Instant by Design: Why Faster Payments Start With Better-Connected Systems

The EU AML Package has moved from preparation to implementation.

For many customers, instant payments are becoming an expectation rather than an innovation.

Across the region, banks are under pressure to deliver Payments that are instant, cross-border and ISO 20022-native, while meeting the same expectations around fraud prevention, AML, sanctions screening and regulatory compliance.

Speed may be the experience customers see, but there is an increasingly complex

 infrastructure working behind every transaction.

So, what is really standing in the way of truly instant Payments?

At the NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum UAE in Dubai, Nour Rimawi, Director at QUBE Events, sat down with Tareq Shaheen, PDM Director, Payment Solutions at Eastnets, the forum’s Diamond Sponsor, to discuss what is holding instant Payments back — and why the answer may be fewer systems, rather than more.

▶ Watch the full interview with Tareq Shaheen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEZjRqIvcyY 

Beyond Technology: Tackling Fragmentation

When asked about the biggest obstacle to instant Payments, Tareq’s answer was direct.

“I don't think it's a technology challenge. The technology has been here for a long time, and it is supporting all kinds of Payments."

— Tareq Shaheen, PDM Director, Payment Solutions at Eastnets

The bigger challenge is fragmentation.

Over time, financial institutions have introduced different systems to address different requirements. One system solves one problem, another addresses the next, and additional layers are added as new regulatory, operational and customer requirements emerge.

Yet at the centre of all of these systems is the same objective: delivering a Payment to the customer quickly, securely and reliably.

For Tareq, adding another layer of technology is not necessarily the answer.

“We can utilise the technology as it is today if we manage to streamline the operations in a way that serves the experience, without having to add extra technology layers.”

— Tareq Shaheen, PDM Director, Payment Solutions at Eastnets

The opportunity, therefore, is to make the existing payment ecosystem work together more effectively. New technology should serve that objective by reducing operational fragmentation, rather than simply adding another disconnected layer.

Where AI Can Make a Difference

That does not mean emerging technologies have no role to play.

Tareq sees AI as an important part of improving the Payment experience on both sides of a transaction.

For customers, that can mean a faster, smoother and more seamless journey. Within the institution, AI can support investigations, accelerate issue resolution and help reduce false positives — one of the operational challenges that can prevent a Payment from being truly instant.

This distinction is important.

The value of AI is not necessarily in adding another standalone system. It is in helping the wider Payment operation become more intelligent and efficient.

When technology reduces unnecessary intervention behind the scenes, institutions have a better chance of delivering the speed customers expect at the front end.

Instant Cannot Mean Fewer Safeguards

Speed is only one side of the equation.

As Payments become faster, banks have less time to identify suspicious activity, detect fraud and intervene before funds move.

The expectation of an instant customer experience does not remove any of the institution’s regulatory responsibilities.

As Tareq explains:

“While the expectation of customers is instant Payments in seconds, all the safeguards and all the regulatory controls are still there, and they need to be applied across all types of Payments and all channels.”

— Tareq Shaheen, PDM Director, Payment Solutions at Eastnets

The challenge is therefore not choosing between speed and security. Banks need to deliver both simultaneously.

For Tareq, this requires approaching the Payment lifecycle as one comprehensive operation rather than a series of disconnected checks.

Eastnets’ approach covers the lifecycle from Payment initiation through to execution. Depending on the payment journey and applicable requirements, this can include” confirmation of payee and duplicate detection, screening, AML and fraud prevention as the transaction moves through the process.

When these controls operate as part of a unified journey, compliance becomes embedded into the Payment rather than added as another obstacle along the way.

One Payment Journey, Not Multiple Systems

This leads to the wider point behind Tareq’s perspective.

Customers do not see the individual systems operating behind a transaction. They see one Payment.

They do not distinguish between screening, fraud detection, AML controls, confirmation of payee or the technology responsible for executing the transaction. They simply expect their money to arrive quickly and securely.

Banks, however, have to manage everything happening behind that experience.

Bringing those operations together can help institutions reduce complexity while maintaining the controls required by regulators.

“This is a win-win situation, because they will be serving their customers, but at the same time meeting the regulatory expectation and preventing fraudulent actors.”

— Tareq Shaheen, PDM Director, Payment Solutions at Eastnets

That balance will become increasingly important as instant Payments continue to grow.

The institutions that succeed will not necessarily be those with the most technology. They will be those that can make their technology, operations and safeguards work together as one.

Turning Compliance Into Part of the Customer Experience

There is also a broader lesson here for the Payments industry.

Customers judge their bank by what they experience: Was the Payment easy? Was it fast? Did it work?

Regulators judge what happens behind that experience: Was the customer protected? Were the correct controls applied? Was suspicious activity identified?

Those expectations are not competing objectives.

When Payment infrastructure is designed correctly, compliance and fraud prevention become part of delivering a trusted customer experience.

That changes the conversation from speed versus security to speed through better infrastructure.

And as instant Payments become the norm rather than the exception, that distinction will matter even more.

From Industry Expertise to Industry Conversation

As part of our Sponsor Spotlight series, we are taking the conversations happening at QUBE Events beyond the stage and sharing the expertise of the organisations helping shape the industry.

For sponsors, a forum is more than visibility on the day. Speaking sessions, interviews and thought-leadership content provide opportunities to demonstrate expertise around the challenges their customers are actively trying to solve — and to continue those conversations well beyond the event.

Tareq’s discussion is a strong example. Instant Payments may be the headline, but underneath it sits a challenge affecting banks across the market: how to deliver a better customer experience while managing increasingly complex regulatory and financial crime requirements.

These are the conversations that turn industry visibility into meaningful relationships — and relationships into future opportunities.

Sponsor Spotlight: Eastnets

Thank you to Tareq Shaheen for sharing his perspective and to Eastnets for supporting the NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum UAE as our Diamond Sponsor.

To learn more about Eastnets and its work across Payments, compliance and financial crime prevention:

Visit Eastnets: https://www.eastnets.com/

At QUBE Events, the NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum brings together banks, regulators, Payment providers, fintechs and technology leaders to discuss the challenges shaping the future of financial services.

For our sponsors, those conversations extend beyond the stage through thought leadership, curated one-to-one meetings, networking and content designed to keep the conversation going after the forum.

Want to take your brand from visibility to conversation — and from conversation to pipeline?

Explore speaking and sponsorship opportunities with QUBE Events.

Get in touch: info@qubevents.comView our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/3Hjjw6B

What should we ask in our next Sponsor Spotlight? Let us know which Payments or RegTech topic you would like us to explore next.