The EMEA banking sector displays a near-unanimous urge to change existing payments systems and solutions, setting aside $1,5 million average budgets for infrastructure modernisation.
The Big Survey 2025: Modernising Payments, released by Volante Technologies, a Payments as a Service (PaaS) company, illustrated the commitment of senior banking decision-makers to payment modernization.
These intentions of bankers from 11 EMEA countries, ranging from the UK and Nordics to Saudi Arabia and Iberia, are supported by solid payment infrastructure investment plans for the next 6 to 11 months.
Here is what the Volante annual survey revealed:
- 99% of banks are deploying or have recently deployed a new payments solution;
- 88% will invest $500K–$5M in payments modernisation this year, with Spanish institutions being the most generous;
- 52% plan to launch an innovative solution within 6 months;
- 49% of banks report that their payments modernisation budgets increased over the past 12 months;
- 58% are using a hybrid cloud approach;
- 38% say vendor selection is their top concern;
- ISO 20022 gaps persist: 73% of Spanish banks are fully compliant, while 43% of UK banks are still exploring options just months before the deadline;
- on average, EMEA banks plan to spend about $1.42 million on payments modernisation in the coming year;
- 27% of banks still rely on legacy payment systems over 5–10+ years old;
- 29% of respondents quote cost efficiency, customer expectations and operational resilience to be the main drivers for modernization decisions;
- ~33% of banks are concerned about operational disruption;
- ~33% also worry about internal skills gaps during transition;
- Embedded finance and digital wallets are driving demand to embed payment services in non-financial platforms.
In the UK banks, in particular, the situation with modernization plans is even more daring. All (100%) of the surveyed bank executives plan to roll out new payment solutions to replace legacy systems, which are still leveraged by one-third of local institutions.
UK Banks Payment Modernization Snapshot 2025
| Key Insight | Data / Detail |
|---|---|
| Planned investment (12 months) | ~$1.25 million average per bank |
| Legacy replacement priority | 100% plan to roll out new payment solutions to replace legacy systems |
| Modernisation timeline | ~66% aim to implement within 6 months; 21% in just 1–3 weeks |
| Use of legacy systems | ~33% still operate 5–10+ year-old infrastructure |
| Top motivation | 27% cite cost efficiency and resilience |
| Other drivers | ISO 20022 readiness, customer expectations, fintech competition |
| Main concern | 32% cite vendor selection as the top challenge |
| Cloud adoption outlook | 2 in 5 are exploring cloud; majority still use on-premises systems |
| SEPA Instant adoption (voluntary in UK) | 1 in 7 already offer it; 25% close to offering |
| Approach to transformation | Phased implementation to manage disruption and ensure value delivery |
| Strategic enablers | Trusted partners and Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) seen as key to success |
