Beyond speed: Building tomorrow’s financial infrastructure

Key Insights

• The convergence of standardized messaging (ISO20022) and API-first infrastructure has compressed traditional banking integration timelines from months to weeks
• Next-generation payment networks like RTP® and FedNow® are enabling new business models across gaming, gig economy, and e-commerce verticals
• The future of financial services will be invisible to end users, with AI-powered infrastructure handling complexity while consumers focus on their goals

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In the past, banking was confined to regular business hours, and infrastructure dictated how quickly money could move. Both concepts feel like distant memories. Having participated in the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payments task force, which helped launch real-time payments in the U.S., and having been in payments for over 20 years, I’ve seen firsthand an unprecedented transformation over the past decade in how financial services are delivered and consumed.

The landscape has fundamentally changed across three key verticals: payment networks have evolved from concept to reality with solutions like real-time payments (RTP®) and FedNow®; digital payments have made contactless transactions ubiquitous; and banking infrastructure has become faster and more cost-effective through API-first approaches. At Cross River, we’ve positioned ourselves at the intersection of these transformations by building modern banking capabilities that enable fintech innovation while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance.

In this article, I’ll explore how these verticals have evolved, examine the forces driving change, and share what’s next for financial services. Understanding these shifts isn’t just important for fintech companies navigating this dynamic world — it’s the foundation for future success.

The evolution of real-time payments

For roughly 40 years, the U.S. payment network landscape remained largely unchanged. We had the ACH network, Fedwire, and card networks — reliable systems, but ones designed for a different era. While other countries forged ahead with innovations like the U.K.’s Faster Payments Service and India’s UPI, the U.S. payment infrastructure was static.

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That changed dramatically seven years ago when The Clearing House launched the RTP® network, followed by the Federal Reserve’s FedNow® in 2023. These networks represented more than just new payment rails — they marked a pivotal shift in how money moves. In March 2024, The Clearing House announced an increase in RTP transaction limits from $1 million to $10 million, opening up entirely new use cases for businesses and financial institutions.

The impact of these changes extends far beyond simple bank transfers. For gig economy workers, real-time payments translate to immediate access to earned wages, rather than waiting for traditional payroll cycles. These are transformative shifts that impact how businesses operate and how people manage their financial lives.

As a top participant on the RTP® network and a key player enabling FedNow®, Cross River has been at the forefront of this transformation --, with more innovations on the horizon, including request-for-payment capabilities that will further streamline how businesses and consumers transfer funds.

The digital payment revolution

The evolution of payments specifically goes far beyond moving money faster. Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed a complete reinvention of how consumers and businesses interact with financial services. Contactless payments through NFC technology, QR codes, and mobile wallets have become ubiquitous, transforming what was once a complex checkout process into a simple tap of a watch or phone.

This consumer-facing revolution ushered in a complete overhaul of financial infrastructure. Traditional core banking systems relied on proprietary technologies and web-based interfaces that created significant integration hurdles. The shift to API-first banking has changed all of that. While traditional banks typically require six to nine months for fintech integration, Cross River Bank’s modern core banking system enables partners to integrate in just weeks.

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This technological evolution, coupled with reduced infrastructure costs, has empowered entirely new business models. Consider how invisible payments have transformed ride-sharing: Consumers simply complete their journey while payments happen seamlessly on mobile devices. Through Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, consumers can better manage large purchases by spreading payments over time. And open banking technologies offer consumers unprecedented access to their financial data across institutions.

At Cross River, we enable innovative platforms like Upgrade, Current, and other leading fintechs by providing the banking infrastructure that powers cutting-edge financial services. Our API-first approach supports rapid innovation while maintaining the security and reliability expected of a regulated bank. The result is a financial ecosystem that’s not just faster, but fundamentally more accessible and user-centric than ever before.

The future of financial services and AI

As we look toward the next five years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will fundamentally reshape nearly every aspect of financial services. From making financial decisions to mitigating fraud and ensuring regulatory compliance, AI will become an essential component of how financial services operate. The combination of advanced AI technology, improved computing power, and vast data lakes will enable more sophisticated, automated, and personalized financial services.

Real-time payments will continue to evolve, too, particularly in the cross-border space. The emergence of domestic real-time payment schemes using common ISO20022 formats will pave the way for global cross-border payments with unprecedented speed, transparency, and security. At the same time, decentralized finance (DeFi) will expand, blurring the lines between traditional and blockchain-based financial services. Smart contracts will automate numerous facets of financial operations, enabling new possibilities for how value moves through the system.

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The next generation of embedded finance will build on all of these innovations. Financial services will seamlessly integrate with technology platforms to create holistic experiences where banking happens unseen in the background.

Imagine a future where businesses and consumers focus entirely on their goals — whether running a successful e-commerce operation or managing personal finances — while sophisticated financial infrastructure works silently to ensure their success. We’re actively preparing for this future at Cross River. We’ve already implemented RTP®, FedNow®, and push-to-card capabilities, and we’re developing request-for-payment features that will further streamline funds transfers. Our international payments offering is expanding, and we continue to invest heavily in creating the gold standard for compliance in the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) model. These innovations aren’t just about staying current. They’re about building the foundation for the next wave of fintech transformation.

Navigating the path forward

Success in this rapidly evolving landscape requires a delicate balance between innovation and pragmatism. Businesses must stay nimble and reduce costs through process automation while maintaining their competitive edge. The innovation cycle is accelerating, too. What once took years now happens in months or even weeks.

To that end, the regulatory environment presents both challenges and opportunities. At Cross River, we’ve learned that regulatory compliance isn’t separate from innovation, but an integral part of the design. We embed compliance considerations like Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) checks and transaction monitoring into payment offerings and customer onboarding from the very start. This approach allows us to move quickly while maintaining the highest standards of security and reliability.

Talent acquisition and development will also prove indispensable. The financial services workforce of tomorrow will need more than just technical expertise. It will need a deep understanding of AI applications, a creative approach to product design, and the ability to integrate regulatory requirements into solution architectures from the beginning.

For fintech companies navigating this ongoing transformation, the message is clear: The future belongs to those who can blend technological innovation with practical execution. By working with forward-thinking banks like Cross River, fintechs can focus on their core offerings while accessing the infrastructure and compliance expertise needed to succeed in this dynamic environment.