In Q1 2026, NEACH met with leading third-party providers to explore the latest trends and developments in the payments landscape. Tede Forman, President of Payment Solutions at Jack Henry, shared valuable insights into the evolving payments landscape and what to expect in the year ahead. What follows is a summary of our conversation.
NEACH: What do you see as the next major shift in payments that banks and credit unions should focus on in 2026? Why?
Forman: Instant payments are driving significant changes in business payments, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses. This transformation is part of a larger shift, which includes consumers' demand for instant money movement. Financial institutions must support these businesses by enabling faster settlements, integrating digital tools, and using AI-powered fraud detection. There's also a focus on personalization and operational efficiency. In addition, regulatory developments related to digital assets and stablecoins will impact compliance, liquidity strategies, and competitive dynamics, and wallets are expected to become more important than traditional accounts, indicating a shift in how funds are accessed.
NEACH: The competitive landscape for FIs continues to change. How can your customers “win” in today’s banking environment? What role do payments play in that strategy?
Forman: To win in today’s environment, financial institutions need to deliver speed, trust, and then a differentiated experience. Together, these factors add about 30% to the bottom line and make up 80% of the digital experience. Winning with account holders ultimately comes down to payments. Payments are critical because they are more than just transactions; they are key drivers of engagement and loyalty. Payments are a strategic tool for enhancing competitiveness. In this digital-first world, financial institutions must consider adding modern payment options, providing seamless experiences, and utilizing AI for fraud detection and personalization.
NEACH: As innovation accelerates, is there a minimum set of services FIs “must” provide? If so, what are they and why? If not, why not?
Forman: No minimum set of services guarantees success. That said, certain capabilities have become table stakes as customers’ and members’ expectations rise. As a baseline, financial institutions should provide instant payments to meet the demand for speed and convenience. Additionally, they must consider adding instant issuance, tokenization, and support for digital wallets to ensure a relatively seamless experience across channels. Beyond the basics, the difference lies in how FIs innovate by integrating payments into the broader ecosystems they support.
NEACH: Some financial institutions may find it overwhelming to decide where to start. Could you offer guidance on what they should focus on first in a “crawl, walk, run” approach?
Forman: First and foremost, you need to have a payments strategy. At Jack Henry, we work together with C-level FI executives to connect the dots for our clients. FIs need to bring their executive teams together to focus on the role payments play in their overall business strategy. Based on these discussions, they can start identifying what to prioritize and put into action.
NEACH: Fraud continues to be a major challenge, driven by increasingly advanced schemes and attacks. What are you advising your clients to do to improve their mitigation strategies? What new trends, collaborations, or industry changes should we expect in 2026?
Forman: I suggest a layered approach to combating fraud, employing multiple complementary controls and processes throughout the customer/member journey. At Jack Henry, we offer advanced detection tools, including behavior metrics and AI-powered scoring, in our PayRailz Payment Platform and Financial Crimes Defender solutions. These tools efficiently identify anomalies and support real-time decision-making. Overall, FIs must implement risk-based controls customized to their customers’/members’ profiles, transaction types, and behavior patterns, and commit to continuous process improvement in this evolving fraud environment.
NEACH: AI for fraud prevention, operations, and internal data analysis is becoming increasingly common. How are you using pattern recognition and other AI technologies in the solutions you offer or support?
Forman: We use AI-powered scoring within the fraud monitor feature of the PayRailz Payment Platform and with our standalone real-time fraud and BSA compliance platform, Financial Crimes Defender, among other things. AI is a game-changer for fraud prevention because it converts data into a proactive defense and enables the recognition of patterns that humans cannot detect at scale. We analyze behavioral signals such as unusual account openings and clusters of low-dollar transactions using advanced models and algorithms trained on both historical and real-time data. In this way, patterns can activate risk-based controls that help identify suspicious activity, while human oversight ensures accurate decision-making.
NEACH: Stablecoins are gaining momentum, partly because they are a focus of the Administration. However, Zelle’s recent announcement of a global solution supported by stablecoins is also a major consideration. What do FIs, especially your customers, need to know about stablecoins? What steps should they take in 2026?
Forman: The regulation surrounding stablecoins is still evolving. Until there is complete clarity, financial institutions should focus on preparation. This includes staying informed about regulatory updates, understanding the potential impact on liquidity and compliance, and familiarizing themselves with the settlement process. Additionally, FIs should assess how stablecoins fit into their long-term payment strategy. Institutions that stay engaged and informed will be better positioned to respond quickly once guidance is issued.
NEACH: On the instant payments front, we’re seeing growth on the receive side, but there’s slower traction on the send side. What are you noticing among your clients? What’s preventing them from taking the leap, and how are you helping to address those concerns?
