News

Real-time payments making inroads worldwide

November 3, 2017

Global adoption of real-time payment programs by financial institutions is picking up speed, according to new research from FIS.

In its fourth annual Flavors of Fast report, FIS identified 25 active real-time payment programs around the world, up from 19 in 2016 and more than double the number in the company's first study in 2013.

The report identified an additional 11 faster payments programs under development — up from just five in 2016 — and eight more that FIS expects to be announced in the next 12–18 months.

"Interest in real-time payments platforms is growing at an ever-faster pace," said Anthony Jabbour, chief operating officer of banking and payments at FIS, in a press release. "Financial institutions need to be actively exploring use cases for real-time payments within their own organizations for meeting the requirements of their customers. Those who wait may find themselves left behind as the faster payments revolution takes hold."

The FIS research report includes a Faster Payments Innovation Index measuring the comprehensiveness of current real-time payments programs. Programs were rated on a scale of one to five (five being highest) based on their effectiveness at meeting the real-time payments needs of both consumer and business customers.

The report calls out three real-time payments programs deemed especially innovative:

• India's Unified Payments Interface earned the only index score of five. This rating was based on UPI's standard published application programming interface and strong participation from third-party vendors, which has resulted in high transaction volumes and immediate payment services available across India.
• Finland's Siirto real-time payments program received an index score of four. Siirto works without a credit or debit card — users can send and receive money with just a mobile phone — and claims to meet the requirements for PSD2, Europe's financial information regulations, which go into effect in 2018.
• Australia's New Payments Platform, scheduled to go live at the end of 2017, has broad support with the country's four major banks, and numerous credit unions and mutual banks also plan to offer immediate payment services in remote locations through an Australian Settlements Ltd. managed service.