When today’s consumers need something, they expect to get it right away. Whether it’s summoning a ride, checking information or downloading music or media, the expected wait time is seconds, not hour or days. In the world of payments, the need for instant gratification is no exception.
The October edition of the PYMNTS Faster Payments Tracker™, powered by NACHA, looks at notable developments in the global remittance market, including new real-time payment tools for SMBs, blockchain and the latest trends in faster payments infrastructures, including the recent rollout of Same Day ACH Phase 2.
News from Around the World of Faster Payments:
Over the past few weeks, several companies rolled out their own faster payment services, and the second phase of Same Day ACH officially went live.
On September 15, 2017, Phase 2 of NACHA’s same-day ACH rule change went into effect, enabling same-day ACH debits. The launch of the service could mean big improvements for several different business scenarios that could help keep cash flows intact. Smaller merchants, for example, can use the debit service to quickly collect ACH payments and gain faster access to funds. Businesses and consumers can also use the newly launched same-day ACH service to make last-minute bill payments.
In addition to new services that can help users pay bills and improve cash flows, the past month saw several companies invest in remittance services to provide an assist to people living and working overseas, with the Indian market seeing the bulk of investments. PayPal-backed platform Xoom, for example, recently launched a new service that quickly processes high-value remittance transactions, a feature that could help Indian citizens living overseas quickly transfer money back home to family and friends. Additionally, money transfer service provider WorldRemit and Indian financial institution YES BANK announced a recent collaboration to provide roughly 16 million Indian citizens with access to remittance services.
Other new faster payments services were launched to help smaller merchants gain faster access to cash to keep their coffers filled. Financials services firm Visa and payment processing company Vantiv recently partnered to offer small businesses a new service called FastAccess Funding that enables merchants to have settlement payments directly deposited into their debit cards instead of waiting for funds to arrive following ACH processing.
For all the latest notable Faster Payments headlines, check out news and trends in the October Tracker.
Seeking P2P Payments Domination, Zelle Seeks to Deliver Instant Gratification
Newer FinTech-backed P2P payments services like Venmo and Square Cash have caught on with millennial consumers in particular. But competition in the P2P market appears to be intensifying, as traditional financial institutions launched their own P2P service, Zelle. The Zelle network has had a busy year so far, processing nearly 100 million transactions valued at roughly $33.6 billion during the first half of 2017.
So far, just over a dozen banks are offering Zelle through their mobile apps, and others are working on their own plans to release it. Now, Zelle has been launched as a standalone app in an effort to reach customers that bank with institutions outside Zelle’s existing roster of participating banks. Melissa Lowry, Zelle’s VP of Marketing and Branding, recently spoke with PYMNTS for the Tracker’s feature story about why Zelle could have an advantage over other P2P payments players and appeal to both millennials and their parents.
Find the full story in the latest edition of the Faster Payments Tracker.
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About the Tracker
The PYMNTS Faster Payments Tracker™, powered by NACHA, is your go-to resource for staying up to date on a month-by-month basis. The Tracker highlights the contribution of different stakeholders, including institutions and technology coming together to make this happen.
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