Understanding Real-Time Payments and Their Appeal
Real-time payments enable the instantaneous transfer of funds between accounts, 24/7, with confirmation typically received in seconds. These systems operate continuously, including weekends and holidays, and eliminate the lag associated with traditional payment methods, such as card settlements or ACH transfers.
The appeal lies in their speed, convenience, and lower cost. For consumers, real-time payments promise faster access to funds. For businesses, they provide immediate payment confirmation, improved cash flow management, and a potential reduction in transaction costs. Yet, despite their clear advantages, uptake in some of the world’s largest economies remains modest.
Existing RTP Infrastructure in Developed Markets
The United Kingdom introduced the Faster Payments Service in 2008, one of the first real-time payment systems in the world. Similarly, the United States launched FedNow in 2023 to complement existing solutions like The Clearing House’s RTP network. Other developed countries, including Germany, France, and Japan, also have established instant payment infrastructure.
However, the mere existence of these systems hasn’t translated into widespread retail use. Most real-time payment systems in these countries are underutilized, particularly by consumers and small businesses. The reasons are multi-layered and tied to stakeholder behavior, market incentives, and entrenched payment preferences.
The Three Critical Stakeholders
For any payment method to achieve widespread adoption, it needs to be embraced by three major groups: banks, consumers, and merchants. In markets where real-time payments have succeeded, these groups were aligned from the outset. In contrast, card-dominated markets are marked by fragmented engagement and misaligned incentives.
Banks: Protective of Interchange Revenue
In countries like the United States, banks play a central role in the payment ecosystem. Unlike in Brazil or India—where there are fewer banks and more centralized coordination—the U.S. banking system is highly fragmented, with thousands of institutions.
This fragmentation makes it difficult to coordinate the rollout of a standardized real-time payments experience. Additionally, many banks earn significant revenue from card-based interchange fees, averaging around two percent per transaction. This steady income reduces their incentive to invest heavily in alternative payment systems that might cannibalize their existing profit centers.
Efforts like Zelle, which enables peer-to-peer real-time transfers between banks, show that collaboration is possible. However, these efforts have not extended meaningfully into retail commerce. Most banks continue to prioritize card-based innovations over expanding consumer-facing real-time payments.
Consumers: Rewarded by Cards
Credit and debit cards are not just convenient; they come with benefits that are difficult to rival. In the United States alone, consumers redeemed over $35 billion in card rewards in 2022. Cardholders are accustomed to points, cashback, and travel benefits—features rarely offered by real-time payment systems.
Moreover, cards provide protections such as chargeback rights, purchase insurance, and fraud safeguards. These security features create a sense of trust that is difficult for newer payment methods to match. As a result, consumers in card-heavy markets are hesitant to switch unless real-time payments can offer equivalent or better value.
For real-time payments to gain traction, they must either match the benefits of cards or deliver a level of convenience and cost savings that justifies a behavioral shift. Without compelling incentives, consumer adoption is unlikely to accelerate on its own.
Merchants: Seeking Cost Reductions
Merchants are the group most motivated to embrace real-time payments. Card processing fees are a significant cost for retailers, especially for those operating on thin margins. Accepting real-time payments could substantially reduce these costs, providing a strong business case for adoption.
Major retailers have already begun exploring ways to integrate direct bank transfers into their checkout flows. The challenge lies in customer behavior. Even if real-time payment options are available at major chains, most customers default to using cards out of habit, familiarity, or for the rewards they offer.
Without widespread consumer demand, merchants are limited in their ability to drive a wholesale shift to real-time payments. Adoption remains fragmented and heavily dependent on industry-specific strategies or loyalty incentives.
Fintech Innovation Driving Change
Technology providers are playing a critical role in enhancing the real-time payments experience. Some platforms allow users to link their bank accounts for one-click transfers, reducing the friction typically associated with traditional bank payments. Others enable businesses to offer instant settlement capabilities, streamlining cash flow and improving transaction transparency.
These solutions often assume transaction risk or guarantee settlement, giving businesses the confidence to accept real-time payments without worrying about failed or delayed transfers. In some cases, digital wallets and preloaded balances mimic the functionality of real-time payments, offering an instant alternative to cards without relying on traditional bank rails.
As these innovations mature and become more integrated into point-of-sale and ecommerce systems, they could help normalize real-time payments as a mainstream option.
Why Real-Time Payments Haven’t Taken Off in Some Markets
Despite available infrastructure and growing innovation, real-time payments haven’t taken off in some advanced economies. Several systemic and behavioral challenges continue to suppress adoption.
