Most merchants believe payment cards are headed the way of the dinosaur, according to a recent survey from payments technology company ACI Worldwide and technology analysis firm Ovum.

The poll of 1,032 executive respondents in 13 industry sectors across 19 countries found that 77% of U.S. merchants and 77% of all merchants globally think real-time payments will eventually replace the use of payment cards.

Merchants' interest in actually using real-time payments technology also spiked: 65% of retailers in the survey said they're interested in accepting real-time payments, up from 57% a year ago.

“The rollout of new real-time payments infrastructure in 2017, notably in the U.S., Australia and the SEPA zone, has driven a marked change in attitudes among both merchants and consumers,” Ovum head of industries Kieran Hines said. “Where real-time was perhaps seen as a financial plumbing issue, it is now more widely viewed as the key to delivering a series of operational benefits.”

More merchants think real-time payments will also help cut costs, according to the data. In 2018, 78% said they felt the technology would save them money, compared to just 57% a year earlier. Lower costs may make real-time payments especially attractive given that almost half of retailers (46%) across all industry sectors in the survey said the cost of their payments operations had risen over the past three years.

“Across all sectors, the biggest single driver of investment growth is the need to improve the integration between payment and other systems (such as ERP),” the study noted.

“Also important is the emphasis on bringing payment processing and acquiring services in-house. This is the leading project for 12%, and a top-three focus area for 32%. The travel vertical is most focused here, with 22% making this their biggest investment priority,” it added.

A full 78% of merchants said customer service will also improve because of real-time payments, compared to 59% who said the same in 2017.

Anxiety about security has accompanied the anticipation, however. ACI Worldwide reported that 61% of merchants thought they were at a greater risk of a data security breach than they were a year ago. Almost one in four (22%) experienced data theft in the last year.

“Interestingly, the industry is split when it comes to managing the trade-off between implementing security solutions and the impact on consumers. Across all sectors, 48% say that they would not invest in fraud solutions that add friction, with retailers (54%) most keen to avoid reducing the quality of the user experience,” the study said.

Instant Insights /

Real-Time Payments Will Kill Off Payment Cards, Merchants Predict

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