It is clear that instant payments are how many (the majority?) of consumers worldwide like to do their e-commerce. The demand for Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions domestic instant payments solution is growing at an unprecedented rate, of over 100%/year.

Citi Instant Payment Service

The Instant Payment service (IPS), also known as real-time or immediate payments, in which funds are transmitted within seconds, 24/7 and are available to recipients immediately, is a hit with corporates too. While local rules and standards vary from country to country, most schemes provide payment confirmation within seconds, facilitating end-to-end tracking and aiding with reconciliation. Citi have responded to this variation by developing an API-driven service that has been designed to provide a unified and globally consistent point of access for clients to implement domestic instant payments in multiple markets covering all regions and key economies.

Benefits of the platform to clients include the ability to launch globally consistent payment methods quickly in a consistent manner. Instant Payments have also played an important role in helping to improve working capital for institutions, which are now able to get incoming payments quicker, while also offering their customers greater flexibility, and choice of payment method.

Global expansion

Citi’s IP service has just been launched in Brazil bringing its global footprint to 28 markets in all geographic regions.

Citi note that: Over the last year and a half, COVID has fueled the growth of e-Commerce and new business models, with consumers increasingly interacting digitally with institutions, and sales shifting to direct-to-consumer online channels.

“The needs of our clients are constantly evolving, especially with the growth of digital across all industries. Instant Payments are fast becoming the new norm, enabling our clients to enhance their experience and shift towards a 24/7, always-on environment,” said Shahmir Khaliq, Global Head of Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions.  “With the growth of both Consumer to Business and Business to Consumer flows, instant payments provide a convenient alternative to traditional methods that can help strengthen customer connections. Citi continues to invest in its network and platforms to provide the latest solutions to help clients meet their evolving payment needs.

Users

Large corporates are finding Citi’s IPS service particularly useful:

Rasik Krishna, Global Disbursements & Earner financial products for Uber: “Citi’s Global Instant Payments platform, which Uber is using in our top 4-5 markets, seamlessly delivers real-time payments across borders, offering a superior experience for customers. This completely interoperable solution has been a real success factor for us at Uber and we plan to expand it to additional geographic regions going forward.”

Becky Landrock, Senior Treasury Manager, Deliveroo: “Using Citi’s instant payments solution and APIs allows us to better manage large volumes of payments and achieve straight-through processing. The impact of this solution has been phenomenal, enabling our business to have a competitive advantage and providing a service to the community as our riders can get paid faster” stated.

Citi claim that, “The net effect of the single point-of-entry (one-API connectivity) approach is that it allows a company to grow its payments capabilities in multiple markets much quicker than before. In addition, complimentary APIs can be used to tap a host of value-added services, such as real-time verification of payment status and payers’ balances, instant notification of incoming credits and outgoing debits, and other services that seamlessly integrate clients’ systems with Citi’s to digitize processes.”

---

CTMfile take: Standardised single point-of-entry (one-API connectivity) enables the creation of instant payments capabilities to create exciting new opportunities for companies to build reimagined products, solutions and experiences that fit today’s consumers. But the infrastructure to support such a service is huge, few will be able to truly deliver.