Does Everyone Win With Faster Payments?

The March edition of the PYMNTS Faster Payments TrackerTM, powered by NACHA, covers the latest news and developments in the Faster Payments world, including the most recent notable player forays with the blockchain, like IBM’s recent announcement of Blockchain-as-a-Service. Clearly, the investments and interest in blockchain technology are real, but will it ultimately be the technology used as the foundation for the financial industry’s real-time payments solution?

The Power Of Payments

In our March Faster Payments cover story, we interviewed Joe Proto, Transactis’ CEO and chairman, about what the move to same-day and faster payments means for all entities across the payments industry and who and what will drive the success of the shift.

Here’s a sneak peek:

The shift to same-day and faster payments, in general, Proto said, is the most significant endeavor he’s seen in his 30 years in the industry. “Same-day and faster payments will give us a lot of the same benefits that we get by handling card transactions, without using the card rails. That’s revolutionary,” he said.

The reason faster payments is so important, Proto said, is because the four major quadrants of the payments industry — P2P, B2B, B2C and C2B — are all beneficially impacted when it comes to the expedited movement of money and data.

P2P

When it comes to P2P payments, Proto pointed to a shifting consumer mindset and, in turn, adoption. For example, he said, Venmo just recently announced that January was its first billion-dollar month, so users are clearly finding and using the service more (and telling their friends). And, he said, that’s powerful. “We’re moving to a user mentality that, if I’m going to send you money, you know you’ve got it pretty much at the same time that we’ve transacted together,” he said. “So, whether we’re two friends who went out to dinner and I owe you for your half or whether I’m buying something from you or I owe you something, being able to have that confidence that the timing is significantly connected to when I initiate is very powerful. And the surety that you’re going to receive that payment – you extend that now from timing, when I initiate, is very powerful.”

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About The Tracker

The PYMNTS Faster Payments TrackerTM, powered by NACHA, is your go-to resource for staying up to date on a month-by-month basis. The tracker highlights the contribution of different stakeholders, including institutions and technology coming together to make this happen.