The demand for real-time payroll is increasing and may eventually become a standard expectation—especially among gig and hourly workers. By implementing real-time payments, companies can remain ahead of this emerging trend.
With RTP, businesses can optimize cash flow management, streamline administrative procedures, and improve customer satisfaction by taking advantage of the acceleration of transfers.
According to a report by ACI Worldwide Real-time Global Payments,
“Real-time payment transactions are expected to increase by 63% annually by 2027, reaching a total of USD 511 billion annually.”
Real-time payments can change a wide range of aspects of commerce, from the speed of e-commerce transactions to the real-time payment of gig economy workers.
What are real-time payments?
All transfers between accounts that allow immediate beneficiary access to funds are called “real-time payments” (RTPs).
When a payment is approved, money is immediately deducted from the payer’s account, providing a real-time balance and confirmation of funds. Real-time, instant, or immediate payments are typically completed within seconds and vary between schemes.
Since the payer cannot cancel a real-time payment once made, all real-time payments are irreversible.
While early RTP systems had limitations on how much could be paid out on weekends, holidays, and nights, more recent versions allow payments to be made around the clock every day of the year.
Benefits of Real-Time Payments
Real-time payments have numerous advantages for consumers, financial institutions, and businesses. Among them are:
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Constant accessibility
There are “banking hours” for traditional banking systems, and they frequently don’t process transactions on weekends or holidays. However, RTPs are always open, so companies can send and receive money whenever possible.
This is especially helpful for e-commerce companies that operate 24/7 and have clients in various time zones.
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Enhanced customer experience
RTP users benefit from the ease of instantaneous payments at any time and from any location. This can greatly improve the client experience, especially in software-as-a-service (SaaS) and e-commerce.
For example, when consumers buy a digital product, they can pay and use it immediately, making purchasing easy and effective.
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Data-rich transactions
Compared to conventional payment methods, RTP systems can handle larger data loads, giving businesses insightful information.
For example, an RTP transaction can contain purchase order numbers, invoice details, or other pertinent data, which makes it simpler for companies to handle accounts and reconcile payments.
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Improved Cash Positioning
Real-time payments can increase cash flow and strengthen the company’s cash position. In general, prospective partners, investors, and acquiring companies view cash position as a strong indicator of financial strength.
Cash positioning demonstrates a business has the financial flexibility to take advantage of investment opportunities or hedge against potential losses. A quicker payment system can reassure customers that your company has a strong financial foundation and can withstand hardship.
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Better Liquidity Management
RTP plans for managing the liquidity that will pay for all of your expenses, liabilities, and short-term cash needs. Firms can effectively manage their liquidity with real-time payments, even in unpredictable or difficult circumstances.
A payment that takes a long process can become more than a minor inconvenience if the business is overly leveraged or on the verge of being extremely leveraged.
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Improved Business Relationships
When a vendor submits a payment, there is anticipation regarding the payment’s clearance status, particularly in the absence of established mutual trust.
Payments made in real-time save firms from having to wait and notify them as soon as they are processed. Any uncertainty firms may have while awaiting payment from their business partner is removed by this effective process.
Simultaneously, a simple and transparent payment procedure can boost vendor trust. Ultimately, their department of accounts payable is also quite busy.
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Eliminate Unnecessary Costs
The costs associated with conducting business reduce the value of conducting more transactions.
Through real-time payments, companies can keep more revenue by reducing or eliminating these needless cash flow leaks.
This enables businesses to pay as needed without excessive processing fees or allocating resources to low-value work.
How finance institutions can implement real-time payments:
Businesses must invest in the infrastructure required to support RTP transactions and ensure they have strong, reliable security measures to benefit from these advantages fully.
Real-time payments can streamline the supply chain finance field, reducing supply chain bottlenecks associated with paper-based processes.
Banks must update their current payment architecture before implementing real-time payments. This involves making a platform investment that can:
- Supply value-added services
- Facilitate back-office operations and real-time payment processing
- Enable current digital touchpoints
- Act as a gateway or endpoint for the central scheme
According to a recent Real Time payments networks study by S&P Global, the United States market is nearing a tipping point.
“The RTP network connects over 60% of US banks, a huge advancement in the country’s financial sector. However, those who ignore RTP will fall behind.”
Real-time payments have transformed modern banking by providing unrivaled speed, convenience, and customer satisfaction. As financial institutions adapt to this changing payment landscape, it is critical that they carefully consider their goals and operational strategies.
Here are some steps financial institutions can take right now to start making real-time payments while keeping their goals, network choices, implementation roadmap, technology partners, and security in mind.
1. Establish Goals
Before implementing real-time payments, financial institutions need to ensure their goals are well-defined. Making an informed decision requires knowing why you want to join one or both real-time payment networks.
Institutions should evaluate if their objectives are to meet specific use cases, draw in new business, be future-ready, keep customers, or accomplish other particular goals. The decision-making process for the real-time payment journey will be streamlined by clearly grasping their motivations.
2. Create an Implementation Roadmap
Financial institutions must specify their implementation plan after selecting a network. It would be wise to begin by accepting payments as this reduces risks and offers insightful information about the system.
Institutions can then move on to sending payments, eventually including features for requesting payments. A carefully thought-out roadmap guarantees a seamless transition and reduces interference with ongoing business operations.
3. Evaluate Technology Support
Strong technological support is required for real-time payment implementation, which could be difficult for smaller financial institutions. Working with outside service providers is frequently a workable option for organizations needing more funding.
Financial institutions should investigate current partnerships to determine if the providers they currently use support real-time payment capabilities.
If not, they can look for different suppliers who can integrate APIs with their current systems, guaranteeing uninterrupted connectivity and securing their business for the future.
Also Read: Efficiencies and Challenges of B2B Real-time Payments
4. Put Security First
When it comes to real-time payment implementation, security is still crucial. Financial institutions must be proactive to protect consumers and transactions across various use cases.
A thorough security plan must include strong encryption, multi-factor authentication, and real-time fraud detection tools.
Working with knowledgeable technology partners can yield insightful knowledge about the best ways to safeguard sensitive information and guarantee a safe environment for real-time payments.
Conclusion: Financial institutions face opportunities and challenges with real-time payments. To begin real-time payments, institutions must define their goals, choose appropriate networks, plan an implementation roadmap, partner with reliable technology providers, and prioritize security. By carefully implementing real-time payments, financial institutions can stay ahead in modern banking and meet customers’ and businesses’ changing needs.
