Despite large proportions of unbanked households hampering real-time payments adoption in Latin America, some countries in the region are expected to see massive real-time payments growth in the coming years.
In Peru, for example, proliferation of the Immediate Interbank Transfers (IRT) system has been slow since it launched in 2016, with real-time payments accounting for just 0.3% of total transaction volume last year.
But despite that setback, the government has been actively promoting the real-time payment scheme since it launched, helping to drive digital transformation and enhance financial services across the country.
In fact, more than 2.6 million transfers were processed through the system in 2017, representing a 114% increase, according to César Ferreyros, general manager of electronic compensation chamber CCE, an entity belonging to the Association of Banks of Peru (ASBANC).