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There are now 40 active real-time payment programs around the world, up significantly from 25 in 2017. The U.S. lags behind countries such as India and the UK, which adopted faster payment rails 10 years ago.
The main reason for slower adoption in the U.S. is the lack of a mandate, said Whisler. The Fed when it started work on faster payments, focused on what faster payments would need but it did not require financial institutions to participate. TCH and other closed networks have stepped up to provide infrastructure, she added. “Now banks have the question, when something isn’t mandated and doesn’t go through a compliance budget cycle, banks need a business case, which is difficult to do with real-time payments. It’s difficult to have a business case when we don’t know where value will come from.”