Lack of Network Effects
Cards benefit from established network effects. Merchants accept cards because consumers use them, and consumers use them because they’re accepted almost everywhere. Real-time payments, by contrast, are still building out acceptance points and lack the universal usability of cards.
The chicken-and-egg dynamic between merchants and consumers slows momentum. Unless both sides commit to adopting real-time payments in tandem, network effects remain elusive.
Inertia in Financial Services
Financial services are traditionally slow to change. Regulatory compliance, security concerns, and legacy systems often delay the implementation of new technology. Many banks are hesitant to overhaul systems that work reliably, even if more efficient alternatives exist.
Consumer inertia is also strong. Payment behavior is deeply habitual. Once people find a method that works and provides perceived value, they are unlikely to explore alternatives without a compelling reason.
Absence of Government Mandates
In countries where real-time payments have thrived, government mandates played a critical role. Regulators required banks to adopt uniform standards, facilitated user experience guidelines, and sometimes even imposed deadlines for compliance.
In contrast, governments in the United States and United Kingdom have adopted a market-driven approach, allowing banks and businesses to decide their own pace of adoption. While this promotes competition, it also leads to fragmented implementation and uneven consumer experiences.
Opportunities for Real-Time Payments in Specific Use Cases
Although retail adoption is slow, real-time payments are gaining ground in other areas. Business-to-business transactions, payroll disbursements, and gig economy payments are key sectors where instant payments are delivering tangible value.
In the gig economy, real-time payments allow workers to access earnings immediately after completing a task, which is a significant improvement over traditional pay cycles. In corporate finance, real-time supplier payments improve cash management and vendor relationships. These niche use cases may act as early catalysts for broader adoption.
The Roadblocks to Full-Scale Adoption
To become a viable alternative to cards, real-time payments must overcome several roadblocks:
- Consumer Value Proposition: Users must perceive a clear advantage over existing methods.
- Merchant Acceptance: Businesses need scalable and affordable ways to integrate real-time payment options.
- Bank Participation: Financial institutions must view RTPs as a complementary product rather than a threat to existing revenue streams.
- Interoperability: Seamless integration across platforms and institutions is essential for wide usability.
- Education and Awareness: Consumers and merchants alike must understand how real-time payments work and why they matter.
Without addressing these challenges, real-time payments risk remaining a specialized tool rather than a ubiquitous payment method.
Toward a More Competitive Payments Landscape
Real-time payments are not meant to entirely replace card networks, but to provide consumers and businesses with more options. As new technologies and economic pressures reshape the payments landscape, the demand for speed, transparency, and efficiency is only likely to grow.
Financial institutions, merchants, and technology providers have a shared opportunity to build a more dynamic and competitive ecosystem—one where real-time payments sit alongside traditional methods to meet diverse user needs.
Government Influence on the Future of Real-Time Payments
We examined the challenges that real-time payments face in card-heavy markets like the United States and the United Kingdom. Despite the existence of reliable infrastructure and emerging fintech innovation, adoption remains slow.
One of the most critical factors that has driven successful real-time payments implementation elsewhere is the role of government. We explore how public sector intervention—ranging from regulatory mandates to incentivization programs—has propelled RTP adoption in countries like India and Brazil. We also evaluate whether similar strategies could be applied in more market-driven economies.
Government-Led RTP Success Stories
Several countries have seen significant uptake in real-time payments due to decisive government action. These governments recognized the societal and economic benefits of faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payments and acted as catalysts rather than bystanders.
India: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
India’s UPI is one of the most prominent success stories in the real-time payments world. Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI was designed with the explicit backing of the central government and regulatory bodies. The platform unified multiple banks into a single interoperable network, offering consumers a seamless payment experience.
India’s success can be attributed to several government-led initiatives:
- A clear regulatory mandate requiring banks to participate.
- Minimal transaction costs to encourage usage.
- Heavy promotion through government-backed awareness campaigns.
- Digital identity integration (Aadhaar) that simplified onboarding.
The result is a real-time payments system that processes billions of transactions monthly and is deeply embedded in everyday commerce, from large retailers to street vendors.
Brazil: The Pix Revolution
Brazil’s central bank took a similar approach with Pix, launched in 2020. Like India’s UPI, Pix was developed and managed by a public authority—the Central Bank of Brazil—with strong regulatory oversight and mandatory participation by financial institutions.
