Real-Time Payments: An Urgent Priority for Financial institutions

Real-time payments, which transfer funds almost instantaneously, are opening new opportunities for FIs to provide consumers with greater financial control and confidence. These are pivotal times, and FIs are squandering their advantages over nonbank competitors. Consumers — especially younger generations — understand the benefits of real-time payments but are developing loyalty to nonbank services. Some of that loyalty, however, is based on an inaccurate understanding of what real-time payments are, what they can do, and who offers them. This is limiting FIs’ ability to take advantage of consumers’ interest in real-time payments and necessitates an effort to spotlight the ability of FIs to offer instant money movement at critical moments in a consumer’s life.