As expected, 2015 is the year when faster payments in the United States (a.k.a. “real-time payments”) may get the kick start needed to move from an idea to a reality. With the recent release of the Federal Reserve’s position paper and the ongoing development of proprietary solutions in market, momentum appears to be building.

Mercator Advisory Group's research note, Faster Payments: Developments and Challenges for U.S. Commercial Payments, examines the recent developments to advance faster payments in the United States, some of the key stakeholders, and challenges to progress that exist.

"Everyone has been expecting movement on “real-time” or faster payments to pick this year. That the Fed only recently outlined its perspective is positive, but it is very early to get a read on what will happen next,” comments Richard Hall, Director of Mercator Advisory Group’s Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service and author of the report. “There are significant opportunities to remove friction from the current system, but there are also critical items such as leadership structure and mandates that are unclear, making the market feel a little like the Wild West.”

The note is 10 pages long and contains 3 exhibits.

Organizations mentioned in this research note include ACI, clearXchange, Dwolla, FIS, Fiserv, NACHA, the Remittance Coalition, and TCH. 

Members of Mercator Advisory Group's Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits.