Real-time payments continue to shake up the financial landscape, driven by infrastructure upgrades and cross-border collaborations. From North and Latin America to Europe and beyond, banks and FinTechs are accelerating efforts to enable faster, more accessible payment experiences.
North-American payments
In the United States, Chicago’s Lakeside Bank is modernizing its operations by adopting a payments-as-a-service (PaaS) platform from Volante Technologies. The move enables the $2.64 billion bank to process real-time, high-value and batch transactions through the RTP® network and FedNow® Service. This not only accelerates transaction speed but also improves cash management and reduces settlement risk — key priorities for business customers in today’s competitive environment.
Real-Time Payments in Europe
Europe is seeing its own real-time surge. Viva.com, a tech-forward business bank, has expanded Mastercard Move to 24 European markets, including the United Kingdom. This expansion boosts cross-border fund transfers, meeting the growing need for seamless, near-instant business transactions across borders.
Meanwhile, Southern Europe is laying the foundation for a more unified payments experience. Under the European Payments Alliance (EuroPA), Italy’s Bancomat, Spain’s Bizum and Portugal’s MB WAY are enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) payments across borders via users’ familiar mobile apps and phone numbers. With more than 50 million users and 186 financial institutions involved, the initiative is a game-changer for regional integration and international convenience.
Latin American updates
Latin America is also innovating. Brazil’s central bank will introduce Pix Parcelado in September — a buy now, pay later (BNPL) feature for the Pix real-time system. While consumers pay in installments, merchants receive funds instantly. The feature promotes financial inclusion, especially for underbanked populations that lack access to traditional credit.
From faster domestic transactions to borderless P2P payments, these initiatives mark a shift toward a real-time world, where immediacy, convenience, and financial access are the new standard. Explore the latest developments shaping the landscape in this edition of the Real-Time Payments World Map.
About the Real-Time Payments World Map
The “Real-Time Payments World Map,” a collaboration with The Clearing House, explores the latest developments fueling the rapid expansion of instant transactions worldwide.