The bank mandated that Pix functionality be deeply embedded in all banking apps, including a consistent user interface and user experience. This level of standardization simplified consumer adoption. Additionally, Pix transactions are free for individuals and settle in seconds, offering an appealing alternative to traditional bank transfers and card payments.
Within a year of its launch, Pix had more registered users than the population of Brazil, with widespread use in peer-to-peer, business-to-consumer, and even government-to-citizen payments.
Motivations for Government Involvement
Public sector entities typically intervene in the payments space for a combination of economic, political, and social reasons. In markets where RTP systems succeeded, several shared motivations were evident.
Reducing the Cost of Payments
Governments are often interested in lowering the overall cost of transactions for individuals and businesses. Real-time payments offer a cost-effective alternative to card networks, which charge significant fees for processing.
Reducing payment costs has a cascading economic effect: it increases merchant margins, reduces consumer prices, and improves cash flow for small businesses. In countries with large unbanked or underbanked populations, cost-effective payments can also enhance financial inclusion.
Promoting Financial Inclusion
In developing countries, many citizens remain excluded from formal banking systems. Real-time payments, when combined with simple digital wallets and mobile access, help bridge this gap. By promoting systems like UPI and Pix, governments have expanded access to financial services for millions of people who previously transacted only in cash.
Reducing Cash Dependence
Physical cash handling is expensive for governments. Printing, distributing, and managing cash incurs ongoing costs. Moreover, high levels of cash usage contribute to tax evasion and illicit economic activity. Encouraging digital payments through RTP systems offers governments a way to reduce the cost and opacity of cash-based transactions.
Decreasing Reliance on Foreign Networks
Another strategic goal is to reduce dependence on international card networks, which dominate the global payment landscape. Domestic real-time payment systems allow governments to retain control over their financial infrastructure and data flows, reducing vulnerability to foreign regulatory changes or geopolitical tensions.
Can These Models Work in Market-Driven Economies?
While government-led real-time payments systems have thrived in countries like India and Brazil, their application in markets like the United States or the United Kingdom is far more complex. Several key factors limit the likelihood of similar approaches being adopted wholesale in these countries.
High Card Penetration and Financial Access
One of the primary motivations for launching real-time payments in emerging economies is to promote financial inclusion. But in the US and UK, financial access is already widespread. For instance, nearly all UK adults hold debit cards, and bank account ownership is nearly universal.
Without a large unbanked population or clear gaps in financial services, governments in these markets may see less urgency in promoting new payment systems, particularly if the existing infrastructure is functioning effectively.
Existing Global Card Networks Are Domestically Rooted
Another argument for promoting domestic RTP systems is to reduce reliance on foreign networks. But this argument carries less weight in the US, where the dominant card networks are headquartered.
There is little geopolitical motivation to shift from cards to real-time payments for sovereignty reasons. The UK also maintains close relationships with the global card networks and relies on them for a significant portion of commerce.
Political Culture and Regulatory Philosophy
Perhaps the most significant obstacle is political philosophy. In countries like Brazil, central banks have broad mandates and strong public support for intervening in the financial sector. In contrast, the US and UK prefer market-based solutions that rely on competition rather than regulation to drive innovation.
This hands-off regulatory approach means that even when government entities do support new payment systems, they are unlikely to mandate participation or dictate technical standards. As a result, real-time payment initiatives in these countries may lack the uniformity and consistency seen in more centralized systems.
Opportunities for Government to Support Without Mandating
Despite these differences, governments in card-dominated markets can still play an active role in promoting real-time payments, even without heavy-handed regulation. Several approaches could help spur adoption.
Incentivizing Development and Adoption
Instead of mandating the use of real-time payments, governments can offer incentives to encourage it. These could include:
- Grants for fintechs and banks developing real-time payment solutions.
- Tax benefits for merchants who adopt RTP options.
- Reduced compliance burdens for businesses using real-time systems.
By providing economic advantages, governments can make real-time payments more appealing without requiring participation.
Leading by Example in Public Payments
Governments are also major payers—issuing salaries, benefits, refunds, and more. By transitioning public payments to real-time platforms, they can demonstrate the value and feasibility of RTP systems. Government-to-person disbursements, such as unemployment benefits or stimulus payments, are ideal test cases for real-time transfers.
This approach creates public awareness and builds confidence in the system, potentially sparking broader interest from businesses and individuals.
