The Green Sheet Online Edition

June 08, 2020 • Issue 20:06:01

Readers Speak: The value of instant payments

Following are excerpts from a note on instant payments from Lauren Jones of Icon Solutions:

"Instant payments are the 'new normal'. The last decade saw a ramp-up in adoption as regulation, customer expectation and technology dovetailed to create immediate, 24/7 demand for financial services. "This means that banks and payment service providers (PSPs) who rely solely on speed of payments as a competitive differentiator will struggle to get ahead. The focus is now on leveraging instant payments rails to deliver value-added services that can drive a return on investment. Understanding where these opportunities lie, therefore, is crucial.

1. Request to Pay for more control: Perhaps the most valuable new way to leverage instant payment rails is Request to Pay (R2P). R2P is an umbrella term for various scenarios in which a payee takes the initiative to request a specific payment from the payer.
2. Amplify the power of QR codes: QR code solutions have surged in popularity in recent years as a simple, low-cost alternative payment method, offering consumers and merchants more choice at checkout. We are now seeing various banks and payments industry players reviewing their strategies to take full advantage.

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3. Leverage valuable real-time data with ISO 20022: While instant payments does not inherently provide enhanced data opportunities, most of today's instant payments systems are built using the ISO 20022 data standard. This is due to the extended data-carrying capabilities and the added value this messaging standard can offer banks' customers.
4. Deliver convenience for corporates: The combination of instant and enhanced data-carrying capabilities is extremely attractive to large corporates, and in turn, greater corporate usage of an instant payment system will increase volumes and lower costs.
5. Embrace new channels: As payments become increasingly embedded in our daily lives and interactions, it is inevitable that instant payments will become more ingrained in the social media experience.

Thank you to Lauren for these insignts. For more details, please visit https://iconsolutions.com/whitepaper/maximising-value-from-instant-payments/

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