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‘Bigtechs’ increase their share of global payments

BNP Paribas and Capgemini have released the 14th edition or the World Payments Report (WPR), with updates on developments in payments, transaction volumes and the regulatory landscape. It found that during 2015-16, global non-cash transaction numbers grew by 10.1 per cent to reach a total of 482.6 billion, with most growth in emerging Asia and Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa. It also found that the global e-wallet market, much of which has been captured by Alibaba, Tencent, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, has been a key growth area, with transaction volume estimated to total 41.8 billion, about 8.6 per cent of global non-cash transactions.

The report also addresses the theme of new payments models being adopted by the banking industry to offer value-added services to customers, including corporate treasurers.

Some of the report's highlights include:

  • Global non-cash transaction volumes grew at 10.1% in 2016 to reach 482.6 billion. The report found that growth much higher, at 16.6 per cent in emerging markets, due to initiatives to increase financial inclusion and the increasing adoption of mobile payments, particularly in India (33.2%), China (25.8%) and South Africa (15.1%).
  • Global e-wallet transaction volumes are estimated at about 41.8 billion in 2016, with the 'bigtechs' accounting for about 71.0% of that market.
  • With regards to regulation, the report notes that standards and interoperability measures are needed to harmonise the fragmented global marketplace. It gives the example of instant payments in Europe, where diverse schemes were introduced nationally before the pan-European SCT Inst scheme. It also notes that the focus on regulation is of increasing importance in emerging markets.
  • The report also identifies a cyclical pattern in the focus of global regulations, swaying between standardisation to innovation and back again. It notes: “During 2017–2018 the primary objective of an increasing number of key regulatory and industry initiatives (KRIIs) is standardisation, contrary to the 2015–17 period, when KRIIs were more focused on innovation and modernisation.”
  • An important development in payments is the disruption, which has accelerated in the past year and is caused by new technologies, open banking, new market participants and changing customer expectations. The report notes that 'bigtechs' have started to capture payments market share from incumbents.
  • The report also launched its Payments Open Banking Assessment, which found that countries with higher levels of per-capita non-cash transactions are emerging as open banking pioneers. These countries also have higher participation in open banking from both banks and non-banks, so that end users have a wider choice of payment channels.

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