Executive Summary

Faster payments, which enable the quick settlement of transactions, are attracting greater interest from US financial institutions (FIs), businesses, and consumers, creating new challenges and opportunities for payments incumbents.

THREE KEY QUESTIONS THIS REPORT WILL ANSWER

• What are the different types of faster payments, how do they work, and what payments use cases are faster payments primed to handle?
• What are the major faster payments networks in the US market, what differentiates each one, and how will they divvy up the market five years from now?
• What does the rise of faster payment options in the US mean for payments incumbents, and how should they respond to the potential threats and opportunities created by these payments’ development?

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? Insider Intelligence defines real-time payments (RTP) while also considering the other recently introduced speedy settlement options that fall under the broader umbrella of faster payment options. We then examine the business areas and use cases where faster payments are being deployed, before looking at their rising popularity among FIs, businesses, and consumers as well as the hurdles these payments still face before they can gain widespread adoption. Finally, we profile prominent US faster payment systems, determine which ones are poised to lead the industry, consider how those systems and the overall rising popularity of faster payments will affect payments incumbents, and lay out how they should proceed.

KEY STAT: US consumers think the ability to send and receive real-time payments is important for a variety of use cases, highlighting the burgeoning demand and potential for faster payment options.