- Only 5% of banks are ready to lead the instant payment
acceleration
- Account-to-Account (A2A) instant payments could impact card
transaction growth by 15-25%
The Capgemini Research Institute’s World
Payments Report 2025, published today, reveals an industry
set to be reimagined with account-to-account and instant payments.
Now celebrating its 20th anniversary edition, the report predicts
instant payments will account for 22% of all non-cash transaction
volumes by 2028 globally.
Since the inaugural World Payments Report in 2004, the payments
industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two
decades. Digital technologies, such as wallets, peer-to-peer (P2P)
payments and contactless payments, have become increasingly
prevalent. Regulations have also played a crucial role in driving
innovation and ensuring consumer protection. As a result, the
payments ecosystem is now more connected, harmonized, efficient,
and secure than ever before.
Non-cash transactions boom; APAC leading adoption
Non-cash transaction volumes rose to 1,411 billion in 2023 and
are on track to reach 1,650 billion in 2024. With today’s customers
preferring to embrace a frictionless payment experience, this trend
is expected to continue as non-cash transactions are forecast to
reach 2,838 billion by 2028.
Today, Asia-Pacific (APAC) stands out as one of the fastest
growing regions for non-cash transactions with a 20% YoY increase
in 2024 compared to Europe (16%) and North America (6%). Globally,
most industry executives (77%) identify e-commerce growth as the
critical driver accelerating the shift to non-cash
transactions.
A2A payments are a challenger for traditional card
schemes
Account-to-Account (A2A) instant payment solutions present a
faster and cost-effective way to pay, bypassing expensive card
networks. According to the report, the rise in their popularity
threatens to challenge the dominance of traditional payment cards,
with estimates suggesting they could offset 15-25% of future card
transaction volume growth. With interchange fees and interest
charges being a key profit source, financial institutions could
view this as a significant risk with the potential to cost
incumbents in the industry billions in lost revenue.
The European Payments Initiative’s Wero wallet is likely to
accelerate adoption of A2A payments with a 37% reduction in card
transactions predicted by 2027 across Europe.
“The continued surge in non-cash transactions is a watershed
moment for banks and payment service providers. The data indicates
an inevitable shift to a future of payments that is instant and
open,” said Jeroen H�lscher, Global Head of Payment Services at
Capgemini. “The progress seen with Pix in Brazil and UPI in India
has laid out a clear marker that success hinges on private-public
sector collaboration. While some financial institutions may upgrade
their existing payment hub or tap into shared bank infrastructure,
the fact remains that consumers are demanding instantaneity, and
corporates are hungry and willing to pay a premium for innovative
solutions that solve real business problems. The time is now to put
those foundations in place.”
Financial institutions unprepared for instant payments
movement
Two-in-three payment executives view the expansion of instant
payments as vital to drive non-cash transactions. Consequently,
banks need to jump on the instant payment adoption wave; however,
concerns about fraud – echoed by the majority of payment executives
in the report – deter much progress. With banks lacking robust
defenses, and the potential for liquidity concerns, many opt to
receive but not send instant payments. Today, based on the survey,
only 25% of banks can receive instant payments and 53% are fully
capable of sending and receiving them.
For this report, Capgemini evaluated survey results across
diverse business and technology parameters1 to understand banks’
preparedness for the adoption of instant payments. The report finds
only 5% of banks showcase high business and technology readiness to
solidify their position as instant payment adoption leaders.
Notably, only 13% of European banks can claim a strong technology
foundation for instant payments. This is particularly pertinent for
EU banks and payment service providers (PSPs) with the October 2025
Instant Payment Regulation (IPR) deadline on the horizon, mandating
all to offer full instant payment send and receive
functionality.
For corporate treasury executives across insurance, retail and
automotive sectors, inefficiencies across accounts payable and
receivable processes create a significant cash flow headache. Over
80% still use manual, paper-based processes for accounts
reconciliation resulting in nearly 7% of corporate revenue being
tied up within the value chain. This potentially translates to
billions of dollars being stuck that could be used to fund business
activities. Instant payments and open finance2 can present a new
path forward for these enterprises by offering real-time cash
visibility.