Standardizing APIs and Interoperability
Fragmentation is one of the biggest hurdles in adopting real-time payments. Even if RTP systems exist, inconsistent APIs and technical standards make it difficult for businesses to integrate them easily. Governments can help by standardizing these tools.
Encouraging open banking frameworks and promoting interoperable standards will reduce barriers to entry and help create a cohesive payments ecosystem where real-time transfers can flourish.
Supporting Consumer Education
Consumers will not use real-time payments if they don’t understand how they work or why they’re beneficial. Governments and regulatory agencies can invest in education campaigns that explain RTP features, safety mechanisms, and advantages compared to other methods.
Clear messaging can counteract hesitancy and help shift entrenched payment behaviors.
Lessons from Smaller Economies and Regional Projects
While large economies often drive global trends, smaller nations and regional blocs can offer valuable insights into innovative payment approaches.
Singapore and Southeast Asia
Singapore is part of several real-time payment connectivity pilots within Southeast Asia. With government coordination, payment networks in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines are becoming interoperable.
These developments demonstrate how regional collaboration, backed by strong public institutions, can achieve real-time payment functionality across borders—something global card networks accomplished decades ago.
European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA)
In Europe, EMPSA is creating a network that links domestic RTP systems from countries like Switzerland, Italy, and Austria. Although this effort is not mandated at the EU level, it receives institutional support and funding from member states and central banks.
Such initiatives show how governments can act as conveners and facilitators rather than controllers—promoting harmonization without overriding market dynamics.
Public-Private Partnerships: A Viable Middle Ground
For economies that resist direct mandates, public-private partnerships may offer a viable middle ground. Governments can co-develop real-time payment platforms with financial institutions, ensuring technical feasibility while allowing the private sector to lead commercialization.
Examples of these collaborations include:
- Shared infrastructure funded by public investment and maintained by private operators.
- Joint governance bodies to set standards and mediate interoperability.
- National payment councils that align policy, innovation, and consumer interests.
Such models offer the structure and oversight of a centralized system while preserving the agility and competitiveness of private enterprise.
Building Trust in the RTP Ecosystem
For real-time payments to flourish, especially in trust-driven markets, consumer and merchant confidence must be a priority. Governments can support this goal by:
- Enforcing strong consumer protection standards.
- Mandating transparency in fees and terms.
- Setting baseline security protocols.
By assuring users that real-time payments are as safe and reliable as cards, governments can remove one of the most significant psychological barriers to adoption.
The Global Potential of Real-Time Payments: Scaling Beyond Borders
Real-time payments are reshaping domestic payment systems by offering instant, cost-effective, and reliable transfers. Yet, while the benefits within national borders are significant, the next frontier lies in cross-border payments. Today’s global commerce is powered largely by card networks and SWIFT-based banking infrastructure, which are dependable but expensive and often slow. For real-time payments to challenge this status quo, they must evolve from being purely local to becoming globally interoperable.
We explored how real-time payments can scale internationally. It examines the limitations of the current model, the pathways to global interoperability, and the institutional efforts that could pave the way for real-time payments to become a credible, worldwide alternative to cards and legacy wire systems.
The Current Landscape: A Patchwork of Domestic RTPs
Real-time payment systems have emerged in dozens of countries, each built to serve the specific needs of its local population. Brazil’s Pix, India’s UPI, Poland’s BLIK, and the UK’s Faster Payments are all examples of thriving domestic RTP ecosystems.
However, these systems are generally not designed to work internationally. Tourists, expatriates, and businesses operating across borders cannot access these payment systems without maintaining a domestic bank account in the country where the RTP operates. This limitation significantly reduces their utility in international contexts.
While these systems have dramatically improved domestic money movement, they fall short of replicating the global reach of credit and debit cards, which work in almost every country thanks to decades of infrastructure development and multilateral agreements.
Why Global RTP Interoperability Matters
The need for efficient cross-border payments has never been greater. Globalization has expanded international travel, e-commerce, and business-to-business transactions. Consumers expect the same speed and convenience internationally as they enjoy domestically. Real-time payments, if extended across borders, could unlock several benefits:
- Lower transaction costs for remittances and foreign purchases.
- Faster settlement times for international trade.
- Reduced reliance on intermediary banks, which often add layers of cost and delay.
- Greater financial inclusion by simplifying global fund transfers.
To achieve this, real-time payments must transition from fragmented domestic solutions to integrated international networks. There are three main strategies for making that leap.
Path 1: Domestic RTP Systems Expanding Internationally
One way for RTPs to go global is by extending existing domestic systems into new markets. This approach involves a domestic payment provider launching operations in neighboring or strategically aligned countries.
