NEW REPORT: Faster Payments, Happy Consumers?

New payment solutions are not only allowing payments to be sent faster, they’re also simplifying the process for users and merchants to send money between parties.

Several institutions – including banks and FinTech providers – are leading the push to adopt faster payment solutions and to strengthen the infrastructure that supports faster payment systems. As these systems expand their reach, policymakers in several regions around the world are considering ways to improve payment systems and infrastructures to make them run more smoothly. The March Faster Payments Tracker highlights the various ways that companies are bringing more efficiency into the faster payment landscape.

News from the World of Faster Payments

A recent report is shedding some light on the demand for faster payment services, and policymakers are starting to take notice.

A survey of 23 financial institutions found that 90 percent of the surveyed institutions reported volume of origination of Same Day ACH services that either met or exceeded expectations. The survey, conducted by NACHA, also discovered that Same Day ACH is used for a wide range of purposes and transmits high sums of money. For example, according to the report, the system transmitted $8.8 billion in B2B payments during its first three months of operation.

The high demand for faster payment systems is prompting regulatory agencies to review these payment systems for safety and efficiency. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payment Task Force recently issued their own report highlighting various ways to improve the U.S. payment system. Meanwhile, in Europe, EBA Clearing has begun testing its own real-time payment system, with the goal of launching the technology to facilitate the deployment of real-time, 24/7 payments across the continent later this year.

As the demand for faster payments and the value of transmitted funds increases, so are the calls for greater simplicity and efficiency. Some companies are offering proxy service payment solutions to help consumers and businesses send funds to other parties using identifiers, such as mobile phone numbers or email addresses instead of bank accounts. For the March Tracker feature story, PYMNTS spoke with George Evers, director of immediate payments for VocaLink, about how proxy services are making the exchange of money as simple as accessing online media, like music or videos.

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About the Tracker

The PYMNTS Faster Payments Tracker, powered by NACHA, is your go-to resource for staying up-to-date on a month-by-month basis. The Tracker highlights the contribution of different stakeholders, including institutions and technology coming together to make this happen.