Consumers and businesses are looking for payment services that are fast, convenient and provide greater control over cash flow, according to recent Federal Reserve research. And many are looking to their financial institutions to provide these services.

A consumer perspective

About 70% of consumers say having access to enhanced faster payment capabilities from their financial institution(s) is an important satisfaction driver, according to a survey conducted in 2021. Person-to-business payments top the list of likely use cases for faster payments (77%), followed by person-to-person and account-to-account, both at 62%. 

Other key findings include:

• Nearly 7 in 10 consumers use mobile payment devices to send or receive payments.
• Four in 5 consumers are interested in faster options to pay businesses.
• Eighty-three percent of consumers are using a fintech payment app or digital wallet at least occasionally to complete transactions, including 71% of those 55 and older.
• More than 60% of consumers want a real-time view of their account balance and immediate posting of payments they initiate.

Businesses continue to see many possibilities for faster payments

Like consumers, businesses are also demanding faster payment options. The Federal Reserve’s second annual corporate survey, conducted in 2021, found that businesses are most interested in using faster payments for payroll, recurring bill payments, internal transfers, and regular or routine payments.

Compared to the previous year, interest in the following emerging faster payment use cases saw the greatest year-over-year increase: Mobile order pickup (67%), just-in-time payments (30%), large disbursements (24%) and digital wallets (14%).

Other key findings include:

• Businesses are seeking faster/instant payment solutions because of their key features: Quicker access to funds (60%), immediate notification of when the payment arrives (58%), the ability to post immediately or automatically to customers’ accounts (57%), and the inclusion of remittance details alongside issued payments (55%).
• Nearly 40% of businesses signaled interest in faster/instant payment options that might reduce the overall costs of financial operations.
• Nearly 9 in 10 businesses expect to be ready to make and support 24x7x365 faster payments within the next three years.

Resources

Want to dig deeper into the Federal Reserve’s research findings? View these resources:

• Consumers demanding faster payment options to fit their digital, always-on lives
• Interest in emerging faster payment use cases is growing among businesses
• Infographic: Businesses see many possibilities for faster payments

Learn more

For more information about faster and instant payment use cases, and to learn about the Federal Reserve’s upcoming instant payment system, the FedNow^SM Service, visit FedNowExplorer.org.