Global Real-Time Payments Growth “Sustainable” As New Use Cases Push Transactions to Record Highs – ACI Worldwide Report
April 30 2024 - 12:01AM
Business Wire
- 266.2 billion real-time payments transactions were recorded
globally in 2023, a YoY growth of 42.2%
- 49% of all real-time transactions worldwide were made in India,
followed by Brazil (14%), Thailand (8%), China (7%) and South Korea
(3%)
- Report highlights lessons learned from five of the world’s most
successful real-time payments markets: India, Brazil, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Netherlands
Global real-time payments growth has reached sustainable levels
with 266.2 billion real-time payments transactions recorded in
2023—a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 42.2%—according to the 2024
Prime Time for Real-Time report, published by ACI Worldwide
(NASDAQ: ACIW), a global leader in mission-critical, real-time
payments software, in partnership with GlobalData, a leading data
and analytics company.
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While previous reports highlighted the economic benefits of
real-time payments and consumer uptake around the world, this
year’s report—now in its fifth edition—takes a deep dive into some
of the world’s leading real-time payments markets, highlighting the
factors that have enabled those countries to build successful
end-to-end real-time payments ecosystems. The report also reveals
that many of the newer market entrants around the globe are quickly
catching up, with lawmakers and central banks around the world
pushing for adoption, determined to reap the economic benefits of
real-time payments and drive financial inclusion for their
citizens.
Key Findings at a Glance
- Globally, 575.1 billion real-time transactions are forecast by
2028, representing a 2023-2028 compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
of 16.7%. By 2028, real-time payments are expected to account for
27.1% of all electronic payments globally.
- India continues to dominate the global real-time payments
market, with 129.3 billion transactions in 2023 – more than the
rest of the world’s top 10 real-time payments markets combined. Of
all electronic payments made in India, 84% are now real-time.
- Brazil saw a remarkable YoY growth of 77.9% in 2023, with 37.4
billion real-time payments transactions. Brazil is the undisputed
real-time payments leader in Latin America, responsible for 75% of
all transactions in the region. Other Latin American countries are
pushing ahead with real-time payments modernization initiatives,
looking to replicate Brazil’s success. Peru and Colombia are
predicted to have the highest 2023-2028 CAGRs in the region, with
51.2% and 42.6%, respectively.
- Asia Pacific (APAC) is the largest real-time payments market,
with 185.8 billion transactions in 2023, representing 24.0% of all
electronic payments in the region. With four of the top five
real-time payments markets by volume, the APAC region is projected
to see over 351.5 billion real-time transactions by 2028, a
2023-2028 CAGR of 13.6%.
- The Middle East is the fastest-growing real-time payments
market globally. Oman, Kuwait and Qatar all launched schemes in
2023, joining more established regional players like Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and UAE. The 2023-2028 CAGR for the region is 28.8% –
transactions are expected to rise from 855 million to 3.0 billion
by 2028.
- The European Union (EU) Instant Payments Regulation, passed in
February 2024, is expected to drive instant payments volume across
the Single Euro Payments Area, including the 27 EU member states.
By 2028, instant payments are forecast to account for 13% of all
electronic payments in Europe, up from 8% in 2023.
- North America is a major growth market to watch—primarily due
to the launch of the FedNow service in the U.S. in 2023—with a
projected 2023-2028 CAGR of 27.1%.
- Nigeria is the undisputed real-time payments leader in Africa,
another major growth market. The country recorded 7.9 billion
transactions in 2023; real-time payments had an impressive 82.1%
share of all electronic payments in 2023.
Market Deep-Dives: Lessons from the
Most Successful Real-Time Payments Markets
For the first time, this year’s report takes a deep dive into
five of the most successful real-time payments markets
worldwide—India, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Netherlands—analyzing the driving factors and use cases that have
allowed those countries to develop thriving real-time payment
ecosystems with the power to transform businesses and improve
consumers’ lives.
- The Power of Collaboration: Whether by government
mandate or industry consensus, real-time payments systems thrive
through active collaboration. Financial institutions, payment
service providers, central banks and government institutions,
merchants and third-party stakeholders must work together to build
and operate successful real-time payments ecosystems.
- Open and Inclusive Payments Ecosystems: The most
successful real-time payments markets are fostering fintech-rich
environments. The research shows that fintechs and smaller banks
play an increasingly significant role in the real-time payment
ecosystems of the world’s leading markets. Larger banks will need
to reevaluate strategies and forge new partnerships with fintechs
to remain competitive in the rapidly growing real-time payments
markets across the world.
- Strong Incentives for Merchants: Merchant adoption and
uptake are crucial for real-time payments growth. The Indian
government, for example, removed merchant discount rates and issued
all merchants with QR codes for UPI acceptance, actively
incentivizing merchants of all sizes to accept UPI payments.
- Constant Flow of New, User-Friendly Use Cases: Real-time
payments thrive in countries where innovative use cases have found
mass adoption by consumers or businesses. Whether utility or tax
bills, transport tickets or road tolls, subscription payments, or
the weekly grocery shop, consumers in the most successful markets
are now paying in real time.
- Cross-Border Real-Time Payments Links are the next Big
Frontier: Efforts to extend real-time to cross-border payments
are finally paying off, and Asian countries are leading the way.
Payments using India’s popular UPI scheme can now be made in
Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE and France, and users of Malaysia’s
DuitNow can now make QR code real-time payments from Indonesia,
Singapore, Thailand and China.
- Real-time payments fraud: Generative AI is changing the
nature and scale of fraud attacks, but the industry is rising to
the challenge. Consumer rights initiatives, education programs and
government interventions—combined with new AI-based anti-fraud
technology and methods—are starting to make an impact.
“This year’s report highlights the key success factors that have
allowed some countries to forge ahead with real-time payments
modernization and reap enormous benefits for consumers and
businesses,” said Craig Ramsey, global head of real-time payments,
ACI Worldwide. “Modern real-time payments require collaboration,
and they encourage a new generation of market entrants for banks to
either compete or cooperate with – often both. The world’s most
successful real-time payments schemes, notably those in India and
Brazil, also feature use cases that have proved popular beyond
imagination.”
“Real-time payments—and especially cross-border payments—are the
future. They remove payments friction, provide greater liquidity in
the financial system, and ultimately drive economic growth and
financial inclusion,” said Debbie Guerra, chief product officer,
ACI Worldwide. “Banks should consider whether they are truly
maximizing the real-time rails in their market, and whether
limiting their commitment to the minimum also means limiting their
potential share of the future of payments.”
Note to editors: All key facts and figures at a glance
can be found in our Prime Time for Real-Time 2024 Infographic.
About ACI Worldwide ACI Worldwide is a global leader in
mission-critical, real-time payments software. Our proven, secure
and scalable software solutions enable leading corporations,
fintechs and financial disruptors to process and manage digital
payments, power omni-commerce payments, present and process bill
payments, and manage fraud and risk. We combine our global
footprint with a local presence to drive the real-time digital
transformation of payments and commerce.
© Copyright ACI Worldwide, Inc. 2024 ACI, ACI
Worldwide, ACI Payments, Inc., ACI Pay, Speedpay and all ACI
product/solution names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
ACI Worldwide, Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United
States, other countries or both. Other parties’ trademarks
referenced are the property of their respective owners.
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Media Nick Karoglou | Head of Communications and
Corporate Affairs | nick.karoglou@aciworldwide.com Katrin
Boettger | Communications and Corporate Affairs Director |
Katrin.boettger@aciworldwide.com
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