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The road to real-time settlement systems in the U.S. has been a long one. Whereas the UK introduced Faster Payments in 2008, it took another decade for RTP to be built, and five years on top of that for FedNow. Alas, the path to actual usage of these new real-time systems will be even slower, given the diffuse nature of the U.S. banking system and the hesitation effect that comes with having two competing networks.

The Bank of Namibia posted a call for expressions of interest for the supply and implementation of an instant payment solution for financial inclusion in Namibia (closing date August 11, 2023).

The BIS published a survey, carried out in late 2022, of 86 central banks on their views and plans regarding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). 93% are engaged in some form of CBDC work and that the work on retail CBDC is more advanced than on wholesale CBDC. The results also indicate that emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are more advanced in their CBDC work than advanced economies (AEs). In addition, 80% of central banks surveyed see potential value in having both a retail CBDC and a fast payment system (FPS), because CBDC allows access to a wider set of financial institutions and the unbanked population. Also, programmability and offline payments were mentioned as features that an FPS may not provide.

The US Federal Reserve (FRB) announced that its new system for instant payments, the FedNow® Service, is now live. Banks and credit unions can sign up and use this tool to instantly transfer money 24/7 for their customers. To start, 35 early-adopting banks and credit unions, as well as the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, are ready with instant payments capabilities via the FedNow Service. In addition, 16 service providers are ready to support payment processing for banks and credit unions.

"It's time for the U.S. to update its payments infrastructure to better reflect how financial products are currently used. Allowing access to Federal Reserve payments services for nonbanks will bolster the success of FedNow and bring our country closer to others on payments modernization."

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) have agreed to a framework to promote use of Indian rupee (INR) and UAE Dirham (AED) usage for cross-border transactions, and work towards interlinking their fast payment systems (FPSs), to cut transaction costs by eliminating dollar conversions. More specifically, they will link India's unified payments interface (UPI) with the UAE instant payment platform (IPP), and also link their respective card switches (RuPay switch and UAESWITCH).

"The diffuse nature of U.S. banking (and the concentrated nature of Canadian banking) will play into the upcoming launches of FedNow and Real-Time Rail (RTR), two instant retail payments system belonging to the Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada, respectively. I'd expect RTR usage to amp up quickly, given that Canada's big-5 banks will likely help sponsor it. FedNow adoption will lag. It's just not that easy to get 9,466 institutions on the same page."

"Countries across the world are investing in their banking infrastructure to help money move much faster and more securely. Last year, the European Union published a draft mandate, under which banks should make instant payment more affordable and accessible in the aim of making them more mainstream"

"If FedNow really wants to make account-to-account instant payments part of every day life for the average American, pay names might be a way to do it. I contributed to a response to the Federal Reserve Banks' Public Consultation Paper on "Payment System Improvement" with a similar suggestion, calling for the Fed to look into a generalised identification system for payments, because some kind of "payment name" might be more convenient for consumers. The idea of a "financial services identifier" (FSI), that could be bound with appropriate credentials - post customer due diligence (CDD) - to form a secure financial services passport which could then be used to effect considerable cost reductions in the financial services industry was then, and still is, rather attractive."

The State of Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems in Africa (SIIPS) report is an AfricaNenda's initiative together with the World Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The SIIPS report aims to inform payment actors in Africa and beyond about the developments in the instant retail payment system (IPS) ecosystem on the continent. This first edition highlights the current landscape of instant payment systems, including an assessment of the inclusivity of such systems, through their accessibility to all end-users, their capacity to ensure fair access and design input opportunities for all licensed payment providers. The report also dives into end users' experiences pointing to the fact that IPS are still far from meeting all consumers' payment needs.

South Africa's top four banks are to begin the roll out of Payshap, a low value, interbank, real-time digital payments service aimed at increasing financial inclusion to the underbanked segement. Developed by BankServAfrica, PayShap will initially be offered by Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank in early 2023, before being rolled out industry-wide in the months to follow.

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) published a brief that documents the acceleration of consumers' and businesses' migration away from cash and checks towards electronic payments, and a growing use of contactless and fast payments. The Covid-19 pandemic was likely responsible for the surge but at the same time, public demand for cash remains steady,  both as a means of payment and as a safe haven.

"At scale, the FedNow Service will facilitate an efficient payment system by making instant, irrevocable payments an affordable and accessible option for many types of transactions. The opportunities are really endless - it could speed wage payments to gig workers, enable customers to avoid late fees by paying bills instantly, and create a new payment platform for future innovation by other firms. The FedNow Service will also provide choice in the market for clearing and settling instant payments, as well as promote resiliency through redundancy. "

According to a report by from the office of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, fraud and scams are a growing problem on peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service Zelle, and the banks that run the platform are not refunding the vast majority of defrauded consumers, breaking their promises to their customers and potentially violating federal law. A response by the industry acknowledged that Zelle,  like every instant P2P payment service, is not entirely free from those who seek to defraud users, but expanding the bank liability framework would have adverse impacts on consumers choice, the cost of the service, and on small financial institutions for whom the costs related to the potential for unlimited liability would be too onerous.

Wealthsimple has become the first non-bank or credit union to be approved by the Bank of Canada for a direct settlement account. This means that the FinTech startup will not have to rely on a third-party financial institution to process transactions when Real-Time Rail (RTR) launches in Canada, as it will have direct access. However, for the second time, Payments Canada has delayed the RTR launch, saying it needs more time to validate and test the system's components and end-to-end integration, and it could be a long wait.

"There are more direct and impactful ways that we can address financial inclusion concerns rather than use cryptocurrencies. To address the needs of low-income households, for instance, the U.S. government could offer and encourage the use of a robust, real-time payments solution, as other countries have done.[76] (In fact, the Federal Reserve plans to launch the FedNow Service, an instant payment system, in mid-2023.) The U.S. government should also ensure that outreach efforts related to this instant payment system are focused on engaging underserved communities.[77]  "

The launch of Canada's Real-Time Rail (RTR) payments system has been pushed back from the middle of next year to an as yet undetermined date. Payments Canada says an extension will "provide additional time to validate and test the components and end-to-end integration". RTR will allow Canadians to initiate payments and receive irrevocable funds in seconds, 24/7/365. The system will tap the ISO 20022 messaging standard to support payment information traveling with every payment.

Payments Canada will conduct a second review of its proposed Real-Time Rail (RTR) payments system, delaying delivery further. A third party delivery assurance review, focused on program management, people and processes, has recommended additional testing and investments to ensure ongoing operations once the RTR system goes live. Payments Canada is to undertake a new three-month investigation into the risks identified.

"A central bank orchestrated payment system without system-specific payment assets meets most of the central banks' reasons for issuing CBDCs. It provides monetary and strategic autonomy for a critical infrastructure and meets user demand for digital payment solutions. As the example of Pix shows, such a system can compete successfully with existing and new payment services."

"In addition to the initial adopters, the Federal Reserve continues to work with and onboard financial institutions and service providers planning to join later in 2023 and beyond, as the initial step to growing a robust network aimed at reaching all 10,000 U.S. financial institutions."