Merchants demand quicker access to payments in APAC

Real-time payments and mobile wallets drive faster transaction processing for businesses and consumers.

As real-time payments (RTP) continue to gain traction in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, merchants and consumers alike are driving demand for quicker access to funds. According to Craig Ramsey, Head of Real-Time Payments at ACI Worldwide, businesses in APAC are increasingly seeking faster ways to receive and reuse payments.

“Consumers are keen to only pay when they have to, not to have to consider a banking float time in order to work into their payment schedules,” said Ramsey during Sibos 2024 in Beijing.

“For a merchant or a corporation, I want to receive my money quickly. I want to be able to reuse my money quickly, and again, I don’t want to pay any sooner than I have to,” Ramsey explained.

In addition to RTP, the integration of mobile wallets has further accelerated this trend. “Mobile wallets and real-time payments really have the same common cause,” Ramsey noted. Both payment systems allow users to track and make payments in real time, offering greater flexibility for both consumers and businesses.