Recent advances in technology can only be described as phenomenal. We now live in a world in which virtually everything is instantaneous. Indeed, scores of digital applications provide access to products and services at a moment’s notice. Essentially the world is shrinking as individuals can plug into anything from anywhere at any time. The boundaries between work and life are blurring and consumers have entered a constantly connected world.
What does this have to do with payments? Increasingly, expectations around ‘instantaneous events’ are coming to bear on the payment experience. As a result, the number of instant payment schemes emerging across the globe has experienced a surge, with almost 50 countries currently deploying or running such schemes. Nearly all of these initiatives are being developed at country level, but that is not surprising given that approximately 95% of payments are domestic.
