Only 5% of Direct-to-Bank-Account Payouts Arrive in or Near Real Time

In today’s fast-paced world, consumers expect quick and seamless payment experiences. This means that when they receive payouts, they want them to be processed and deposited into their accounts without delay.

When payouts are sent to a credit card or bank account, they are typically received within a week. Specifically, nearly one-quarter of these payouts to bank accounts took longer than three days, compared to 21% that took two to three days, per findings detailed in “How Open Banking Can Provide Fast and Easy Consumer Payouts,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Trustly collaboration.

This research study, which explores the benefits of various payout options and consumer preferences when receiving payouts, also shows that when it comes to payouts transferred to a credit card, 27% took between two and three days, and 20% took longer than three days.

Only 5.3% of payouts to bank accounts and 8.2% to credit cards were received within 60 seconds, highlighting the lack of real-time transaction processing in traditional banking systems. In contrast, nearly a quarter of payouts to digital wallets or third-party apps were received within 60 seconds.

Consumers who received payouts within 60 seconds reported higher satisfaction levels compared to those who received payouts over longer periods. In fact, only 76% of those whose transfers took longer than three days reported being very or extremely satisfied, while 92% of consumers who received funds in or near real-time expressed the same sentiment.

“The fact that few payouts are made within 60 seconds means that these consumers, along with 43% of respondents who cited the availability of real-time payouts as their reason for using a payment method, would not have a satisfactory experience,” the study noted.

Drilling down into the data further reveals that access to real-time payouts plays a crucial role in open banking connectivity: Nearly half of all consumers cited the availability of real-time payouts as a significant factor influencing their choice of one payment method over another.

In fact, the ability to receive a payment in real time was shown to have a significant influence on nearly 45% of survey participants when selecting a payment method, and a similarly high level of influence on 39% of consumers when choosing a merchant or service provider.

Further data suggests that millennials and Generation Z are more likely than baby boomers and elders to be influenced by the availability of real-time payments, at 57% and 48%, respectively. These percentages are comparable to those who say the same about bank connectivity.