a result, they’ re, becoming a more proactive partner to business customers.
So, while real-time banking is often framed around speed, its real value lies in embedding intelligence and intent into every interaction across the bank.
96 May 2026