Chris Ward, EVP of Enterprise Payments at Truist Bank, shared insights on the future of payments at the AFP conference in Nashville. Truist Bank, among the top 10 banks in the U.S. with assets of $535 billion, has an edge in both regional and national markets, which Ward attributes to its emphasis on “speed and simplicity” as differentiators.
Ward, who joined the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank over two years ago, has a rich background in treasury management with previous leadership roles at PNC, Capital One, and Wells Fargo. He emphasizes Truist’s commitment to becoming a trusted payments provider for clients, aiming to provide speed, simplicity, and security — a trio he dubs the “three S’s.”
“Everyone seeks a simple, secure experience, especially in a time when companies are asked to do more with less,” he said. “Speed and transparency in transactions are crucial to meeting customer expectations.”
Truist Bank, a key sponsor of AFP, has made significant strides in real-time payments through collaborations with The Clearing House and Early Warning Services, the parent company of Zelle. Ward, a board member of The Clearing House and a representative on the Early Warning/Zelle committee, discussed the growth of Zelle and the efforts to combat fraud within the platform. He acknowledged common concerns but emphasized that Zelle’s fraud prevention measures outperform many other payment systems, given the shared responsibility in ensuring secure transactions.
Regarding AI in banking, Ward believes it will significantly impact business practices over the next decade. AI’s potential to improve fraud detection and automate tasks like processing financial statements is promising, but he also emphasized the importance of data quality and well-defined policies to maximize AI benefits.
On the ISO 20022 standard, Ward expressed skepticism about the U.S. fully moving away from paper checks, despite the potential for ISO 20022 to streamline remittance and payment data. “Many people still prefer checks for their simplicity in pairing payment and remittance data,” Ward explained, suggesting that while electronic options may expand, some businesses might stick with checks for the time being.
Ward sees Real-Time Payments (RTP) as pivotal in addressing some of these pain points, especially around transaction confirmation. Unlike other payment methods in the U.S., RTP provides immediate notification of received payments, allowing businesses to manage cash flow better and maintain transparency with critical suppliers.
