A new survey from Citizens Bank reveals a telling story: 73% of midsize businesses have adopted instant payments—making them the most popular payment method—yet fraud concerns are at an all-time high, with 55% of smaller businesses experiencing fraud in the past year alone.

The message is clear—finance leaders want speed, but not at the expense of security.

The Speed vs. Security Dilemma

According to the Citizens 2025 Payment Trends survey, companies are accelerating their transition to all-digital payments faster than ever. While 73% have adopted instant payments, our own research shows ACH and checks still dominate actual payment volume—revealing a significant gap between capability and execution.

One-third of companies plan to go fully digital within the next year, while virtual card usage continues climbing for the third consecutive year. But here's the challenge: companies using checks experienced 53% more fraud than those without them, yet nearly half of businesses still rely on paper checks due to vendor preferences and misguided security perceptions.

Real-Time Payments Need Real-Time Intelligence

The survey identifies a critical insight—companies using real-time fraud monitoring experienced significantly less fraud than those relying on traditional methods. This isn't just about faster payments; it's about smarter payments.

Finance leaders are also rapidly adopting embedded payment APIs, with 80% of larger companies already deploying them to integrate payment systems directly into their ERPs and enterprise software. This signals a clear demand for seamless, intelligent automation in treasury operations—not standalone solutions that create more workflow friction.

The AP Copilot Advantage

This is exactly why we built AP Copilot—the world's first smart payments assistant that doesn't force you to choose between speed and security, and integrates seamlessly into your existing ERP workflow.

Our solution addresses every key challenge identified in the survey:

• Embedded finance integration: Native API connections with leading ERPs (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Workday) eliminate workflow disruption
• Instant payments with intelligence: Straight Through Processing for Real-Time payments with built-in fraud detection
• Bridge the ACH gap: Smart routing optimizes when to use instant payments vs. ACH based on cost, urgency, and risk
• Virtual cards that work: Global wallets and virtual cards that vendors actually accept
• 10x cashback optimization: Our Supplier Intelligence across 150M+ vendors ensures you're maximizing rewards on every transaction
• AI-powered fraud prevention: Real-time monitoring and risk assessment that learns from every payment

The Bottom Line

Finance leaders are demanding payment solutions that deliver both speed and security—but more importantly, they need solutions that work within their existing systems. The survey shows 80% of larger companies are deploying embedded payment APIs, yet our research reveals most payments still flow through legacy ACH and check processes.

While 47% of businesses still cling to checks due to vendor limitations, AP Copilot's ERP-integrated approach and comprehensive supplier network eliminate those friction points—giving you the instant payments you want, within the workflows you already use, with the security you need.

Ready to see how AP Copilot can transform your payment operations? [Schedule a demo today] and join the finance leaders who've already made the switch to intelligent automation.

Read the full Citizens 2025 Payment Trends survey here to see all the insights shaping the future of business payments.