Open finance in early stages of adoption globally
A major catalyst for transformation, since the launch of the
World Payments Report in 2004, has been Europe’s 2018 Payment
Services Directive (PSD2) regulation. By pioneering open banking,
it has paved the way for today’s growing open finance movement. The
report emphasizes how open finance empowers consumers and
businesses, catalyzing the adoption of instant payments. Despite
its immense potential to reshape the financial landscape, progress
is currently limited due to differences in regulatory frameworks
and market initiatives. Australia, Brazil, India and Singapore are
some of the few countries leading initiatives to make data sharing
more accessible and convenient for individuals and companies
participating in an open financial system.
According to the report, financial institutions are finding it
challenging to fully embrace open finance due to issues with
non-standardized APIs, limited control over data use, and a lack of
incentives to share data with third parties. Only 17% of banks are
at an advanced stage, piloting or launching open finance products,
while 39% are in the planning phase, conducting impact assessments.
Another 23% of banks remain hesitant as they await regulatory
clarity.
Report Methodology
The World Payments Report 2025 draws on insights from two
primary sources – the global corporate survey 2024 and the global
banking and payments executive surveys and interviews conducted in
2024. These primary research sources cover insights from 15
markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong,
Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the
UAE, the UK, and the United States. The global corporate survey
questioned 600 corporate treasurers from three industries:
insurance, retail, and automotive. It explored factors influencing
payment disruptions, expectations from corporate banks,
satisfaction levels, drivers of bank relationships, challenges in
cash management, and emerging payment services such as instant
payment-based use cases and real-time treasury systems.
Participants also provided insights on instant payments maturity
and automating accounts receivables/payables. The report also
includes insights from focused interviews and surveys with over 200
senior payment executives of leading banks (tier I and tier II),
financial service organizations, payment service providers,
industry associations, and central banks representing all three
regions: the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific and the Middle
East.
About Capgemini
Capgemini is a global business and technology transformation
partner, helping organizations to accelerate their dual transition
to a digital and sustainable world, while creating tangible impact
for enterprises and society. It is a responsible and diverse group
of 340,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong
over 55-year heritage, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to
unlock the value of technology to address the entire breadth of
their business needs. It delivers end-to-end services and solutions
leveraging strengths from strategy and design to engineering, all
fueled by its market leading capabilities in AI, cloud and data,
combined with its deep industry expertise and partner ecosystem.
The Group reported 2023 global revenues of €22.5 billion.
Get The Future You Want | www.capgemini.com
About the Capgemini Research Institute
The Capgemini Research Institute is Capgemini’s in-house
think-tank on all things digital and their impact across
industries. It is the publisher of Capgemini’s flagship World
Report Series, which has been running for over 28 years, with
dedicated thought leadership on Financial Services focussing on
digitalization, innovation, technology and business trends that
affect banks, wealth management firms, and insurers across the
globe.
To find out more or to subscribe to receive reports as they
launch, visit https://worldreports.capgemini.com
1 Business readiness is measured by scoring instant payment
pricing strategy, partnership strategy to expand instant payments,
dispute resolution mechanism, risk management framework, etc.
Technology readiness is measured by scoring real-time processing
capability, API integration, ISO20022 messaging standard, AI
powered fraud detection, and confirmation of payee checks. The
matrix is based on responses from payment executives from 15
surveyed markets: US, Canada, Brazil, UK, Netherlands, Germany,
Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore,
Australia, and Hong Kong. 2 Open finance expands on the concept of
open banking to encompass all aspects of a customer's financial
life, including insurance, mortgages, investments, pensions, wealth
management, and lending data. It offers a holistic view that
empowers consumers and businesses with personalized financial
products, enhanced credit assessments, and streamlined financial
management.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240910079669/en/
Fahd Pasha Tel.: +1 647 860 3777 E-mail:
Fahd.Pasha@capgemini.com