ACI 's 2023 Prime Time for Real-Time report has shown that Asia Pacific continues its growth in the real-time payments market. The report showcases that the volume of real-time payments (RTPs) in the region has seen constant growth.

From 2022 to 2023 alone, 195 billion RTP transactions were made. This signals an annual growth of 63.2%. The report shows that, from 2022 to 2023 alone, 195 billion RTP transactions were made, highligthing an annual growth of 63.2%.

The shift has been encouraged by governments and central banks, as they have made significant investments in the infrastructure that made the adoption of RTP possible. What is more, features and services that offer convenience to users such as QR-code payments and mobile-native experiences are some of the key factors that drive the adoption of RTP among consumers. One of these latest innovations in the area is the launch, in May 2023, of cross-border QR code payments between Malaysia and Indonesia.

The widespread popularity of payment digitalisation in the area is made even clearer by the fact that 8 of the top 10 countries in mobile wallet adoption are from the APAC region. Countries leading the way for RTP in the APAC The report points out a series of countries in the region that have made considerable progress when it comes to RTPs. Indonesia, for instance, although it is one of the latest countries in the APAC to embrace RTP, is expected to have a significant growth rate in RTP adoption.

Between 2022 and 2027, the country is said to see an RTP growth at a CAGR of 81.9%. This would make its BI-FAST system one of the most successful RTP schemes. Similarly, the RTP volume in Malaysia is also expected to increase at a CAGR of 19.7% during the same period.

The main drivers of this shift are the expanding preference for mobile payments, population awareness, as well as the development of B2B use cases such as the QR-code payment linkage formed between countries like Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia By 2027, Thailand is projected to become the top country in APAC in terms of RTP adoption, as each citizen is expected to make an average of 43.6 RTPs each month by 2027. Another reason behind the success of RTPs is the fact that Thailand has also implemented ISO 20022 bulk payments. New Zeeland is another emerging country in the matter of RTP integration.

Although the country has not yet established an internal RTP system, it has expressed an interest in following the trend of modernisation by utilising RTPs. The late start that New Zeeland has seen is not necessarily something that is expected to work against it, as it can make use of the successful RTP practices in the region when implementing its own strategy. For more information about ACI Worldwide, please check out their detailed profile in our dedicated, industry-specific Company Database.

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