Forman: We’re observing slower adoption on the “send” side of instant payments among clients, mainly due to the phased approach many financial institutions have taken. Institutions usually begin with “receive” functionality to build familiarity and reduce risk before moving on to “send.” Our Payrailz and Financial Crimes Defender solutions use AI and behavior analytics to address some of these challenges, but implementing the “send” functionality will require additional steps, including fraud mitigation, customer education, and integration with existing systems. Institutions must plan for ongoing support because it’s very different from managing ACH payments. FIs also need to think about how they train their internal teams, support sales staff, and handle processes and customer/member education.
NEACH: As a core provider, how are you responding to the rapidly shifting demands of today’s payments landscape overall? How are your products and services changing to help FIs remain competitive?
Forman: Jack Henry empowers financial institutions and fintechs to collaborate by providing the infrastructure and tools that enable customers/members to access high-tech solutions of their choice. We focus on leveraging APIs and open banking models to simplify integration among financial institutions, fintechs, and merchants within a compliant ecosystem that balances regulatory standards with room for innovation. Although some financial institutions have mixed feelings about partnering with fintechs, the right collaborations can significantly drive growth.
NEACH: As FI/fintech partnerships grow more common, how are you assisting your customers in engaging with their preferred high-tech solutions? How does that compare to a year or two ago, if at all? Likewise, we've seen fintech shift from being viewed as the enemy to the frenemy, and then to a partner: Is that cycle reversing, or is collaboration speeding up?
Forman: It primarily depends on the institution’s strategy. We work with FIs to ensure we’re supporting their strategic vision to help them succeed in their communities. We help them explore how different partnerships and products can help them achieve their goals and meet their members’/clients’ needs. It’s a thought process we work through together.
Jack Henry works with its customers in a consulting and collaborative way to help them implement relevant, best-in-class payments capabilities. For lack of a better term, the “better-together” proposition works. FIs are looking for opportunities to partner with fintechs, and fintechs are looking for sponsoring FIs.
NEACH: About 20 years ago, the industry was implementing Check 21. Now, the industry is looking at FedNow, RTP, Zelle, Same Day ACH, other faster payments solutions, stablecoins, and more. Additionally, FIs face competition from many fintechs that actively accept deposits and offer banking services. How are your products and services helping FIs innovate while managing competitive risks from different types of fintech providers?
Forman: We support financial institutions with technology modernization by developing a payments platform built on open, cloud-native architecture with optimized microservices, enabling faster innovation. In September, we acquired Victor Technologies, Inc., a cloud-native, API-first provider of innovative direct-to-core embedded payments solutions. By applying Jack Henry’s brand, reputation, and ecosystem to Victor’s technology, we can help banks and credit unions diversify, compete, and succeed in a cloud-native environment.
NEACH: What innovations should FIs expect from their core, and what innovations do you think will surprise your customers?
Forman: FIs should expect their core to evolve to meet market demands. Therefore, our cloud-native, API-first technology modernization strategy and open philosophy, offering multiple integration options, will drive the community’s digital experience and future developments. The innovations we develop aim to help FIs attract and retain deposits. For example, we recently launched a merchant acquiring solution, Tap2Local, and an account-to-account real-time money movement service, Rapid Transfers, to keep FI’s deposits within their local communities.
What might surprise our customers is that our offerings go beyond enabling instant payments, modern card services, and digital wallet integration. Jack Henry’s future-ready platform can be essential in helping our clients shift from traditional accounts to a wallet-centric world, which is the direction the industry is headed. In short, we’re preparing our customers for the future.
NEACH: What recent or upcoming product rollouts should FIs explore?
Forman: In addition to what I’ve already mentioned, we’re launching our PayRailz loan payment module, available on our Banno digital platform with real-time posting. We also offer instant send on our SmartPay platform, and our API is currently in pilot for clients and business account holders using the platform. There’s more, of course, but it is safe to say our customers will continue to receive updates from Jack Henry as part of our commitment to keeping FIs competitive in payments.
NEACH: What else would you like to add?
Forman: We touched on this a bit, but to reiterate, the payments landscape will keep evolving. Financial institutions really need to adapt to meet accountholder needs. For example, adopting modern payment rails, layered security, and embedding payments are crucial for providing a seamless experience. It’s essential to build loyalty and stay relevant in this rapidly digitalizing market. Those who embrace these capabilities will not only meet expectations but also position themselves as trusted partners in their communities.
Robert (Tede) Forman Jr., Vice President and President of Payment Solutions
Tede Forman is Vice President and President of Payment Solutions at Jack Henry. He leads the company’s payments strategy and solutions. Forman joined Jack Henry in 2011 and has more than 40 years of experience in financial services and technology.