Why Do Large Firms Like — but Not Use — Real-Time Payments?

Real-time payments offer undeniable advantages to businesses of all sizes, and large firms can reap these benefits at scale. PYMNTS’ latest research shows that nearly two-thirds of large companies using real-time payments in at least one context believe the technology offers competitive advantages.

Large firms also generally believe that real-time payments capability is important for sending and receiving payments. Nearly all have plans to expand its implementation in the near future or are already in the process of doing so. However, real-time payments account for relatively small shares of overall payments sent and received, with automated clearing house (ACH) payments, checks and wire transfers still used in numerous applications.

In “Real-Time Payments: How Speed Is Changing The Mix Of Business Payments,” a PYMNTS and The Clearing House collaboration, we surveyed 100 executives at companies that use real-time payments for at least one type of payment and that generate at least $250 million in annual revenue, from June 29 to July 8. The resulting data offers a deep dive into the state of real-time payments at larger businesses from the distribution, utilities, wireless communication and financial services industries, including the payments mix that firms currently use, the advantages they believe the technology offers and other drivers of adoption.

• Real-time payments account for sizable portions of overall payments sent and received among large firms that adopt the technology.

The companies we surveyed that have adopted real-time payments use the technology for 19% of their outbound payments and 18% of their inbound payments.

• Firms with more than $1 billion in annual revenues generally view real-time payments as more important than their smaller counterparts.

Eighty-nine percent of companies with revenues of more than $1 billion view real-time payments capability as important for receiving payments, versus 80% of those in the $500 million to $1 billion range and 63% of those with revenues between $250 million and $500 million. 

• Nearly all large firms plan to expand real-time payments implementation in the near future or are actively doing so.

Sixty-nine percent of the companies we surveyed have plans to expand their real-time payments capabilities within the next 12 months or are already in the process of doing so. Another quarter plan to do so in two or three years.

“Real-Time Payments: How Speed Is Changing The Mix Of Business Payments” highlights the increasingly important role that real-time payments play at large firms for both inbound and outbound payments and provides a deep look into the state of play for this technology in the context of large corporations.

To learn more about the factors influencing the adoption and usage of real-time payments technology, download the report.