Instant payment (sometimes referred to as real-time payment or faster payment) is a method of electronic funds transfer, allowing for almost immediate transfer of money between bank accounts. This was in contrast to the previous transfer times of one to three business days that had been in place until the mid-2010s.[1]
Since the mid-2010s many countries have implemented instant payment systems that speed up the transfer between bank accounts in response to customer demand for faster transactions.[1]
The Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) in 2018 defined instant payments as:
Electronic retail payment solutions available 24/7/365 and resulting in the immediate or close-to-immediate interbank clearing of the transaction and crediting of the payee’s account with confirmation to the payer (within seconds of payment initiation).[2]
History
editOriginally clearing of payments was based on the cheque clearing cycle that required physical cheques to be exchanged by banks at clearing houses for payments to be made between bank accounts. When electronic payments entered the banking systems from the 1970s onwards, the same timeframes and processes were used to settle these electronic payments.
The growth of e-commerce since the 2000s has caused a change in people's spending patterns and expectations. Shopping is no longer confined to regular business hours, creating new challenges for funds transfers.[3] Similarly, merchants require faster and more reliable money transfer systems to keep up with consumers' demands.[4]
Traditional electronic payments like bank transfers, that perform the electronic funds transfers within a few business days, are not in line with user expectations.[5][6]
Notable instant payment systems by country
edit| Name | Country | Launched | Payment Sources | Identifiers | Notable Features | Transaction Volume per year (in billions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Payments Platform (NPP) |  Australia
|
2018 | Bank Account | Phone number, email or Australian Business Number | Recurring Payments | 1.2 (2022)[7] |
| Pix |  Brazil
|
2020[8] | Bank Account[9] | QR code
Pix Key/Alias[10] |
Get change as cash at merchants (Pix Troco)[11]
Cash withdrawal (Pix Saque).[12] |
42 (2023)[13] |
| Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) |  China
|
2010 | Bank Account
e-wallet[14] |
QR Code
Mobile Number[14] |
Recurring Payments[14] | 18 (2022)[15][14] |
| MobilePay |  Denmark
|
2013 | Bank Account | Mobile Number | Common app for users of all banks, ability to chat. | - |
| MobilePay |  Finland
|
2013 | Bank Account[16] | Mobile Number[16] | Common app for users of all banks, ability to chat.[16] | - |
| Faster Payment System (FPS) |  Hong Kong
|
2018 | e-wallet, Bank Account[17] | QR Code
Mobile Number[17] |
Supports both Hong Kong Dollar & Chinese Yuan Renminbi | 0.531 (2023)[18] |
| GIRO Zrt |  Hungary
|
2020 | Bank Account[19] | Bank Account Number
Mobile Number Tax Number |
- | |
| Unified Payments Interface (UPI) |  India
|
2016 | Bank Account
Prepaid Wallet Credit Card Credit Line CBDC Stored Value[20] |
QR Code
NFC UPI ID Mobile Number Bank Account Number with IFSC |
Recurring Payments (UPI AutoPay)
Foreign Inward Remittance Payments without Internet/Network (UPI Lite X) Feature phone compatibility[23] UPI OneWorld (for tourists) ATM Withdrawal |
117.6 (2023)[24][25] |
| Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) | India
|
2010[26] | Bank Account[26] | Mobile Money Identifier (MMID)[26]
Bank Account Number with IFSC.[26] |
Foreign Inward Remittance (FIR)[27] | 5.8 (2023)[28] |
| ZENGIN |  Japan
|
1973 | Bank Account[29] | Account Number[29] | Inward Remittance[30] | 3 (2023)[30] |
| CliQ |  Jordan
|
2020 | Bank Account[31] | IBAN
Account number Alias |
0.03 (2023)[32] | |
| Raast |  Pakistan
|
2019 | Bank Account | IBAN
Mobile Number[33] |
0.16 (2023) | |
| InstaPay |  Philippines
|
2018 | Bank Account
e-wallet[34] |
QR Code
Account Number and Recipient's Bank Name Mobile Number Email ID[34] |
0.74 (2023)[35] | |
| PESONet | Philippines
|
2017 | Bank Account
e-wallet[36] |
Account Number and Recipient's Bank Name
Mobile Number Email ID[37] |
0.08 (2023)[35] | |
| Blik |  Poland
|
2015 | Bank Account | NFC
Dynamic Code[38] |
ATM Withdrawal & Deposit
Recurring Payments |
1.80 (2023)[39] |
| Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) |  Singapore
|
2014 | Bank Account | Bank Account Number with Bank Code[40] | 0.29 (2022)[41] | |
| PayNow | Singapore
|
2017 | Bank Account | QR Code
NRIC Mobile Number[42] |
International Remittance | 0.31 (2022)[43] |
| Bizum |  Spain
|
2016[44] | Bank Account[45] | Mobile Number[45]
QR Code[45] |
Direct Donations to NGOs[44] | 1 (2022)[46] |
| Swish |  Sweden
|
2012[47] | Bank Account | QR Code
Mobile Number[48] |
- | |
| Twint |  Switzerland
|
2017[49] | Bank Account | QR Code
Mobile Number Dynamic Token[49] |
0.59 (2023)[50] | |
| PromptPay |  Thailand
|
2021 | Bank Account | QR Code
Mobile Number |
3.6 (2023)[51] | |
| Faster Payment Service (FPS) |  United Kingdom
|
2008 | Bank Account | Account Number and Recipient Name
QR Code |
Forward dated payments
Standing orders |
4.5 (2023)[52] |
| Zelle |  United States
|
2017 | Bank Account | Email
Mobile Number |
2.3 (2022) | |
| FedNow | United States
|
2023 | Bank Account | |||
| EasyPay |  Ukraine
|