Examples of Expansion Efforts
Some European systems are already taking this approach. Wero, originally developed in Germany and France, is expanding to include Belgium and the Netherlands. Poland’s BLIK is also preparing to extend services into Slovakia and Romania.
These systems aim to create subregional clusters where a single RTP solution serves multiple countries, simplifying integration for businesses and creating a uniform user experience across borders.
Limitations of This Approach
While regional expansions can improve reach, they struggle when entering markets with existing domestic RTPs. Each local system typically has strong user adoption and business support, making it difficult for an external RTP to gain traction. Local banks and regulators may also prefer homegrown solutions that align with domestic financial policy and consumer behavior.
As a result, this model is more likely to produce fragmented clusters than a unified global network. Nonetheless, these clusters can still play an important role in improving cross-border connectivity within regions that lack strong existing infrastructure.
Path 2: Bilateral Agreements Between RTP Networks
A second approach involves two countries forming direct partnerships to link their RTP systems. In this model, a payment initiated through one country’s real-time network is routed and settled through another’s, allowing users to transfer money internationally in seconds.
India’s Bilateral RTP Strategy
India’s UPI network has already implemented bilateral integrations. Indian travelers can use UPI in countries like Singapore, Nepal, and the United Arab Emirates. The system enables Indian bank accounts to pay local merchants in these countries through QR codes and unified interfaces.
These agreements work well for corridors with high travel and economic activity. For example, Indian tourists visiting Singapore can pay with a familiar interface, while Singaporean merchants receive local currency seamlessly.
Challenges of the Bilateral Model
While effective in specific cases, bilateral agreements have scalability issues. There are 195 countries globally, and full coverage would require nearly 20,000 bilateral agreements—an unmanageable number. Each partnership also requires technical integration, regulatory alignment, currency conversion mechanisms, and risk management frameworks.
The bilateral approach is likely to remain limited to economically significant or high-volume corridors, such as between neighboring countries or major trading partners. While it adds value in targeted areas, it cannot provide the universal access offered by global card networks.
Path 3: Creating Interoperable RTP Ecosystems
The most scalable and sustainable route to global real-time payments lies in interoperability. This strategy involves connecting domestic RTP systems through a shared infrastructure, allowing users to transact across borders while continuing to use their existing payment applications and bank accounts.
The Concept of a Network of Networks
In an interoperable model, each country’s RTP system becomes a node in a larger network. A user in one country initiates a payment through their domestic app, which routes the transaction through a central interoperability layer to the recipient’s local RTP network.
This structure reduces the need for one-to-one integrations. Instead, each system connects once to the central network and gains access to all others. It’s similar in concept to how the internet connects different servers through common protocols.
European Efforts Toward Interoperability
Europe is taking early steps in this direction through the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA). This organization is piloting peer-to-peer and merchant interoperability between systems such as TWINT (Switzerland), Bancomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), and MB WAY (Portugal).
These collaborations allow users to make cross-border payments using their preferred local apps. For instance, a TWINT user in Italy could make a payment where the Bancomat system is accepted, without needing to open a local account or use a new app.
Project Nexus by the Bank for International Settlements
A more ambitious initiative is Project Nexus, spearheaded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This initiative aims to create a single hub that connects multiple national RTP systems, starting with India, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Project Nexus seeks to standardize the technical and regulatory foundations for real-time cross-border payments. If successful, it could serve as a model for global expansion, bringing structure and scale to a currently fragmented landscape.
Obstacles to Achieving RTP Interoperability
While interoperability offers the greatest promise, it also comes with significant challenges:
Standardization of Protocols
Different RTP systems use different message formats, security standards, and data structures. Achieving seamless cross-border transactions requires alignment on common protocols, or at least translation layers that ensure consistency and compatibility.
Currency Exchange and Settlement
Real-time payments between countries involve currency exchange, which can introduce volatility, delays, and fees. Managing foreign exchange within seconds requires sophisticated infrastructure, liquidity planning, and real-time pricing mechanisms.
Regulatory Compliance
Cross-border transactions must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) laws, know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, and data privacy regulations in both the sending and receiving countries. Aligning these frameworks is a complex legal challenge.
User Awareness and Experience
Consumers must understand how to use their local apps in foreign contexts. For example, a user in Switzerland must know that they can pay at a merchant in Spain using their app, and recognize the appropriate branding or signage. Educating users and ensuring trust across unfamiliar geographies is no small task.
