August 14, 2025
Consumers Want Instant Payments, Not Instant AI
Urgent and same-day bill payments are becoming a habit for a growing share of consumers.
The 2025 ACI Speedpay Pulse Report shows that 30% of people made an urgent or same-day payment in the past year, with Gen Z and Millennials making up the bulk at 84%.
Many cite speed as the most important, so much so that 25% would even pay extra to process bills faster.
The report reveals that digital channels are the backbone of this shift. Billers’ websites, mobile apps, and banks’ online platforms remain the top choices for monthly payments, while mobile wallets have gone fully mainstream, used by half of all smartphone owners. Younger consumers, raised in an on-demand economy, are setting the pace and expecting billers to match it.
Speed Hits Its Limit
When things go wrong, speed alone isn’t enough. When resolving bill-related issues, almost 90% of consumers still want to speak with a human, and not a bot. This preference cuts across all age groups, even those most open to AI. Millennials and Gen Z may be more positive toward AI overall, but they still value human help in moments that matter.
Ron Shultz, General Manager of ACI Speedpay, said: “Customer loyalty today is built in moments where payments are instant, seamless and frictionless, grounded in trust and customer centricity. Billers who meet the customers where they are not only elevate the payment experience but also drive tangible business values, from faster collection at lower cost to greater efficiency at scale.”
Security concerns add another layer of complexity. Around 20% of consumers have suffered from identity theft, and in 40% of those cases, fraudulent accounts were opened in their name. As payment channels get faster and more digital, trust and security remain essential.
Billers that deliver on both speed and human support will have the highest chances of meeting shifting expectations while maintaining customer loyalty.
