Australia and New Zealand Look to New Era in Real-Time Payments – ACI Worldwide Report

  • Australia and New Zealand are lagging as the adoption of real-time payments is proving slower than in other leading economies of the region
  • 118.3 billion real-time payment transactions were made globally in 2021 – a YoY growth of 64.5 percent – set to rise to 427.7 billion in 2026, according to GlobalData
  • Real-time payments are forecast to help generate additional GDP of US$173 billion by 2026, up from US$78.4 billion in 2021 – according to a Cebr economic impact study of 30 of the world's largest economies, including both industrialized and developing nations
  • Cebr study outlines wide-ranging policy recommendations to maximize the economic impact of real-time payments

SYDNEY--()--Australia and New Zealand are looking to a new era in real-time payments with a renewed sense of urgency and rush to modernise as the region seeks to make ground on regional competitors, according to the 3rd edition of Prime Time for Real Time 2022, published by ACI Worldwide, (NASDAQ: ACIW), in partnership with GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).

The report – tracking real-time payments volumes and growth across 53 countries – includes an economic impact study for the first time, providing a comprehensive view of the economic benefits of real-time payments for consumers, businesses and the broader economy across 30 countries. The report covers all G20 nations, excluding Russia. *

The research shows that governments that advance the real-time modernization of their national payments infrastructure create a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the payments ecosystem: consumers and businesses benefit from fast, frictionless and hyper-connected payments services, financial institutions future-proof their business in a highly competitive environment by speeding up cloud-first and data-centric modernization, and national governments boost economic growth, reduce the size of their shadow economy and create a fairer financial system for all.

Highlights Australia and New Zealand

Australia:

  • Real-time payments in Australia account for only 5.5% of total payments transaction volume with growth hindered by the country's strong reliance and preference for card-based schemes.
  • In 2021, Australia recorded 970 million real-time transactions resulting in estimated cost savings of $205 million for businesses and consumers in 2021 – which helped to unlock $US932 million of additional economic output, representing 0.06% of the country's GDP.
  • With real-time payments transaction numbers expected to rise to 2.4 billion in 2026 – net savings for consumers and businesses are forecast to climb to US$ 628 million, helping to generate an additional US$1.4 billion of economic output, equivalent to 0.07% of the country's forecasted GDP.

New Zealand:

  • New Zealand currently has no formal real-time payments scheme. Electronic payments dominate the country's payment space, occupying 59% of the total payments volume in 2021.
  • Covid identified and magnified gaps in the country's payment infrastructure. In response, Payments New Zealand, the standards body set up by the leading banks, is coordinating the exploration of infrastructure options for the country's first real-time payments scheme

"Australia and New Zealand have a terrific opportunity to close the gap on its regional rivals and help re-energise its economies post COVID," said Chris Hill, Head of Pacific, ACI Worldwide. "The region has all the practical elements for global success but making up ground in a world with constantly developing infrastructure and services will require concerted action, commitment, and coordination across governments and industry to reap the full benefits."

"Real-time transactions and growth forecasts continue to rise globally, with emerging countries like India leading the way and outpacing developed nations. Governments around the globe who enable real-time schemes are driving economic growth and prosperity by providing consumers and businesses with cheaper, faster, and more efficient payment methods," said Jeremy Wilmot, Chief Product Officer, ACI Worldwide.

"By allowing for the transfer of money between parties within seconds rather than days, real-time payments improve overall market efficiencies in the economy," commented Owen Good, Head of Advisory, Centre for Economic and Business Research. "Real-time payments improve liquidity in the financial system and therefore function as a catalyst for economic growth. This is especially important for our fast-paced and digital-led gig economies. Workers are paid quickly, allowing them to better plan their finances. Businesses have more flexibility and reduce the need for burdensome cashflow management."

"Developing nations continue to drive the majority of real-time volume gains, confirming the industry trend of the strongest growth coming from economies with minimal existing electronic payments infrastructure, and therefore heavier reliance on cash," said Sam Murrant, Lead Analyst, GlobalData. "Amid all this activity, mobile in its multiple forms will shape the trajectory of real-time payments for developing markets. India provides the template for mobile wallet integration with underlying real-time payment systems. Mobile will still be the leading form factor in developed markets. However, we may see banks' involvement sitting more behind wallets."

