ACI Worldwide, a global leader in mission-critical, real-time payments software, announced it has launched ACI Instant Pay — a real-time payments solution that enables merchants to accept instant online, mobile and in-store payments via a simple API integration with ACI Payments Orchestration Platform — in Europe and the U.K.
The move comes against the backdrop of a regulatory push in Europe. Banks across the Eurozone must comply with a proposed European Commission law, mandating financial institutions across the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) countries to offer instant payments under the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme, at the same cost or lower-than-standard credit transfers. The new regulation is aimed at unlocking the benefits of instant payments for European economies.
The U.K. has also embarked on a modernization journey of its Faster Payments scheme via the New Payments Architecture program. Consequently, more merchants are expected to adopt instant payments and reap the benefits they offer for their business and customers.
Why instant payments for merchants?
- Clearing funds immediately gives merchants greater control of cash flow. It’s estimated that instant receipt of funds could help European businesses unlock €1.34-1.84 billion each year.
- Merchants will be able to accept payment for their goods and services without incurring interchange fees, which can reduce operational costs.
- Instant payments are crucial for eCommerce merchants that rely on fast delivery to be competitive. Payment reaches their account instantly with no settlement delays or chargebacks. They can safely release goods and services straight away.
“Payments need to keep pace with an increasingly digital society. In Europe, 90% of people aged 16 to 74 now use the internet, and 74% buy or order goods online,” commented Basant Singh, global head of ACI’s merchant business. “In our expanding ‘always on’ transactional world, giving and receiving money electronically should be as instantaneous as handing over cash. As a long-term champion of instant payments, ACI is ready to help European merchants and their customers take advantage of the instant payments opportunity in the U.K. and Europe.”
Hear from industry experts on July 11 at 10 AM EST / 4 PM CET for a virtual event focused on instant payments innovation. Learn how merchants can benefit from our future-ready payment solutions that help lock in more profit, accelerate expansion and stay ahead of the curve.
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ACI’s Inside Real-Time
To find out more about the instant payment opportunities for merchants, please visit Inside Real-Time — a new, multi-channel media platform — ACI’s definitive guide and go-to source for the world’s instant payment stories, including exclusive content exploring the latest developments and opportunities on how instant payments are empowering consumers, merchants, businesses and banks. ACI’s 2023 Prime Time for Real-Time report is the foundation of this new platform.
*Note to Editors: Instant or real-time payments are credit transfers that make funds available in a payee’s account within 10 seconds of a payment order being made. While the term “instant payments” is used in Europe, the term “real-time payments” is more widely used in other parts of the world. ACI’s global Prime Time for Real-Time report uses the term “real-time payments” throughout.
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