Real-Time Payments Market Report 2025

This Real-Time Payments report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s historic and forecast market growth by geography.

The real-time payments market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $37.22 billion in 2024 to $48.97 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.6%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to consumer demand for instant gratification, mobile and digital wallet adoption, globalization and cross-border transactions, regulatory initiatives, e-commerce growth.

The real-time payments market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $169.32 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.4%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing demand for business efficiency, changing consumer behavior, enhanced security measures, increased financial inclusion initiatives, rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCS). Major trends in the forecast period include open banking and API integration, peer-to-peer (P2P) and social payments, blockchain and distributed ledger technology, real-time payroll and business payments, customer experience enhancement.

The growing adoption of smartphones is anticipated to drive the expansion of the real-time payment market in the coming years. A smartphone is a portable electronic device that integrates a computer with advanced features not previously found in phones, such as an operating system, web browsing capabilities, and the ability to run software applications. The widespread use of smartphones globally has enabled real-time payment transactions, making smartphone payments a convenient option for users. For instance, in October 2023, the GSMA, a UK-based nonprofit organization, reported that there are currently 4.6 billion people using mobile internet, with nearly 4 billion accessing it through smartphones, which represents almost half (49%) of the global population. Additionally, around 600 million individuals - about 8% of the world’s population - are connecting to the internet using feature phones. This underscores the significant role of mobile devices in enhancing global connectivity and indicates a clear preference for smartphones over feature phones for internet access. Consequently, the increasing penetration of smartphones is fueling the growth of the real-time payment market.

Changing consumer preferences for instant transactions are projected to drive the growth of the real-time payment market in the future. Instant transactions refer to payments made as credit transfers, ensuring that the recipient's account receives the funds within ten seconds of initiating the payment order. The increasing integration of digital technology has transformed payment expectations and amplified the global consumer demand for immediate payment capabilities, prompting market infrastructures to adapt to meet these demands. For example, in September 2023, the India Digital Payments Report H1 2023, published by Worldline SA, a France-based multinational payment and transactional services company, noted that in the first half of 2023, the volume of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in India surged by 62% year over year. The number of UPI transactions reached 51.91 billion in the first half of 2023, up from 31.95 billion during the same period in 2022. Therefore, evolving consumer preferences for instant transactions are driving the growth of the real-time payment market.

Technological advancements have emerged as a prominent trend in the real-time payments market. Key players in this sector are actively developing new technologies to fortify their market positions. For instance, IBM, a US-based technology corporation operating in the real-time payments market, introduced a new generation mainframe with artificial intelligence technology in April 2022. The IBM z16 processor supports deep learning-based fraud detection for all transactions, showcasing the role of technological innovation in advancing the capabilities of real-time payments.

Strategic partnerships and collaborations are pivotal for major companies operating in the real-time payments market to develop innovative products and expand their global presence. Paysend, a UK-based financial technology platform, announced a strategic partnership with Visa Inc. in September 2023. This collaboration enables Paysend's clients to send real-time money transfers to eligible Visa cards in 170 countries and territories. The partnership seeks to transform international money transfers by leveraging Paysend's real-time money movement network and Visa Direct.

In January 2024, Mastercard, a U.S.-based credit company, formed a partnership with The Clearing House. Through this collaboration, Mastercard aims to create new solutions that assist consumers, businesses, and governments in leveraging the digital economy by promoting real-time payments (RTP). The Clearing House is a U.S.-based company that offers a real-time payment platform.

Major companies operating in the real-time payments market include ACI Worldwide Inc., FIS Corporation, Fiserv Inc., Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc., Temenos AG, Wirecard AG, Capgemini SE, Finastra Limited, Montran Corporation Ltd., Ripple Labs Inc., PelicanFast, IntegraPay Pty Ltd., Worldpay Inc., Volante Technologies Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc., Square Inc., Stripe Inc., Worldline SA, Global Payments Inc., Adyen N. V., Ant Financial Services Group, Apple Inc., Google LLC, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tencent Holdings Limited, Paytm (One97 Communications Ltd.), PayU (Naspers Ltd.), Dwolla Inc., TransferWise Ltd.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the real-time payments market in 2024. North America is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the real-time payments market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the real-time payments market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Italy, Canada, Spain.

Real-time payments involve a digital infrastructure or cloud-based software that enables the electronic and secure transfer of money through the internet, available year-round for various services such as bill payment, cash management, and peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers to facilitate banking services.

The main components of the real-time payments market include solutions and services. Services represent the non-physical, intangible aspects of the economy as opposed to goods, which can be touched or handled. Types of real-time payments include person-to-person (P2P), person-to-business (P2B), business-to-person, and others. Enterprise sizes involved range from small and medium-sized enterprises to large enterprises, and deployment modes include both cloud and on-premise options. End-users span across various sectors, including retail and e-commerce, government and utilities, healthcare, travel and hospitality, BFSI, and others.

The real-time payments market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides real-time payments market statistics, including real-time payments industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a real-time payments market share, detailed real-time payments market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the real-time payments industry. The real-time payments market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future state of the industry.

The real-time payments market includes revenues earned by entities by providing instant confirmation, settlement finality, instant fund availability, and integrated information flows. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

This product will be delivered within 3-5 business days.