During this PaymentsJournal podcast, experts from different parts of the payments world discuss how real-time payments are expanding across the globe, and particularly in the United States and Australia. It features Elisa Athonvarangkul Tavilla, Director of Debit Payments, Javelin Strategy & Research; Adrian Lovney, Chief Payments & Schemes Officer, Australian Payments Plus; Nathan Churchward, Payments Domain Lead, Cuscal Limited; and our own Kate Knudsen, Senior Program Director, BHMI.

With the availability of RTP and FedNow, the United States has fully embarked on its journey toward real-time payments. Across the globe, real-time payments are creating not only competition among payment methods but also new use cases, making previously unattainable services accessible to businesses and consumers. Yet the road to global ubiquity in real-time payments has challenges. Technical hurdles, legacy systems, and the imperative of interoperability need to be overcome.

In a world with seventy-nine countries operating real-time payment systems, achieving cross-border real-time payments requires diplomacy and meticulous planning. Furthermore, the modernization of outdated back-office systems is imperative to keep pace with the exponential growth in real-time transactions. The good news is that businesses recognize this urgency and are upgrading technology infrastructures and streamlining processes.

Elisa, Adrian, Nathan and Kate talk with Rimma Kats, Editor-In-Chief of PaymentsJournal about the rapid trajectory of real-time payments, and the steps we as industry stakeholders can take to bolster real-time payments ubiquity.