Payments-as-a-Service for Corporate Banking: Unlocking Value for Large Enterprises

In today’s rapidly evolving payments landscape, large enterprises face mounting pressure to deliver seamless, secure, and scalable payment experiences for their customers and partners. The rise of real-time payments, embedded finance, and a proliferation of payment channels has transformed expectations—not just for consumers, but for corporate clients whose payment needs are complex, high-volume, and mission-critical. For banks serving these clients, the challenge is clear: modernize payments infrastructure or risk losing relevance to more agile competitors.

Corporate banking clients demand more than just basic transaction processing. They require:

• Scalability to handle high transaction volumes and seasonal spikes without disruption.
• Security and resilience to protect sensitive data and ensure business continuity.
• Regulatory compliance with evolving standards such as ISO 20022 and local market mandates.
• Seamless integration with ERP, treasury, and accounting systems to enable straight-through processing and real-time visibility.
• Cost efficiency to reduce the burden of maintaining legacy infrastructure and manual processes.

Traditional payment systems, often built on decades-old technology, struggle to keep pace with these demands. They are costly to maintain, slow to adapt, and increasingly vulnerable to security threats and regulatory change. The result? Operational bottlenecks, higher fraud risk, and an inability to deliver the innovative experiences that large enterprises now expect.

Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) models, enabled by cloud-native platforms like Form3, are redefining how banks deliver payment services to their corporate clients. By decoupling payment processing from monolithic legacy cores, PaaS allows banks to:

• Outsource non-differentiating payment processing to trusted partners, reducing cost and complexity.
• Rapidly scale and adapt to new payment methods, channels, and regulatory requirements.
• Focus on customer experience and value-added services that drive loyalty and growth.

Form3’s API-first, always-on platform exemplifies this new approach. It provides banks and regulated fintechs with a secure, scalable, and cost-effective way to orchestrate their payments business—delivered as a fully managed service in a multi-cloud environment. This not only strengthens resilience and platform security but also frees banks to focus on building value-added propositions for their corporate clients.

PaaS models are uniquely suited to address the specific needs of large enterprises:

• Scalability and Resilience: Cloud-native architectures handle surges in payment volumes and integrate new channels without disruption, ensuring business continuity for high-value corporate transactions.
• Security and Compliance: Advanced security controls and continuous monitoring are embedded at every layer, enabling rapid adaptation to evolving regulatory requirements and minimizing fraud risk.
• Integration with ERP and Treasury Systems: API-first platforms enable seamless connectivity with enterprise systems, supporting straight-through processing, real-time reconciliation, and enhanced cash management.
• Operational Efficiency: Automation and intelligent workflows reduce manual intervention, streamline reconciliation, and lower the cost-to-serve.

Modern payment ecosystems demand more than incremental upgrades. Banks must embrace:

• Cloud-native platforms for scalable, resilient payment processing.
• API-first architectures for rapid integration with partners, fintechs, and new payment rails.
• Composable services to unbundle core payment capabilities and support PaaS models, opening new revenue streams and business models.

Regulatory mandates—such as the global adoption of ISO 20022—are not just compliance hurdles; they are catalysts for innovation. PaaS platforms enable banks to:

• Assess the impact of regulatory changes on payment operations and customer experience.
• Leverage regulatory shifts to modernize infrastructure, unlock new data insights, and differentiate in the market.
• Ensure ongoing compliance through automated controls and real-time reporting.

With deep expertise in financial services transformation, Publicis Sapient partners with leading banks to deliver seamless, resilient, and cost-effective payment solutions for corporate clients. Our approach includes:

• Modernizing core payment processing: Replacing legacy gateways, migrating to cloud-native systems, and enabling real-time, 24/7 payments.
• Enhancing security and fraud prevention: Deploying AI-powered solutions that detect and prevent fraud, safeguard customer data, and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Driving operational efficiency: Automating manual processes, streamlining reconciliation, and reducing cost-to-serve.
• Accelerating time to market: Leveraging proven accelerators, agile delivery, and a robust ecosystem of fintech partners like Form3.

Our work with global banks demonstrates the power of PaaS and coreless, AI-powered payments modernization:

• Rapid transformation: Banks have launched new digital payment platforms in as little as 12 weeks, enabling them to compete with digital-native challengers.
• Operational excellence: Clients have achieved up to 90% straight-through processing, dramatically reducing onboarding and transaction times.
• Fraud reduction: AI-driven solutions have delivered up to 95% reduction in targeted payment fraud types, protecting both customers and the bank’s reputation.
• Scalable innovation: Modular, cloud-native platforms support rapid rollout of new payment products and services, driving growth and customer loyalty.

The payments landscape will only become more complex and competitive. By embracing Payments-as-a-Service and coreless banking, banks can:

• Deliver seamless, invisible payment journeys that corporate clients demand.
• Stay ahead of regulatory and security challenges.
• Unlock new business models and revenue streams.
• Future-proof their position in the payments ecosystem.

Ready to transform your corporate payments business? Publicis Sapient stands ready to help you modernize, innovate, and win in the next generation of payments. Let’s build the future of corporate payments—together.

Relevant Links

• Publicis Sapient and Form3
• Modernización de Pagos Corporativos en América Latina: El Camino Hacia la Competitividad y la Innovación (LATAM)
• Payments Modernization in Asia Pacific: Regional Challenges and Opportunities
• Moderniser les paiements d’entreprise en Europe : Un enjeu stratégique pour les banques et les grandes entreprises (Europe)
• Publicis Sapient and Form3