Role of Global Institutions
International institutions play a vital role in accelerating real-time payment connectivity. They can provide funding, technical guidance, and diplomatic pressure to promote interoperability.
Organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and BIS are already involved in cross-border payment reform initiatives. These institutions help harmonize standards, promote policy alignment, and facilitate cooperation between countries that might otherwise lack the incentive to collaborate.
Opportunities for Private Sector Collaboration
While governments and regulators must take the lead in infrastructure and standardization, the private sector can drive user adoption and innovation. Payment providers, banks, and technology firms have a critical role in building intuitive user interfaces, managing risk, and scaling acceptance at the point of sale.
Public-private partnerships can align incentives and ensure that real-time payments offer a customer experience that rivals or exceeds that of existing card networks. The success of global RTP adoption will depend on seamless collaboration across sectors.
Future Use Cases for Global RTPs
The vision of globally connected real-time payments opens the door to a host of transformative use cases:
- Cross-border gig economy payments: Freelancers could be paid instantly in local currencies with no intermediary banks.
- Tourist payments: Travelers could pay using their home banking app anywhere in the world, eliminating the need to carry cash or rely on currency exchange booths.
- International supplier payments: Businesses could settle invoices with foreign vendors instantly, reducing working capital constraints and improving cash flow forecasting.
- Government-to-person disbursements abroad: Governments could send aid or benefits to citizens living abroad in real time, without relying on expensive remittance services.
Each of these scenarios highlights the potential economic and social benefits of a unified real-time payments system with global reach.
Balancing Real-Time Payments and Card Networks
Even as RTPs become more powerful and widespread, they are unlikely to eliminate cards entirely. Instead, a multi-rail system is likely to emerge, where users can choose the most suitable method for each transaction.
Cards will continue to play a dominant role in credit, travel, and high-value ecommerce. But real-time payments could capture a significant share in everyday retail, remittances, and B2B transactions—especially where speed and cost are key considerations.
In regions where banks, governments, and businesses collaborate to create interoperable RTP systems, the reliance on legacy rails may decrease significantly over time.
We will present a comprehensive conclusion tying together the evolution of RTPs, the role of policy and innovation, and the global roadmap toward truly real-time money movement for everyone, everywhere.
Conclusion
The evolution of real-time payments has been nothing short of transformative, unlocking faster, more efficient, and often lower-cost financial transactions. From their emergence as domestic innovations to their potential as global payment systems, RTPs are reshaping how consumers, businesses, and governments move money. Yet, while the foundational technology and user appetite exist, the journey to ubiquity is far from complete.
In card-heavy markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom, consumer-facing RTPs have yet to reach scale. Despite advanced payment rails like FedNow and Faster Payments, deeply entrenched card ecosystems and complex banking landscapes slow progress. Without strong incentives—such as consumer rewards, lower merchant costs, or regulatory nudges—widespread adoption may remain elusive. Fintechs may act as catalysts in these markets by building intuitive, low-friction payment layers that make RTPs more appealing to users and merchants alike.
Governments play a pivotal role in the success of RTPs. The stories of India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix show that regulatory clarity, mandated participation, and public-private collaboration can fast-track national adoption. However, similar models may not translate directly to Western economies, where market-driven philosophies dominate. Still, even in these contexts, governments can support RTP growth through indirect incentives, standardization efforts, consumer education, and by adopting RTPs in public disbursements.
Looking forward, the next great challenge for RTPs is achieving global scale. Domestic systems are thriving, but their lack of interoperability hinders cross-border commerce and remittances. Three potential paths lie ahead: regional expansion of existing systems, bilateral agreements between RTP networks, and the creation of interoperable global frameworks. Among these, multilateral interoperability shows the greatest promise, reducing the need for complex one-to-one integrations and opening the door to universal access.
Initiatives like the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) and Project Nexus by the Bank for International Settlements offer a glimpse into what this interoperable future could look like. Combined with regional clusters and strategic bilateral integrations, they suggest a roadmap for real-time payments to match—and potentially surpass—the global utility of card networks.
Ultimately, the future of real-time payments depends on a collective willingness to reimagine payment infrastructure. Banks must embrace innovation, governments must facilitate policy alignment, and private companies must design user-friendly systems that drive daily engagement. As these forces converge, real-time payments could become the backbone of a faster, fairer, and more connected global economy—ushering in the most significant revolution in payments since the rise of cards.
