For decades, accounts receivable has operated on the assumption that there would be time to fix mistakes after money moved. But as instant and near-instant payment capabilities become more common, that assumption is breaking down.
PYMNTS Intelligence research in collaboration with Plaid suggests the challenge extends beyond fraud prevention. Faster payments are exposing weaknesses in how finance organizations verify customers, manage receivables and maintain cash flow visibility long before a fraud team becomes involved. The issue belongs to AR as much as risk management.
According to the report “Early Detection: Why Top-Performing Firms Focus on Fraud Before It Starts,” 57% of middle-market firms still detect fraud or payment failures only after settlement, when recovery options are limited and operational costs have already mounted. That finding points to a process problem as much as a security problem.
Less Time to Fix Mistakes
When payments settle more quickly, businesses lose the cushion that once allowed manual reviews, phone confirmations and document verification to catch problems before funds disappeared or goods were delivered. Instead, AR teams often find themselves reacting to returned payments, disputes or invalid account information after downstream processes have already been triggered.
The report found that only 30% of surveyed firms typically detect problems before settlement, while nearly six in 10 continue discovering them afterward. That reactive model becomes expensive as payment cycles compress.
The consequences extend beyond fraud losses. Invalid accounts delay collections. Payment reversals create reconciliation work. Customer service teams spend additional time resolving issues, while finance departments must revise cash forecasts that assumed payments would clear successfully.
Verification Is Becoming a Discipline
The firms performing best are not necessarily adding friction to payments. Instead, they are moving verification earlier.
Companies that detect problems before settlement are roughly twice as likely to use instant bank account verification and open banking-based ownership verification than organizations that primarily discover issues afterward. Rather than relying solely on manual reviews or customer callbacks, they establish confidence in account ownership before payment execution begins.
The payoff appears to extend beyond fraud reduction. Among companies that recently implemented instant or real-time bank account verification, 84% described the technology as very or extremely effective at reducing fraud risk or improving payment integrity. Seventy-eight percent reported similar success after upgrading identity verification during customer onboarding.
Payment quality determines forecasting quality. If AR teams cannot trust that incoming payments will clear or that bank accounts belong to the correct counterparties, every downstream financial projection becomes less reliable.
The report also highlights the cost of fragmented technology. Businesses whose payment verification and fraud detection systems are poorly integrated into AR workflows report fraud and nonclearance costs approaching 40 basis points of annual revenue, compared with roughly 30 to 35 basis points for firms with better integration. Meanwhile, companies that believe faster payments have increased fraud exposure report costs equal to 41 basis points of revenue.
For finance leaders, the implication is straightforward. In a world where money moves almost immediately, the traditional separation between fraud prevention and accounts receivable is becoming harder to sustain. Verification is part of collections strategy, cash management and customer onboarding all at once.
At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.
