New sophisticated use cases for consumers and businesses drive global real-time payment (RTP) volumes to record highs, with 195.0B RTP transactions recorded globally in 2022. This is a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 63.2 per cent, according to the 2023 Prime Time for Real-Time report published by ACI Worldwide in partnership with GlobalData.

India remains the undisputed RTP leader, with a staggering 89.5 billion transactions in 2022 and a YoY growth rate of 76.8 per cent. India accounted for 46 per cent of all global real-time transactions in 2022.

With consumers and businesses worldwide demanding cheaper, faster, and more efficient ways to pay, and merchant acceptance of RTPs on the rise, consumer, and business adoption via popular new use cases is heating up. 

The report forecasted 511.7 billion RTP transactions globally by 2027, representing a 2022-2027 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3 per cent. By 2027, RTPs are expected to account for 27.8 per cent of all electronic payments globally.

“This year’s report highlights how consumer and business adoption of real-time payments accelerates when the conditions are right,” said Craig Ramsey, global head of real-time payments and banking at ACI Worldwide. “The countries at the top of our league table—Bahrain, Brazil and Thailand—are all relatively recent enablers of real-time payments. Concerted industry collaboration and government mandates, widespread merchant adoption, strong brand recognition for a scheme, and related services, such as digital wallets, have provided the perfect combination for strong growth in these markets.”

Governments and regulators in other countries are beginning to take notice and have launched initiatives to emulate the success of the most successful RTP markets.

“Real-time payments are the future of modern, digital economies. Governments and regulators worldwide are beginning to understand this and increasingly see them as a path to drive economic growth and financial inclusion,” said Thomas Warsop, interim president and CEO at ACI Worldwide.

He added that RTP would help to secure the competitiveness of banks and financial services providers as they remove payment friction, contribute to greater liquidity and ultimately increase customer stickiness. They also complement the holistic digital proposition of modern financial institutions.

“Banks should evaluate whether they are truly maximizing existing real-time rails in their market. Ultimately, the extent to which they make real-time payments part of their offering is a strategic decision. It seems increasingly clear, however, that limiting their commitment to the minimum also means limiting their potential share of the future payments market,” Warsop concluded.

The Middle East Africa South Asia region (MEASA) is a huge and diverse RTP market. While India is the world’s undisputed RTP leader, the Middle East is one of the fastest-growing regions, and Africa is a key growth market to watch.

The region saw 95.7 billion RTP transactions in 2022, mainly due to India’s dominant role. RTP transactions are expected to grow to 250 billion by 2027, a CAGR of 21.2 per cent.

In 2022, 46 per cent of all global RTP transactions originated in India. Volumes reached a new high of 89.5B in 2022, representing 81 per cent of electronic payments in India. They are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 21.3 per cent between 2022 and 2027.