This suggests that a significant proportion of UK organisations could face rising operational complexity, higher risk exposure and slower decision making if current systems remain unchanged. Payment systems are no longer simply transactional mechanics. They now influence financial visibility, audit readiness, customer experience and long-term scalability.
Why payment alignment matters
Finance leaders operate in an environment where transparency, control and predictability are essential. Systems that are only partially aligned increase the probability of:
- Fragmented oversight
- Duplicated effort
- Inconsistent reporting
- Additional manual interventions
- Slower response to regulatory change
The finance function is expected to forecast more accurately, advise more strategically and automate more efficiently. A payment environment that only somewhat aligns with organisational needs introduces friction at every stage of that journey.
Current state of payment system alignment
According to our research sample:
- 47 per cent say their payment systems align very well
- 51 per cent say they align somewhat well
- 3 per cent say they do not align well
Systems that are somewhat aligned may appear manageable today, but they are likely to become increasingly challenging as organisations scale, diversify and integrate new channels.
The top payment challenges reported by finance leaders
Finance leaders selected their top three payment challenges. The most common were:
- Compliance and fraud risk: 51 per cent
- Predictable cash flow: 45 per cent
- Operational costs of managing multiple providers: 44 per cent
- Meeting diverse customer payment preferences: 41 per cent
- Reconciliation and reporting across multiple systems: 41 per cent
Complexity is magnified when multiple systems or providers are involved. Controls become harder to standardise, reconciliation becomes slower and reporting requires more manual intervention.
The cost of complexity and manual intervention
Finance teams spend a meaningful proportion of time resolving payment related issues. Reported monthly time spent included:
- 11 to 20 hours: 33 per cent
- 21 to 30 hours: 19 per cent
- More than 30 hours: 8 per cent
The average time reported was 16 hours per month. This equates to approximately 192 hours per year per team when multiplied by twelve. This is presented to highlight the long term opportunity cost of preventable work.
Customer expectations and revenue protection
(based on Access PaySuite research with 1,000 UK consumers)
Understanding customer preference is important for revenue continuity. In our consumer survey, 45 per cent of respondents said they had abandoned a purchase because their preferred payment method was not available. In addition, 90 per cent said it is important that businesses offer their preferred payment method.
Customer expectations form a direct link between payment flexibility and revenue outcomes. Payment decisions have now become commercial decisions, not operational considerations.
The case for consolidation
The findings across both surveys support a clear direction of travel. Consolidation enables:
- centralised oversight and control
- reduced likelihood of manual rework
- consistent reporting across channels
- simplified vendor governance
- improved readiness for regulatory and market change
Consolidation is not a trend. It is a finance led risk mitigation and value protection strategy.
This challenge of misalignment echoes our previous insight on the ‘missing middle,’ where mid-market CFOs report that their payments infrastructure and ERP systems are not fully joined up, undermining data flow, visibility and control.
Payment maturity checklist
Ask the following questions when assessing payment maturity:
- Are we confident that current systems will scale effectively in the next three years
- How many manual reconciliation tasks still exist
- Are we meeting all relevant consumer or payer expectations
- How many providers and systems currently require maintenance or integration
- Is payment data available in real time and in one place
Vendor and solution evaluation guidance
Use these questions when assessing potential partners:
- Can the provider supply a single payment view across channels
- What reporting and reconciliation automation is delivered as standard
- How is compliance and fraud risk managed and monitored
- What volume or growth changes can the platform accommodate without redesign
- How are upgrades or new payment methods deployed
Payment systems are now critical financial infrastructure. Many organisations are operating with systems that work well enough today but are only somewhat prepared for tomorrow. Finance leaders who pursue consolidation can reduce operational drag, increase visibility, protect revenue and unlock capacity for strategic decision making.
If you’d like to explore how to close the payments gap in your mid-market business, read our blog How mid-market businesses are rethinking payments in the missing middle for insights on integration, scale and control.