The payments industry, spurred by regulatory deadlines and market demands, is approaching a tipping point in its journey to digital transformation. Many financial institutions are concurrently facing a rising priority of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations in their operating practices. By aligning these priorities, banks stand to make a big difference to the monetary and planetary cost of their payments business.

By embracing a genuine change agenda for payments modernization, a bank can increase its financial profitability while fulfilling robust ESG goals. Actions to be taken include some, or all, of the following:

  • Pursuing a path of payment application modernization and rationalization
  • Moving to a more efficient and technologically aligned infrastructure
  • Increasing automation
  • Adopting more efficient processes that require minimal intervention
  • Improving data quality and automated straight-through processing
  • Making highly secure infrastructure remotely accessible

At CGI, we have been focused for a number of years on reducing our impact on the planet and helping our clients to do the same. When paired with five decades of payments experience, we are uniquely positioned to consult financial institutions in this regard to create a profit-and-planet-focused, enterprise-level payments modernization strategy that delivers positive ESG outcomes with enhanced profitability.