The World Bank collects qualitative and quantitative information on fast payment systems directly from the system operators and regulators in the respective jurisdictions. Our dataset can be downloaded freely and basic analytics can also be visualized.
Retail fast payments (also known as instant, real-time, immediate, or rapid payments) across payment service providers allow for immediate fund availability to beneficiaries and can be used on a 24/7/365 basis. As fast payment systems (FPS) evolve, they enable a diverse set of payment service providers (banks and non-banks) and support a variety of payment instruments, use cases (domestic and cross-border), transaction channels, and overlay services. The Payment Systems Development Group (PSDG) of the World Bank has assisted more than 120 countries in modernizing their payment systems over the years and, more recently, has played a leading role in global research and technical assistance to countries on fast payments. Project FASTT, is a new milestone in this critical work, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the Finance for Development (F4D) Umbrella Program. Project FASTT has several pillars such as technical assistance to central banks and other payment ecosystem stakeholders, data and knowledge products, capacity building, and convening.
