Three hundred instant payments a person in Brazil, one in the United States
Every economy at the foot of the table has had a working instant system for years.
Instant payments per person, 2024. BIS CPMI cashless statistics, fast payments including on-us transactions where reported; UK and US from BIS payment systems statistics. Thailand is a 2023 estimate from a daily average reported by the Bank of Thailand (grade B). Russia excluded because its series ends in 2020.
Evidence grade: A (Thailand B)
In 2024 Brazilians made 299 instant payments per person, Koreans 189, Argentines 154 and Indians 123. The Bank of Thailand reported an average of 54.5 million PromptPay transfers a day in 2023, about 277 per person. At the foot of the table sit Germany at 4, Italy at 2.1 and the United States at 1.0.
The euro area scheme, SEPA Instant, opened in November 2017, the same month as RTP in the United States. Two figures in the middle need care. China's count covers only the central bank's IBPS, while most everyday mobile payments in China run through Alipay and WeChat Pay and appear in card and e-money statistics instead. Japan's Zengin system carries all interbank credit transfers, instant or otherwise.
Systems Over Signals