World’s Major Economies Playing Catch-Up as Widespread Adoption Drives Global Real-Time Payments Growth – ACI Worldwide Report

New sophisticated use cases for consumers and businesses are driving global RTP volumes to record highs, with 195.0B RTP transactions recorded globally in 2022 — a YoY growth of 63.2% — according to the 2023 Prime Time for Real-Time report, published by ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a global leader in mission-critical, real-time payments software, in partnership with GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

• 511.7B real-time transactions globally are forecast by 2027, representing a 2022-2027 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3%.
• By 2027, RTPs are expected to account for 27.8% of all electronic payments globally.
• India remains the undisputed RTP leader, with a staggering 89.5B transactions in 2022 and a YoY growth rate of 76.8%. India accounted for 46% of all global real-time transactions in 2022.
• Brazil was the third fastest-growing RTP market in 2022, with a YoY growth of 228.9%, and is in second place in transactions, with 29.2B in 2022, representing 15% of all global real-time transactions.
• China, Thailand and South Korea are third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of the top RTP markets, with 17.6B, 16.4B and 8B transactions, respectively, in 2022.

Governments and regulators are taking notice of consumer adoption

With consumers and businesses around the world demanding cheaper, faster and more efficient ways to pay, and merchant acceptance of RTPs on the rise, consumer and business adoption via popular new use cases is heating up. This year’s Prime Time for Real-Time report analyzes RTP transactions per head of population per month for the first time, highlighting where consumers and businesses most actively use RTP:

• Bahrain, a country of just 1.5 million people, is forecast to have the highest level of RTP consumer adoption by 2027, with 83.3 RTP transactions per head per month projected.
• Consumers in Brazil (#2) and Thailand (#3) are expected to make 51.8 and 43.6 RTP transactions per month, respectively, by 2027.
• Four European countries — Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland — are forecast among the top 10 countries for RTP consumer adoption by 2027.
• The U.K., Canada, the U.S., Germany, France and Italy — all top 10 global economies by GDPi — are forecast to place 17th, 19th, 33rd, 34th, 35th and 42nd, respectively, for consumer adoption in 2027.

“This year’s report highlights how consumer and business adoption of real-time payments accelerates when the conditions are right,” said Craig Ramsey, global head of real-time payments and banking, ACI Worldwide. “The countries at the top of our league table — Bahrain, Brazil and Thailand — are all relatively recent enablers of real-time payments. Concerted industry collaboration and government mandates, widespread merchant adoption, strong brand recognition for a scheme, and related services, such as digital wallets, have provided the perfect combination for strong growth in these markets.”

Governments and regulators in other countries are beginning to take notice and have launched initiatives to emulate the success of the most successful RTP markets.

In Europe, the EU Commission has proposed a law mandating RTPs across its 27 member states. The U.K. has embarked on its New Payments Architecture program, which aims to modernize the country’s RTP rails. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve recently announced the launch date for its highly anticipated FedNow service to expand RTP access in the U.S. — a highly significant event in a market where regulators tend to lean toward non-intervention.

“Real-time payments are the future of modern, digital economies. Governments and regulators around the world are beginning to understand this and increasingly see them as a path to drive economic growth and financial inclusion,” said Thomas Warsop, interim president and CEO, ACI Worldwide.

“Real-time payments will help to secure the competitiveness of banks and financial services providers. They remove payments friction, contribute to greater liquidity and ultimately increase customer stickiness. They complement the holistic digital proposition of modern financial institutions.

“Banks should evaluate whether they are truly maximizing existing real-time rails in their market. Ultimately, the extent to which they make real-time payments part of their offering is a strategic decision. It seems increasingly clear, however, that limiting their commitment to the minimum also means limiting their potential share of the future payments market,” Warsop concluded.