Prime Time Real Time Report 2022 - All Global Figures-at-a-Glance

GlobalData - Real-Time Payments Growth:

 

2021

2026

 

Real-time transactions made globally

118.3 billion

427.7 billion

YoY growth
64.5%

 

2021

Five countries with the highest volume of real-time payment transactions

India
48.6 billion

China
18.5 billion

Thailand
9.7 billion

Brazil
8.7 billion

South Korea
7.4 billion

 

CAGR 2021 – 2026

Top 5 fastest growing real-time markets (where instant payments share of all electronic payments was 10% in 2021)

Brazil
56.8%

Oman
41.0%

India
33.5%

Philippines
31.7%

Malaysia
26.9%

Top fastest growth of real-time transactions by regions

South & Central America
51.3%

Middle East, Africa & South Asia
32.6%

North America
30.2%

Europe

23.0%

Asia-Pacific
15.0%

Cebr Real-Time Economic Impact:

 

2021

2026

Aggregated net savings for consumers and businesses facilitated by real-time payments across the 30 countries observed

US$46.6 billion

US$184.0 billion

Formal GDP facilitated by real-time payments

US$78.4 billion
(equivalent to 0.10% of the combined GDP of the 30 countries)

US$173.0 billion
(equivalent to 0.19% of the combined forecasted GDP of the 30 countries)

Global number of jobs required to produce an equivalent level of output

4.9 million jobs

10.3 million jobs

India, Brazil, China, Thailand, South Korea – business and consumer level benefits

US$37.0 billion combined

US$164.6 billion combined

India, Brazil, China, Thailand, South Korea – formal GDP supported by real-time:

 

US$54.6 billion
(Equivalent to 0.23% of the combined GDP of the five countries, or the equivalent output of 4.2 million workers)

US$131.7 billion
(Equivalent to 0.43% of the combined forecasted GDP of the five countries, or the equivalent output of 9.0 million workers)

U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany – business and consumer level benefits

US$2.1 billion combined

US$5.5 billion combined

U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany – formal GDP supported by real-time:

 

7.3 billion
(Equivalent to 0.02% of the combined GDP of the five countries, or the equivalent output of 70.4 million workers)

13.9 billion
(Equivalent to 0.04% of the combined forecasted GDP of the five countries, or the equivalent output of 118.9 million workers)

GlobalData - Consumer Payments Modernization:

 

2021

Over half of consumers worldwide now own and use a mobile wallet:

52.7 1%

up 12.1% in the two years since 2019 (Covid-19 impact), and up 33.8% since 2018

GlobalData - Fraud Trends

 

2020

2021

Cases of card details being stolen online are falling – 2021 saw a slight decrease in cases

17.5%

16.9%

Cases of card details being stolen or skimmed in person are also falling – 2021 saw a decrease in cases

15.5%

0.5%

Digital wallet account hacks, identity theft and social engineering cases are rising. Percentage of total fraud cases:

2020

2021

Digital wallet account hacks

6.2%

7.3%

Identity theft

11.6%

12.0%

Social engineering

13.7%

14.4%

*Note to editors: Russia is not included in the Cebr Economic Impact Study in the absence of a robust data set.

About ACI Worldwide

ACI Worldwide is a global leader in mission-critical, real-time payments software. Our proven, secure and scalable software solutions enable leading corporations, fintechs, financial disruptors and merchants to process and manage digital payments, power omni-commerce payments, present and process bill payments, and manage fraud and risk. We combine our global footprint with a local presence to drive the real-time digital transformation of payments and commerce.

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Contacts

Media
Gary Hamilton-Walker
gary.hamilton-walker@aciworldwide.com
Asia Pacific, South Asia

Nidhi Alberti
nidhi.alberti@aciworldwide.com
North America, Latin America

Katrin Boettger
katrin.boettger@aciworldwide.com
Europe, Middle East, Africa

Contacts

Media
Gary Hamilton-Walker
gary.hamilton-walker@aciworldwide.com
Asia Pacific, South Asia

Nidhi Alberti
nidhi.alberti@aciworldwide.com
North America, Latin America

Katrin Boettger
katrin.boettger@aciworldwide.com
Europe, Middle East, Africa