Real-time payments are growing in popularity the world over, with governments, banks and corporates all doing their part to make these transactions the new norm.
While the United States has lagged behind much of the world in widespread real-time payments adoption, American banks are picking up the slack. For example, First Citizens Bank now lets customers receive instant payments via the RTP® network, allowing funds to be deposited securely into savings and checking accounts within seconds — faster than alternatives like automated clearing house (ACH) and wire transfers. The RTP network also offers 24/7 availability and electronic notifications detailing transaction specifics. Supporting this trend, a study from U.S. Bank indicates that more than half of American companies are already using the RTP network and FedNow® Service.
Meanwhile, National Australia Bank (NAB) has integrated incoming international transfers with Australia’s domestic real-time payment service, enabling global financial institutions to send instantaneous Australian dollar payments on behalf of their customers. This system bypasses time zones and traditional banking constraints, such as market cut-offs, weekends and holidays, ensuring faster processing and quicker access to funds for Australians, regardless of their banking institution.
Cross-border instant payments are also gaining momentum in other regions. Visa partnered with London-based FinTech Revolut in August to enable cross-border instant card transfers for Revolut’s business customers in 78 countries via the Visa Direct system. Through this collaboration, payments arrive in recipient accounts within 30 minutes and support more than 50 currencies.
QR codes have emerged as a popular payment method, with many countries organizing their real-time payment systems around them. One example comes from Hungary, where the national bank launched a new instant payment solution called qvik. The system aims to streamline payments by allowing users to pay via QR codes, near-field communication (NFC) technology, mobile app links and payment request approvals. Built on Hungary’s domestic Instant Payment System, qvik is operational in select brick-and-mortar shops and online stores. The initial rollout focuses on QR code payments at merchants using mobile card terminals and is available at 5,000 online retailers.
The Real-Time Payments World Map, a collaboration with The Clearing House, examines the latest developments fueling the rapid expansion of instant transactions worldwide.