Payments innovation and the ACH modernization imperative
The future of US money movement depends on modernizing a foundational payment network. Here’s why.
The payments landscape is evolving rapidly. Real-time payments, FedNow, embedded finance, tokenized money and agentic commerce are raising expectations for greater speed, intelligence, transparency and control. Yet ACH remains one of the foundations of US money movement, processing 35.19 billion payments worth $93 trillion in 2025.
The opportunity isn’t to replace ACH, but to modernize the infrastructure around it. Banks need payment environments that can connect ACH with instant payments, cards, wires and emerging forms of digital money — while improving visibility, automation, controls and interoperability.
This Everest Group report, presented by NTT DATA, explores why ACH modernization has become a strategic priority. Financial institutions can take a progressive approach that strengthens existing infrastructure while preparing for the next generation of money movement.
What you'll learn
- Why new payment models are exposing gaps in legacy payment infrastructure
- How ACH modernization can improve operational efficiency, resilience, controls and client visibility
- A phased approach to modernizing ACH without forcing a disruptive core replacement
- How modernized ACH can support intelligent payment orchestration across ACH, RTP, FedNow, cards, wires and tokenized flows
- What financial institutions should consider as AI and agentic payments reshape payment operations