The value of transactions processed using a real-time payment, or instant payment, technology is forecast to grow by 289 percent between 2023 and 2030. This is according to a market estimate made in early 2023, based on various conditions and sources available at that time. As the name suggests, real-time payments refers to payment settlements that are performed on a near-instantaneous basis. Typically, these are payments that do not belong to a card rail - or the networks operated by Visa or MasterCard - but are instead performed on a bank rail. The biggest example of a real-time payments scheme is UPI (Unified Payments Interface) in India, a scheme developed by the country's central bank and which enables providers to process payments almost immediately. The country with the highest growth in instant payments, however, is Brazil - due to the growing popularity of domestic scheme Pix.

Real-time payments in the United States were predicted to grow by 2027, as instant payments made up around one percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately five percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 31.7 percent between the five years under consideration. The United States has multiple real-time payment methods, including The Clearing House's RTP scheme as well as Zelle.

Real-time payments in Germany were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up about three percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately five percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 17.1 percent between the five years under consideration. Germany does not have a domestic instant payment scheme but uses the European Union's SCT Inst, or SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. This is not to be confused with SEPA - which takes up to two business days to process.

Real-time payments in France were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up less than one percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately three percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 39.1 percent between the five years under consideration. France does not have a domestic instant payment scheme but uses the European Union's SCT Inst, or SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. This is not to be confused with SEPA - which takes up to two business days to process.

Real-time payments in Italy were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up slightly more than one percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately three percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 21.5 percent between the five years under consideration. Italy does not have a domestic instant payment scheme but uses the European Union's SCT Inst, or SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. This is not to be confused with SEPA - which takes up to two business days to process.

The two countries with the highest number of instant payments are expected to continue to grow fast, while the United States will make up for lost ground. A forecast of real-time payments in various countries across the world reveals this development. Real-time payments, or RTP, are especially common in Asia-Pacific in 2022, with transactions in India being almost five times higher as in China. North America and Europe have their own systems – Faster Payments in the UK and FedNow in the United States are notable examples – but these systems are used for interbank payments, and do not yet see consumer use. This is different from India and Brazil, as UPI and Pix were developed with consumers in mind.

Real-time payments in Mexico were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up roughly six percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately five percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 7.9 percent between the five years under consideration. Mexico had an instant payment system since 2004 - SPEI - but many hoped its newest scheme - CoDi - would spark a transition from cash to digital payments similar to Brazil. The annual spending on CoDi, however, was worth only 127 million U.S. dollars in 2022.

Real-time payments in the Netherlands were predicted to grow by almost 225 percent between 2023 and 2028, with banks being the main users of this payment tech. Approximately 28 percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 25.8 percent between the five years under consideration. The source lists the Netherlands' early adoption of the EPC SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme - a real-time payments infrastructure specifically for interbank transactions - as the main reason for this. This is unlike developments in India, Brazil, or Spain, where consumers are the main drivers for instant payments.

Real-time payments in Sweden are expected to double between 2023 and 2028, as the country joined the P27 initiative in the Nordics. Approximately a quarter of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 12.4 percent between the five years under consideration. The source names P27 - a cross-border infrastructure between Sweden, Denmark, and Finland that involves instant payments - as something that could help push usage of real-time payments in Sweden.

Instant payments in North America are predicted to grow almost the most between 2022 and 2027, but transactions will remain the smallest in the world. This is according to estimates made in early 2023, reviewing real-time payments, or RTP, across the globe. Real-time payments, or RTP, were commonly used in Asia, with transactions in India being almost five times higher as in China. India is expected to keep this position by 2027, although its predicted CAGR will be lower than Brazil, the United States, and Indonesia.

UPI in India and Pix in Brazil together reached nearly 100 billion transactions in 2022, making them the largest brands in real-time payments. RTP is especially common in Asia-Pacific. Transactions in India are almost five times higher as in China. Systems in the United States – such as the privately owned Venmo and Zelle in the United States, or the public interbank system of Faster Payments in the UK – are much smaller in comparison. Real-time payments generally have two main characteristics that make them appealing: One, as the name suggests, payments can be initiated and settled almost immediately, allowing consumers, businesses, bank to send and receive money across the world within minutes. Two, these schemes are not bound to the opening times of a bank, and are available “24/7” and 365 days in the year. These traits matter especially to countries with a complex payment market that need to be digitalized.

A survey conducted in 2023 counted a total of 29 instant payment systems (IPS) in Africa, the majority of which were in East Africa. Moreover, West and Southern Africa each had six instant payment systems, while five of such were registered in North Africa. According to the source, instant payment systems refer to transactions across domains and through banks, mobile money, and sovereign currency.

Real-time payments in Brazil were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up roughly 36 5percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately 41 percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 25.4 percent between the five years under consideration. Brazil rolled out its first instant payment scheme, SITRAF in 2002, Brazil's newest scheme - Pix, launched in late 2020. Many regard this scheme as a potentially important enabler of digital payments for the country's relatively high unbanked population.

Real-time payments in the United Kingdom were predicted to keep growing up to 2028, as instant payments made up nearly ten percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately 10.8 percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 6.6 percent between the five years under consideration. The United Kingdom was a relatively early adopter of instant payments, as its Faster Payments scheme went live in 2008.

In Portugal, as of 2022, 40 percent of respondents declared that instant payments were available to them. Those who heard of the service but did not know whether it was available to them made up 22 percent of the sample. The service was not available to 21 percent of survey respondents.

Real-time payments in Canada were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up roughly six percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately eight percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 6.2 percent between the five years under consideration. Canada has the domestic real-time payment scheme Interact e-Transfer since 2002, but adoption has been relatively small due to the high preference for cards - especially credit cards - in Canada.

Real-time payments in Colombia were predicted to grow by 2029, as instant payments made up roughly 0.1 percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately one percent of the overall payments mix in the country - including both cash and cashless - is anticipated to be an instant payment by 2028. The source adds this equals a CAGR of 42.6 percent between the five years under consideration. Colombia has the Transfiya scheme for real-time payments, but the country's central bank pushed for new regulation in October 2023 to accelerate instant payments in the country. "Resolución Externa 6" is to provide the foundation for a Single Payment Interface or SPI in the country.

Transactions made with CoDi in Mexico grew by nearly 600,000 between 2021 and 2021, although transactions per capita declined in this period. CoDi is a platform set up by the central bank in Mexico in Q3 2019 to stimulate the transition to a cashless economy. When compared to the number of credit card transactions in the country, however, CoDi is relatively small. Indeed, the figure for Mexico's instant payments is seemingly lower than in, for example, Brazil.

In 2022, nearly 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars were transferred via instant payment systems on the African continent. This was an increase from 861 billion U.S. dollars in the previous year. Between 2018 and 2022, a significant increase in the volume of transactions occurred, corresponding to an increase in value as well. According to the source, instant payments refer to transactions across domains and through banks, mobile money, and sovereign currency.

In 2023, real-time payments (RTP) or instant payments accounted for 47.2 percent of the total electronic payments made in the Philippines. This was a significant increase from just 0.4 percent in 2018. The share of instant payments was forecasted to continue increasing until 2028.