Modernizing payments isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a necessity. Learn how to revamp your payments offerings to stay competitive, and keep account holders satisfied and coming back for their future financial needs.
According to the Federal Reserve, offering free instant payments nearly doubles the likelihood that an account holder will remain loyal to their financial institution. According to McKinsey & Company’s State of Consumer Digital Payments 2024 report, “usage of digital payments for in-app purchases in the United States has reached 60 percent, an increase of 8 percentage points since 2019.”, underscoring the growing demand for frictionless, tech-driven payment solutions. As the industry evolves at a breakneck pace, the question isn’t whether financial institutions should embrace these changes—it’s how quickly they can adapt to stay ahead.
Banks and credit unions using legacy payment infrastructures often struggle to keep up with today’s consumer and business needs. Disconnected systems lead to inconsistent user experiences, operational inefficiencies, and heightened risks of disintermediation by fintechs and non-bank providers. Traditional and legacy systems just aren’t going to cut it if financial institutions want to remain competitive.
Consumers expect a unified experience that allows them to manage bills, transfer funds, and make loan payments from a single platform — anytime, and from anywhere. They also want real-time payment capabilities through networks like the RTP® network and FedNow® Service, along with modern payment options such as mobile wallets, voice-activated assistants, and QR codes.
We believe that the future of digital banking solutions will be defined by three transformative trends that will reshape the industry and set new standards for innovation, efficiency, and user experience.
To keep pace with these shifts, financial institutions need solutions that not only improve the user experience but also make payment processing more efficient—this is where a modern payments hub plays a crucial role.
A payments hub serves as the central nervous system of a financial institution’s payment processing capabilities, enabling seamless transactions across multiple payment rails. While traditional payment hubs often meant complex, costly projects that could take years to implement, today’s solutions are being deployed in significantly shorter timeframes.
Meet Alacriti’s Payments Hub
With rule-based orchestration, automation, compliance, and advanced analytics, Alacriti’s Orbipay Payments Hub offers a centralized system with cross-rail visibility, real-time reporting, and extensive fraud checks, creating a unified operational experience. The hub’s flexibility allows financial institutions to progressively add new payment rails, like the RTP network or FedNow Service, while built-in orchestration and automation streamline processes, maximizing straight-through processing (STP) rates. Additionally, seamless integration with digital banking platforms, core systems, and fraud/risk management solutions ensures secure and reliable operations.
What About Loan Payments Modernization?
Loan payment modernization is essential for financial institutions looking to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve borrower satisfaction. Traditional loan payment processes often involve manual interventions, call center interactions, and fragmented payment options that increase operational expenses and frustrate customers. Modernizing loan payments through digital banking integration streamlines operations, automates payment processing, and reduces the burden on support teams. By enabling self-service payment options—such as pay by text, guest web portals, and automated interactive voice response (IVR) systems—institutions can significantly lower costs associated with payment processing and improve the borrower experience.
Beyond cost savings, a modern loan payment strategy is key to maintaining competitiveness in the digital banking landscape. Offering multiple payment channels ensures that borrowers—whether they have direct or indirect loans—can choose the method that best fits their needs, increasing on-time payments and reducing delinquency rates. Additionally, seamless integration with digital banking platforms ensures that loan payments are processed in real-time with enhanced security and compliance. As financial institutions navigate evolving borrower expectations and regulatory changes, adopting a modern, API-driven payment solution is no longer optional—it’s a strategic necessity.
Meet Alacriti’s Orbipay EBPP
Orbipay EBPP enables financial institutions to offer payment experiences that align with account holder expectations. These include text payments, mobile wallets, recurring payment plans, and guest payment options.
By increasing the use of lower-cost self-service payments and automating payment processes, Orbipay EBPP has helped credit unions reduce processing costs by up to 50%. Its intuitive platform consolidates all payment types, streamlining operations, minimizing manual intervention, and providing actionable reporting and analytics for better decision-making. By integrating with both core banking and digital systems, Orbipay EBPP enhances the user experience with real-time loan data retrieval and instant payment posting, ensuring a smooth process for both the institution and its account holders.
How Veridian Credit Union Modernized Its Payments
Veridian Credit Union modernized its payments to enhance efficiency and the member experience. With $7 billion in assets and over 320,000 members, Veridian Credit Union recognized the demand for real-time transactions and sought a solution for instant loan payments and business disbursements, seamlessly integrating with Alkami’s Digital Banking Platform.
The Challenge: Veridian Credit Union faced two challenges:
The Solution: To address these challenges, Veridian Credit Union partnered with Alacriti to implement Orbipay EBPP and the Orbipay Payments Hub within their digital banking platform. EBPP eliminated file transfers by connecting directly to Veridian’s core banking system via API, enabling real-time posting and flexible self-service options like mobile wallets and text payments.
We decided to go with (Alacriti) EBPP because of what it offers us—the real-time posting of payments.
Colin Eagan, Real-Time Payment Administrator, Veridian Credit Union
For businesses, Orbipay Payments Hub centralized ACH, FedNow, and RTP transactions, providing better reporting and analytics while ensuring real-time disbursements.
Our business partners approached us because they heard about real-time payments and wanted to offer them to their clients.
Amy Faley, Manager of ACH and Faster Payments, Veridian Credit Union
The Outcome: Since adopting Alacriti’s solutions, Veridian Credit Union has streamlined digital payments, increased real-time adoption, and strengthened business relationships. As an early FedNow adopter, Veridian continues to lead digital payment modernization and plans to expand further by integrating Fedwire and Visa Direct into a unified platform.
Financial institutions must act decisively to address emerging challenges and seize new opportunities, or risk falling behind competitors and losing valuable market share—especially as 76% of consumers are likely to switch institutions if they find one that better meets their needs. Alacriti equips institutions with the tools to enhance user experiences, unlock revenue streams, and navigate a rapidly changing environment. From real-time payment capabilities to fully automated wire solutions, Alacriti empowers financial institutions to thrive.
At Co:lab 2025, we’re looking forward to meaningful conversations about the future of payments and the practical steps financial institutions can take to stay ahead. Alacriti will be sharing insights on how real-time payments, automation, and centralized payment hubs are shaping the industry—and what that means for your institution. Whether you’re exploring instant payments, looking to improve operational efficiency, or aiming to create a more seamless user experience, we’ll break down what works, what doesn’t, and how to implement these strategies effectively. Find our booth at Alkami Co:lab to gain a deeper understanding of how these innovations can make a tangible impact on your organization
