FIS report reveals surge in real-time payments during pandemic

By Pavithra R

Financial service technology provider FIS has released its new research showing that the adoption and usage of real-time payments being accelerated amidst the pandemic and the real-time rails are now offering capabilities that extend beyond instant payments.

FIS’ 7th annual Flavors of Fast report highlights key findings of real-time payments networks across the globe:

• 6 countries have seen a twofold or greater increase in the number of real-time payments processed over the past year including Bahrain (657%), Ghana (488%), Philippines (309%), Australia (214%), India (213%), and Poland (208%).
• Over the same time, 4 countries including Philippines (482%), Bahrain (311%), Australia (231%) and Ghana (222%) have seen a twofold or greater increase in the monetary value of real-time payments transactions.
• India remains as the leader in real-time payments, processing 41M real-time transactions per day, more than any other country.
• Vietnam & Hungary added real-time payments networks since last year, bringing the total number of countries with such schemes to 56.
• South Korea reported the highest number of real-time transactions per capita, with 75 transactions per citizen, per year, processed through the country’s HOFINET scheme.
• In the U.S., more than 130 FIs are currently implementing real-time payments, a five-fold increase since September 2019.
• More than half (56%) of all European payments service providers have joined the pan-European SEPA Credit Transfer Instant Payments network, which brings cross-border & instant payments to 20 countries.

The report also shows that Request to Pay (R2P), cross-border payments, and corporate treasury business-to-business (B2B) payments are driving adoption of global real-time payments networks. The U.K. government has formally launched a framework for the development of a national R2P system built on international standards. Besides, The Clearing House in the U.S. is working with banks and billers to pilot an R2P service that is expected to launch later this year.

“The current pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of instantly getting funds in the hands of those who need it, whether individuals or businesses. This year’s FIS Flavors of Fast report shows that as real-time payments networks mature, they are bringing value beyond speed. At FIS, we are working to further advance the business payments experience across the global ecosystem to make it simpler, easier and more cost-effective while enhancing the user experience,” said Raja Gopalakrishnan, head of Global Real-time Payments at FIS.

Established since 1968, FIS is a provider of technology solutions for merchants, banks, and capital markets firms globally. FIS is a Fortune 500 company and is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.FIS supports real-time payments across the globe, processing instant transactions in 24 countries including the United States, India, China, Australia and the U.K.