Gilbert Verdian, CEO & Founder, Quant
For much of the past decade, banks have been focused on adaptation. Their response to fintech innovation has been to overlay digital functionality onto legacy systems while managing growing compliance requirements and margin pressure. That phase may be drawing to a close.
As infrastructure modernisation gains traction, programmable payments are emerging as a structural shift. This is less a product than a foundational capability, offering banks new ways to manage logic, compliance and settlement within the transaction itself.
While headlines are often dominated by fintech disruptors and crypto speculators, a more powerful and sustainable innovation is quietly emerging within the infrastructure of the global financial system. The moment of transformation has arrived in the form of programmable payments, a mechanism not only for moving money, but for embedding intelligence, logic, and compliance directly into transactions. It’s more than just a new tool; it represents an economic and strategic awakening for the banking world.
From static to smart: why programmable payments are the future
Traditionally, payments have been push-or-pull-based: static transactions that require a chain of approvals, reconciliation, and trust. Programmable payments move us beyond the mechanics of clearing and settlement and money to be embedded with pre-defined rules that govern how and when it is used, without the need for manual intervention.
Think of programmable money as a layer of intelligence that transforms money from being simply moved, to being instructed. Whether scheduled, conditional, or responsive to real-world triggers (like deliveries, contract conditions, or cash flow thresholds), these automated instructions increase visibility, reduce errors, and ensure consistent application of financial processes.
Banks now have the ability not just to digitise their services around money, but to digitise money itself.
Putting banks back in control
For years, banks have been stuck reacting to new market entrants, building digital layers on top of legacy infrastructure, integrating piecemeal APIs, or launching innovation hubs that rarely affected the core business. Meanwhile, fintech’s have nibbled away at market share with slick UX and agile deployment strategies.
But programmable payments change the game. They’re not about layering services on top of money; they’re about codifying rules into the money itself. And this innovation can be delivered without full-scale infrastructure replacement. Forward-thinking banks are leveraging trusted platforms to integrate programmable financial logic into existing operations, from commercial cash management and retail automation to treasury optimisation.
This means banks can accelerate innovation within a proven, compliant, and scalable framework. They gain a new level of agility to test, deploy, and evolve, all while retaining full ownership of infrastructure and compliance responsibilities.
Why it matters for customers, compliance, and competition
Customers, whether individuals, SMEs or corporates, increasingly expect personalised, real-time services tailored to their behaviour and needs. That expectation is no longer just set by fintech’s, it’s set by big tech and daily digital experiences.
Programmable payments enable exactly that without passing the operational complexity onto the customer. A retail customer can automate how their salary is distributed across bills, savings, and spending. A small business can auto-trigger supplier payments upon receipt of goods. A multinational can instantly reconcile payments across subsidiaries while adhering to tax rules in multiple jurisdictions, all without the friction of traditional systems.
For regulators and compliance professionals, programmable payments offer clarity and structure. Transactions executed through programmed logic reduce the risk of error or misconduct. Rules can be embedded at the point of transaction, with audit trails and conditions maintained and enforced automatically. It’s a regulator’s dream: greater transparency, real-time compliance, and a reduced burden of post-transaction monitoring.
From a competitive standpoint, banks that lead in programmable services will define the next standard for customer experience and efficiency. As we’ve seen with open banking, waiting at the back risks ceding ground not just to challengers, but to other banks willing to move faster.
The next evolution isn’t a trend, it’s a shift in model
This is not a trend. It’s a model shift, from passive transactions to active financial intelligence. Programmable payments represent the convergence of compliance, logic, and customer empowerment, embedded directly into the payment itself.
It delivers the holy grail for financial institutions: operational agility with regulatory security. Banks can now move from costly workarounds to elegant, automated workflows that lower costs and boost value.
These systems have been designed with the real world in mind. They use open, domain-specific languages, run within trusted environments, and integrate into both legacy systems and modern digital asset platforms. They’re not theoretical; they’re being deployed right now by banks ready to modernise gradually, securely, and at scale.
Looking ahead
The question is not whether programmable payments will define the next era of banking, they already are. The real question is who will lead it.
Financial institutions today face a dual imperative: modernise to stay relevant and innovate to stay ahead. With programmable payments, they don’t need to choose between internal compliance, customer demands, or competitive pressure. They can address all three, simultaneously and intelligently.
Banks now have a unique window to reclaim innovation on their own terms: secure, compliant, and future-ready. Programmable payments are the vehicle. It’s time to drive.
