Instant payments, also called real-time payments, are a form of electronic payment “that is available 24/7/365, with the payment processed and funds made available tothe recipient instantly.” the team at Juniper Research explains.
However, there is “not a singularly accepted definition of instant payments, with differing definitions on how quickly a payment must be processed to qualify as instant.”
For the sake of this report, Juniper Research defines an instant payment as: “Any payment scheme where funds are capable of being received in 10 seconds or under, outside card networks, and confirmation of the payment to the parties is available in one minute maximum.”
Juniper Research further noted that instant payments are often “confused with faster payments, which are an electronic payment that, providing both the sender and the recipient are on the faster payments scheme, can process a payment almost immediately, but can take up to two hours.”
This means that instant payments are “a form of faster payments, but not all faster payments are instant payments.”
There are other standout characteristics of instant payments “that differentiate it from other payment types.”
The most notable is “the irreconcilable nature of instant payments.”
Juniper Research also mentioned:
“As instant payments are in the recipient’s bank account within 10 seconds, there is no opportunity for the sender to cancel the payment. There is also no physical way for the bank to take the money back from the receiver’s account. This means users of instant payments are at greater risk from fraud, as they cannot stop the payment once the transfer has been made. Instant payments schemes do not change the nature of the threat, but make the crime harder to catch or trace.”
The report from Juniper Research pointed out:
“The number of instant payment transactions will exceed 376 billion globally by 2027; increasing from 97 billion in 2022, a 289% growth. An increased roll-out of instant cross-border payment schemes in multiple countries will drive this growth by enabling businesses and consumers to benefit from greater speed and efficiency. “
