The 12th edition of the World Payments Report by Capgemini and BNP Paribas showed that in 2014 global digital payment volumes continue to increase, The key findings were that:

• global non-cash payments grew by 8.9% in 2014 (a record) to reach 387.3 bn with:
  • developing markets grew fastest as mature markets retain majority of payments:
  • ​increase mainly driven by developing markets with 16.7% growth
  • China surpassed UK and South Korea to take 4th spot
• cards have been fastest growing system since 2010
• in 2015 global non-cash payment are estimated to have grown by 10% with highest in emerging markets. 

Other findings

The number of non-cash transactions/inhabitant varies widely from around 10 to over 400 in the USA and Finland:

The cash in circulation as a % of GDP is mostly increasing:

Future of payment systems

The World Payments Report 2016 analysis showed that:

• immediate payments have potential to replace cheques and cash - see excellent benefits analysis
• there are important benefits for corporates from adopting immediate payments:
  • 

Regulatory impact and future of transaction banking

A core theme in the World Payments Report 2016 is the challenges and opportunities that exist in transaction banking. There are the usual comments about the regulatory landscape being difficult and how banks and other PSPs operate in a highly regulated environment with some complex analysis of the regulators’ objectives. And the sad conclusion that, despite recognising the need for holistic compliance, banks have made little progress.

The report also reviews the future of transaction banking with some complex analyses, but no new insights.

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CTMfile take: The World Payments Report 2016 is another massive piece of work. For corporate treasury departments the report works best as a source of world stats on the current state of payment systems - essential reading.