2009 | Bank Account | Mobile Number | 0.05 (2021)[53] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Are instant payments becoming the new normal? A comparative study" (PDF). European Central Bank. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Instant payments definition". ecb.europa.eu. European Central Bank. 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ "Digital transformation of the retail payments ecosystem" (PDF). bancaditalia.it. Banca d'Italia. 30 November 2017. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ "What are instant payments?". instapay.today. InstaPay. 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ PYMNTS (1 January 2019). "2019: The Year Of Instant Payments". PYMNTS.com. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Instant payments are the future - here's why". insights.nordea.com. Nordea. 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ Phu, Rita (4 November 2022). "NPP Roadmap provides update on the platform's uptake and capability development". NPPA. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Banco Central do Brasil". bcb.gov.br. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "PIX - Payment Methods Encyclopedia - PayU Global". Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "PIX: The new instant payment system from BACEN | EBANX". ebanx.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "PIX Troco (Change) | EBANX". ebanx.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "What is the meaning of PIX Saque (Withdrawal)? | EBANX". ebanx.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Pix by the numbers 2023" (PDF).
- ^ a b c d "World Bank FPS China IBPS Case Study" (PDF).
- ^ "PYMNTS Real Time-Payments World Map October 2023" (PDF).
- ^ a b c "Lähetä rahaa". mobilepay.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b "HKICL | FPS". fps.hkicl.com.hk. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "HKICL | Statistics". fps.hkicl.com.hk. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ IO, Moon. "GIRO Zrt. - Az idő pénz". giro.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "UPI QR Code-Central Bank Digital Currency interoperability: How does it work and how do customers benefit?". The Indian Express. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Person 2 Merchant payment - VoiceSe powered by ToneTag, retrieved 21 February 2024
- ^ Tonetag - An app enabling offline voice payments - Nikhil Inamdar BBC WORLD, retrieved 21 February 2024
- ^ UPI123PAY to enable feature phone users to make digital payments, retrieved 21 February 2024
- ^ "RecordPay: UPI transactions crossed 100-billion mark in 2023". The Economic Times. 3 January 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ ETBFSI.com. "UPI payments at peak high in December, value of transactions rises - ET BFSI". ETBFSI.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d "IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) – Instant fund transfer | NPCI". npci.org.in. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "FIR through IMPS". npci.org.in. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "ProdIMPS Volumes | NPCI - National Payments Corporation of Indiauct Statistics". npci.org.in. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b The Foundation of the Financial System "Zengin System", retrieved 21 February 2024
- ^ a b "Zengin Statistics" (PDF).
- ^ "CliQ (System) | JOPACC". jopacc.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Cliq December monthly report 2023 en" (PDF).
- ^ "RAAST Person to Person (P2P)". sbp.org.pk. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b "What is InstaPay and How Do I Use It? | Coins.ph". Coins Academy | Coins.ph. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b CEDadiantiTyClea (27 December 2023). "Transactions via PESONet, InstaPay reach P11.6 trillion". BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "PESONet". PPMI. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Your Guide to Using PESONet". bpi.com.ph. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Blik. "First steps with BLIK". blik.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "BLIK sums up 2023 – nearly 1.8 billion transactions and 3 million new users". blik.com (in Polish). Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "FAST".
- ^ "Singapore: FAST transactions volume 2022". Statista. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "PayNow Explained: A Guide to Seamless Transactions in Singapore". Decentro. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ dpi.global https://www.dpi.global/globaldpi/singapore_paynow. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b "Bizum | Learn about us, our history and our mission". Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b c "Bizum | Find out how it works and what will be used for". Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Corner. "Bizum Reaches 20 Million Users And 1 Billion Transactions | The Corner". Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Swish - För en enklare vardag sedan 2012". Swish. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Swish - För en enklare vardag sedan 2012". Swish. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b "TWINT".
- ^ "Twint Stats 2023".
- ^ "Thailand: PromptPay transactions volume 2023". Statista. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Faster Payment System statistics". Pay.UK. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ EasyPay 2021 report