Global Push for Real-Time Payments: EU, Brazil and South Africa Lead the Way

Download the World Map Real-Time Payments World Map

Real-time payments are becoming increasingly popular worldwide, with new implementations and innovations emerging regularly.

The European Union has been a traditional leader in real-time payments, prompting providers to prioritize compliance with its regulations. A recent example is Broadridge Financial Solutions, which just launched its Instant Payments Service for real-time money transfers. The service uses the Swift Alliance Gateway Instant (AGI) and connects to SwiftNet Instant for continuous exchange of instant transactions. Operating 24/7 year-round, it processes payments in less than 10 seconds. This launch aligns with the EU mandate for euro instant credit transfers, with key compliance deadlines set for 2025. Although the service focuses on the Eurozone, which encompasses 20 countries, global expansion is on the horizon.

Brazil to Launch New Service

Payment services company EBANX is preparing merchants for the country’s upcoming Pix Automático feature, scheduled to launch next June. The new capability will enable recurring transactions, potentially transforming subscription-based businesses in Latin America’s largest digital commerce market. EBANX is offering early access to technical documentation and a simulated environment for its merchant partners. This gives them the opportunity to prepare for the feature’s official release and gain a competitive advantage. Pix Automático is expected to streamline recurring payments across sectors like streaming services and software as a service (SaaS) by allowing users to set up automatic transactions via QR codes or by providing banking details.

Real-Time Payments Expansion in Romania

Romania’s real-time payments ecosystem has advanced with the launch of RoPay, a service developed by TRANSFOND that facilitates instant mobile payments through the country’s national payment scheme. RoPay enables direct account-to-account (A2A) transfers using QR codes, near-field communication (NFC) and mobile numbers. Participating banks are gradually implementing the service, with the initial focus on person-to-person transactions. Users can access the service through their banks’ mobile apps, with payments processed in less than 10 seconds.

Developments in South Africa

Meanwhile, Mastercard is set to debut its real-time card payments initiative in South Africa, making it the first market worldwide to offer this feature. Acquiring banks will be able to process real-time card payments using Mastercard’s innovations, network enhancements and strategic partnerships. Eventually, issuing banks will also be able to process these payments. Mastercard plans to accelerate transaction processing speeds by introducing new standards and solutions, such as real-time clearing and more frequent settlement cycles, which will enable same-day payouts for South African merchants. Mastercard has also partnered with global payments technology provider ACI Worldwide to assist acquirers in the country in adopting real-time transaction processing standards.

About the Real-Time Payments World Map

“The Real-Time Payments World Map,” a collaboration with The Clearing House, examines the latest developments fueling the rapid expansion of instant transactions worldwide.