Poll reveals US falling behind in faster payments adoption
A survey of payments systems stakeholders has revealed that the US is lagging behind the rest of the world in the adoption of faster payments, reports Jane Connolly.
US is lagging behind the rest of the world in the adoption of faster payments.
The inaugural Faster Payments Barometer, conducted by US Faster Payments Council (FPC) in partnership with Glenbrook, received over 700 responses from stakeholders such as financial institutions, core processors, payment network operators, fintechs and acquirers.
Nearly 60% of respondents felt that the US is not making satisfactory progress towards faster payment adoption. A lack of ubiquity and interoperability was cited as the biggest reason for this, followed by high upfront costs and complexity to implement. The absence of common rules and standards was the third most likely reason for the slow progress.
Read more: US Faster Payments Council alive and kicking
Achieving interoperability was considered “very important” by 78% of respondents, with nearly half wanting to see this attained within one to four years. However, 22% believed it should be achieved “as soon as FedNowSM is implemented.”
“The results from the Faster Payments Barometer suggest there is an appetite to adopt faster payments if the industry comes together to provide a seamless, uniform and interoperable approach,” says Kim Ford, FPC executive director.
“We believe that the FPC is well suited to respond to this desire and lead the way toward meaningful progress, as we are bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders committed to working in a collaborative, inclusive manner to resolve pain points and move the industry forward.”
When asked about the use cases that were of most interest to their organisation, the top three choices were bill payment (59%), person-to-person payments (53%) and ecommerce (47%).
