Real-Time Payments Push Banks and FinTechs to Overhaul Workflows

Real-time payments are moving from a speed feature to core financial infrastructure as businesses become more familiar with instant settlement. The strategic hurdle is now integration: a payment rail has limited value when it sits outside enterprise resource planning systems, treasury platforms and accounts-payable workflows. That shift matters because banks, FinTechs and enterprise software providers are competing to own the interface where companies manage liquidity, suppliers and working capital, while legacy back-office systems remain the main constraint.

PYMNTS reported on July 28, 2026, that The Clearing House’s Cheryl Gurz said the industry’s focus is shifting to integration after eight years of outreach and infrastructure investment. Connecting real-time rails to bank APIs and corporate software can support workflow automation, artificial intelligence and agentic AI. Their 24/7 availability also lets companies time payments precisely, including on weekends or at the end of a 10-day invoice-discount window. The report disclosed no transaction value or investment amount tied to the integration push.