NEW YORK—Account analysis — long treated as a back-office routine generating dense monthly statements — is rapidly becoming a high-impact profitability engine for banks and credit unions, according to new findings from PYMNTS’ September 2025 Digital Financial Services Tracker Series, produced in collaboration with FIS.
The report concludes that, in an environment of digital acceleration and shrinking margins, institutions can no longer afford to overlook the operational gaps and revenue leakage tied to outdated billing systems.
PYMNTS reported that inefficiencies in reconciliation processes alone cost financial institutions an estimated $98.5 million annually, losses that are fully preventable with accurate, real-time data. Manual, fragmented account-analysis workflows often result in misapplied pricing tables, unbilled services, and negotiated changes that never make it into billing systems. Clients who transition to new digital tools may also continue receiving legacy pricing for years due to a lack of automated update triggers.
The report found that these weaknesses stem largely from legacy platforms built for an earlier era of static product bundles and lower transaction volumes. Modernization has historically been deferred because it requires rethinking product catalogs, aligning pricing policies, and integrating disparate systems. PYMNTS noted, however, that the cost of inaction has grown, with weak pricing governance leading some institutions to forfeit 5% to 15% of potential earnings.
Modern digital account-analysis platforms, by contrast, centralize service definitions, pricing schedules, usage data, and client entitlements into a unified structure, enabling real-time profitability insights and consistent portfolio-wide pricing adjustments. This consolidation reduces manual touchpoints, cuts error rates, and gives institutions a clearer view of which services and client segments drive margin.
PYMNTS reported that enhanced visibility also strengthens strategic decision-making. Treasury teams can identify bundling opportunities and underpriced segments, relationship managers can engage clients with data-backed recommendations, and product teams can better track adoption patterns to guide future enhancements. Automated data aggregation and fee application eliminate many sources of billing delays and inconsistencies.
As corporate treasury increasingly adopts real-time payments, embedded finance, and automated cash-management tools, the report concluded that banks and credit unions need comparable infrastructure to track usage and manage pricing at scale. Modernized account analysis — supported by automation and business-intelligence capabilities highlighted in the PYMNTS-FIS collaboration — is quickly emerging as the operational backbone required to compete in this environment.