CHERRY HILL, N.J., Aug. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/
-- Technology continues to drive innovation in the commercial payments sector, according to a recent survey of finance and
treasury professionals conducted by TD Bank, America's Most
Convenient Bank®. Real-time payments is leading change, as nearly half of respondents (42 percent) cited
integration of these capabilities within online banking as the technological innovation that will have the greatest positive
impact on the industry over the next three to five years.
Payments professionals also predict artificial intelligence and machine learning will create positive change (20 percent) in
the industry, while more advanced technologies such as blockchain (11 percent) or biometrics (4 percent) are not yet at the
forefront.
TD's survey collected responses from 390 finance professionals on industry trends and outlook at the 2018 NACHA PAYMENTS
Conference in San Diego, California, in May.
Innovation Forces Infrastructure Upgrades
With improved technology comes the need to revamp outdated frameworks. Respondents were not shy to call out the need to
refresh internal infrastructure systems as the main roadblock to success in implementing digital payments strategies. When asked
about their greatest challenge in payments innovation, more than one-third (36 percent) of respondents stated the need for
corporations and/or smaller banks to update legacy infrastructure to support these functions.
Payments professionals expect their financial institutions to evolve as well. An overwhelming majority said that integrating a
mobile application for business banking would improve a company's experience with its financial institution, according to 74
percent of respondents.
"One of the largest impediments to today's payments industry is that change is happening faster than organizations can
realistically accommodate it," said Rick Burke, Head of Corporate Products and Services, TD Bank.
"Sending and receiving corporate payments is a complex process and one that it is not yet as nimble as consumer payments. As
more CFOs and treasurers use immediate payment schemes in their personal financial transactions, the demand for commercial
availability will also rise, and financial institutions and businesses need to be prepared to accommodate that expectation."
Professionals Remains Vigilant; Wary of Cryptocurrencies
Payments experts hold a strong view against the validity of cryptocurrencies, despite the hype around the topic in the
media. In fact, the majority (64 percent) of survey respondents noted that they do not view cryptocurrencies as a legitimate form
of digital payment. Despite this, just 4 percent selected controversy around cryptocurrencies as the greatest challenge facing
payments innovation today.
Cybersecurity and payment fraud remain a top concern for payments professionals but saw a slight decline in the survey
results. This year, 84 percent of respondents stated that payments fraud will become a bigger threat in the next one to two
years, compared with 91 percent of respondents in 2017.
This drop could indicate that companies are gaining confidence as they prioritize and invest greater resources in
cybersecurity prevention and preparedness. Further supporting this idea, 9 percent of respondents noted that cybersecurity
software will have the greatest positive impact on the payments industry over the next three to five years, potentially
indicating that payments professionals may finally be seeing some positive developments in the area of cybersecurity.
Survey Methodology
TD Bank polled finance professionals at the 2018 NACHA–The Electronic Payments Association® PAYMENTS Conference in
San Diego and via the organization's mobile app on April 30 and
May 1, 2018. A total of 390 responses were collected from industry professionals, including
payments system stakeholders from business end-users, and financial and technology services organizations.
About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million
customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient
locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In
addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD
Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in
Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of
Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North
America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com.
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SOURCE TD Bank