Finastra: Are Global Payments Modernising Fast Enough?

MUFG is accelerating its digital transformation by extending its long-standing partnership with Finastra. 

The Japanese banking giant has selected the Global PAYplus platform to support its Automated Clearing House (ACH) services in the US, marking a major expansion of its unified payments architecture.

This move follows the successful overhaul of MUFG’s payment systems across Japan and Europe. 

By integrating the US market into this framework, the bank is consolidating its domestic and cross-border payment processing onto a single, cloud-native and modular platform.

The partnership continues to focus on delivering a scalable environment that can support the bank's long-term growth across its three major regions.

Standardising global infrastructure

The deployment is part of a multi-year modernisation strategy aimed at reducing the complexity of MUFG’s global payments landscape. 

By moving away from legacy systems, the bank is achieving significant performance gains.

Across its global operations, Straight Through Processing (STP) rates now exceed 95%, highlighting the efficiency of a standardised approach.

Alla Whitston, CIO of MUFG Americas, says: “In 2021, we began our ISO 20022 journey with a bold decision to replace the core payment engine with a completely new one. 

“After careful evaluation, we selected Finastra as our partner to first modernise our payment capabilities and following its successful completion decided to migrate our legacy ACH platform, benefiting from their global payments' expertise and modern technology stack. 

“Global PAYplus offers highly configurable capabilities to modernize our payments systems more broadly too, driving ISO 20022 compliance and providing the flexibility to launch new services.”

The transition to a modern technology stack is not just about replacing old hardware – it is about ensuring the bank can meet evolving regulatory requirements while maintaining the flexibility to scale.

Embracing ISO 20022 compliance

At the heart of this transformation is the shift toward ISO 20022, the emerging global standard for financial messaging.

The Global PAYplus platform is ISO 20022-native, allowing MUFG to handle richer data sets and improve interoperability between different regions.

This architectural shift enables the bank to respond faster to customer expectations and shifting regulatory landscapes.

By using a configurable platform, MUFG can launch new services without the friction typically associated with legacy banking environments.

Barry Rodrigues, EVP, Payments at Finastra, explains: “MUFG's continued investment is a strong signal of where banking is headed – toward modern, unified and highly adaptable payments infrastructure. 

“We're proud to partner with them on this journey, helping deliver the resilience, speed and flexibility that banks need today, while building a foundation that can evolve with future demands.”

Future-ready payments

The US deployment represents the latest milestone in MUFG’s efforts to simplify its technical debt. 

The Global PAYplus platform provides the resilience and configurability required to support a global footprint, ensuring the bank can adapt to local market needs while maintaining a global standard.

By consolidating its ACH and cross-border processing, MUFG is positioned to manage increasing volumes with greater agility. 

This unified approach reduces operational overheads and provides a stable foundation for further innovation in the digital payments space.