Realtime offers immense potential for payments for banks and fintechs, finds EPA report

4 years ago

London, UK. 13th November 2019: New research from Emerging Payments Association reveals that ‘realtime’ payments are growing rapidly in the UK, signifying potential for business payments for banks and fintechs.

The leading trade association has today published its original research, The Impact of Realtime on Payments and Data, which details how consumer expectations have drastically changed over a short period of time – and consumers no longer accept delays to funds movement or clearance.

The spike in demand for realtime payments was sparked by the implementation of PSD2 and Open Banking in 2018. Intended to be a catalyst for innovation in the financial industry, the regulation has massively impacted consumer behaviour and attitude towards slower payment processes.

Mark McMurtrie, EPA Ambassador and report author, commented: “Realtime is the new normal for payments procession. Customers expect realtime, regulators encourage its adoption and competition demands that instant payment options are provided.

“This comprehensive report, based on input from an interactive workshop with EPA members, examines the key use cases, innovations and regulations behind the rapid growth of realtime in the UK, across Europe and throughout the world.”

The move towards realtime payments can prove beneficial to businesses since additional data can improve insight into customer behaviour, allowing for instant rewards and personalised offers. However, the report also warns that faster processing times create more opportunities for criminals to exploit businesses. More investment must therefore be made to enhance fraud protection.

The report also highlights that the amount of innovation a financial institution can deliver is severely hampered by the growing number of regulations that have to be completed, tying up financial and employee resources and management bandwidth. This means that there is still a way to go before demand for ‘realtime’ payments can be met as commonplace.

For more on what ‘realtime’ really means and what the industry needs to do to match consumer demand for instant payments, download the report here: http://www.emergingpayments.org/article/the-impact-of-realtime-on-payments-and-data/.

The report was produced following a series of Project Futures workshops, hosted by the EPA. Project Futures is designed to provide insight and thought leadership on new innovations and technological developments, emerging market trends, and the prospective future regulatory landscape in payments.

Previous reports from Project Futures have explored: The impact of new credit and lending services on payment providers, Data proliferation and using data to drive payments innovation, Monetisation of data, and Innovation in international trade. To access previous EPA reports, go to: https://www.emergingpayments.org/category/whitepapers-category-59/.

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About Emerging Payments Association

The Emerging Payments Association (EPA) connects the payments ecosystem, encourages innovation and drives profitable business growth. Our goals are to strengthen and expand the payments industry to benefit all stakeholders. We achieve this by shaping a comprehensive programme of activities for our members with help from an independent board, which addresses key issues impacting the industry. These include:  Targeted events  Conferences  Award ceremonies  Critical industry projects  Lobbying activities  Training courses The EPA is over 130 members strong and growing. Our members come from across the payments value chain; including payments schemes, banks and issuers, merchant acquirers, PSPs, retailers, and more. These companies have come together, from across the UK and internationally, to join our association, collaborate, and speak with a unified voice.