As instant payments mature, financial institutions are moving beyond foundational enablement toward more strategic questions around where real-time capabilities deliver the greatest value, how new use cases are driving adoption, and what risks must be managed in an always-on environment. In an American Banker–hosted webinar, Payments in 2026: What You Need to Know, Erika Baumann of Datos Insights joined Alacriti’s Stuart Bain, Mark Majeske, and Neeraj Gupta to examine how payments are evolving in 2026. The discussion explored what’s driving urgency among financial institutions, how fraud patterns are shifting alongside increased real-time activity, the growing role of Request for Pay, and where volume is accelerating across use cases such as payouts and account funding—offering a clear view into how institutions should align their strategies for the next phase of payments modernization.
