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

Top 10 countries for real-time payments

B2B, C2C, and B2C payments all stand to gain from shorter settlement times, which offer greater financial flexibility and control. Faster payments’ speed also provides valuable transparency for firms, which benefit from the certainty of immediate payment.

The pandemic accelerated payments industry digitization across the entire landscape, as merchants turned to ecommerce to keep doors open, consumers eschewed cash in favor of electronic and contactless payments, and payments technology providers rapidly developed and launched new solutions to keep up.

The Pittsburgh-headquartered bank is partnering with DailyPay and The Clearing House to help the fintech facilitate its real-time payments offering to a wider base, per PR Newswire.

Blockchain is attracting enormous interest on the back of surging cryptocurrency valuations and increasingly high-profile payment integrations. But as a real payment currency, blockchain-based cryptocurrency still must overcome many hurdles before it can truly disrupt the space.

Comparatively, 31% of non-minority-owned US small businesses were unable to afford rent in the same time period. More like this:. Report: The Rise of Real-Time Payments. Article: Zelle’s small-business transaction volume surged 180% in Q1, aiding overall business growth. Article: Retailers may want to upgrade their stores as consumers prepare to boost brick-and-mortar spending this spring.

To simplify authentication, biometric data from phones can automate sign-ins. 5G’s higher bandwidth can also increase the security measures to encrypt payments. Moreover, the rise of 5G-enabled fintech solutions will put more pressure for real-time payments beyond TCH, so institutions should also consider how to bring the advantage of real-time payments to consumers.

It’s also worth noting that tighter restrictions may help real-time payments gain momentum among merchants—they circumvent cards altogether, providing a more cost-effective approach to transactions.

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On today's episode, we discuss what brand new forecasts the forecasting team cooked up in Q2, including social media buyers and buy now, pay later service users. We then talk about the 2021 NBA finals ratings, a landmark ruling that lets brands work with NCAA athletes, and why OOH ad prices are on the rise. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam and director of forecasting at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco.

For some time now, consumers have been moving toward demanding more frictionless payment methods across online and offline channels. The social distancing and sanitizing practices brought on by the pandemic proved to be the push that encouraged many consumers to try proximity mobile payments (paying for goods using a mobile phone as a physical POS) for the first time. Ecommerce retailers, not to be outdone, are finding ways to improve their transactions as well.