The value of transactions processed using a real-time payment, or instant payment, technology is forecast to grow by *** 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 **** 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 France were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up less than *** percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately ***** 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 **** 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 *** business days to process.

Real-time payments in Germany were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up about ***** percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately **** 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 **** 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 Italy were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up slightly more than *** 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 **** 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.

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 **** 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.

UPI in India and Pix in Brazil together reached nearly *** billion transactions in 2024, making them the largest brands in real-time payments. RTP is especially common in Asia-Pacific. Transactions in India are almost **** 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.

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 **** 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.

Real-time payments in the Netherlands were predicted to grow by almost *** percent between 2023 and 2028, with banks being the main users of this payment tech. Approximately ** 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 **** 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 Mexico were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up roughly *** percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately **** 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 *** 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 *** million U.S. dollars in 2022.

The two countries with the highest number of instant payments are expected to continue to grow with a CAGR over ** percent each, 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 Brazil were predicted to grow by 2028, as instant payments made up roughly 36 5percent of overall payments in 2022. Approximately ** 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 **** 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.

Norway's value of real-time payments grew by roughly ** million Norwegian krone between 2021 and 2022, as Vipps was used more often for P2P transactions. Unlike other domestic schemes found in some European countries that are created by banks, there are no individual numbers for Norway's Vipps. Instead, the source placed the country's most popular payment app inside figures covering instant payments. Vipps ticks several boxes, as it can be qualified as a mobile payment method, an A2A payment method, as well as a real-time (instant) payment option. It is to merge with Denmark's MobilePay, to create a single large payment app within the Nordics.

In Portugal, as of 2024, 41 percent of respondents declared that instant payments were available to them and that they used them. Those who heard of the service but did not know whether it was available to them made up 19 percent of the sample. The service was not available to 17 percent of survey respondents.

Real-time payments in the United Kingdom were predicted to keep growing up to 2028, as instant payments made up nearly *** percent of overall payments in 2023. Approximately **** 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 *** 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.

Instant payment transactions in the UK, using Faster Payments (FP), grew by over *** million between 2021 and 2022. This may indicate that the use of real-time payments is growing in the United Kingdom. Note, however, that Faster Payments - a system rolled out in early 2008 - mostly serves bank transfers and is not necessarily used for consumer payments. FP, in that sense, is more akin to a clearing house system similar to SWIFT as opposed to instant payment schemes Pix in Brazil or CoDi in Mexico, which were deliberately created by domestic banks to help promote digital payments in those countries.

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.

In 2023, nearly just over ************ U.S. dollars were transferred via instant payment systems on the African continent. This was an increase from *** billion U.S. dollars in the previous year. Between 2018 and 2023, a significant increase in the volume of transactions occurred, corresponding to the increase in value. According to the source, instant payments refer to transactions across domains and through banks, mobile money, and sovereign currency.

A survey conducted in 2024 counted a total of ** instant payment systems (IPS) in Africa, the majority of which were in East Africa. Moreover, Southern Africa had ***** instant payment systems, while *** of such were registered in West Africa. According to the source, instant payment systems refer to transactions across domains and through banks, mobile money, and sovereign currency.

In Finland, as of 2022, 56 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 10 percent of the sample. The service was not available to 24 percent of survey respondents.