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Real-time payment infrastructure is transforming the global financial ecosystem by becoming a bridge for scaling cross-border operations and facilitating fintech integration across industries.
With an API-driven approach from the start, this model not only accelerates money flows but also strengthens security and improves the user experience in industries requiring embedded payment solutions.
In simple terms, real-time payments (RTP) are financial transactions settled instantly between individuals, companies, or even governments, at any time of day or week.
According to Mastercard, RTP systems are now available in over 70 countries across six continents.
Statista projects that the value of transactions processed via RTP will grow by an impressive 289% globally through 2030.
In Latin America, central banks have implemented large-scale instant payment systems to reduce cash usage, advance financial inclusion, and align with digitalization.
PIX in Brazil and SPEI in Mexico have become regional benchmarks, opening the door for mass adoption. At the same time, Colombia is advancing with Bre-B, soon to be officially implemented.
JP Morgan notes that Brazil, through PIX, is paving the way for RTP in the region, with projections showing that 56% of all electronic payments in Latin America will come from RTP by 2027. Other markets with strong potential include Colombia, Argentina, and Peru.
Some of the main advantages of RTP, beyond speed, include simplicity and security enabled by tools such as fingerprint or facial recognition, device verification, and OTP codes.
For Mastercard, real-time payments free up liquidity by releasing funds locked in processing. They also provide standardized data that enables automatic reconciliation, reduces costly errors, and streamlines financial management for companies.
Specifically, platforms built on API-first architectures allow funds to move instantly, 24/7, eliminating banking hours and time-zone restrictions.
Business use cases include instant payroll and supplier payments.
However, with the boom of fintech solutions and their adoption across multiple sectors —including e-commerce— their use cases are diversifying and expanding almost universally.
For platforms that implement these solutions, customer experience is optimized, ultimately strengthening long-term loyalty.
“Real-time payments are gaining momentum and have given rise to shorter payment lifecycles,” explains consulting firm EY in a report. “The future of payments presents challenges that must be addressed in terms of operational efficiency and better transaction management.”
To address these challenges, Inswitch offers a unified API platform that connects local and global payment networks, enabling transactions through a single channel.
With this, fintechs, e-commerce, or digital wallets can send and receive funds instantly and securely via card, bank, wallet, cash, or even crypto.
According to JP Morgan, these payments are “transforming the payments landscape for use cases that traditional infrastructures served inefficiently, but more importantly, they provide the infrastructure for new use cases and business models that would not have been imagined without RTP.”
Impact of Real-Time Payments
The impact of RTP is reflected at multiple levels, from modernizing the financial system to creating new opportunities for consumers and businesses.
For cross-border operations, RTP enables nearly instant and lower-cost international remittances, particularly relevant for Latin America and the Caribbean.
A World Bank blog in 2024 noted strong growth in per-capita RTP transactions: from almost zero in 2019 to more than 3 per month in Peru, 12 in Costa Rica, and 24 in Brazil.
“The revolution of instant payments is expanding across Latin America, with major implications for affordability, convenience, and customer-centric design of digital financial services,” the blog said.
In the B2B space, RTP adds value and eliminates friction by allowing suppliers to receive payments and notifications in seconds, automatically integrated into accounting systems.
For corporate users, EY highlights that immediacy also improves operational efficiency, enabling direct supplier deliveries or reducing inventories, such as in dropshipping models.
In e-commerce, RTP makes the process more efficient: customers pay and instantly access digital products or services, creating a seamless purchasing journey.
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Despite their speed, real-time payment infrastructures embed advanced security layers.
Before transfers are authorized, users are verified via passwords, biometrics (fingerprint or facial recognition), and OTP codes as a second factor.
Platforms also apply end-to-end encryption and real-time fraud monitoring based on solid standards.
Financial companies like Visa are adopting AI for account-to-account (A2A) payments. In 2024, Visa introduced an AI-based system that blocks fraudulent operations through real-time risk scoring.
These safeguards evolve in line with increasingly sophisticated attacks, staying ahead of new criminal strategies.
Inswitch’s integrated payment APIs allow any business to quickly connect to the RTP ecosystem, go live in minutes, and accept multiple payment methods.
Its API-first architecture helps businesses and fintechs adopt instant payments without costly, complex development.
This technology creates a seamless bridge between banking infrastructure and services like transfers, digital wallets, or new payment methods such as QR codes.
Unified APIs automate reconciliation and simplify collection flows.
For example, a merchant can integrate a single API endpoint and start accepting QR payments immediately, with transactional data recorded in real time and without manual intervention.
This removes technical barriers and creates an interoperable network where banks, wallets, and third-party apps work together.
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The expansion of instant payments in Latin America is testing businesses’ ability to quickly adapt to new consumer and market demands.
Inswitch has built an API-first architecture that gives companies access to a complete financial ecosystem, from payments and card issuance to cross-border services and core banking.
Unified APIs automate critical processes like reconciliation and compliance (KYC, KYB, AML), reducing costs and risks.
The platform combines global reach with local expertise, enabling operations in more than 30 countries including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.
White-label models allow banks, neobanks, e-commerce platforms, and gig-economy companies to personalize payment experiences without building infrastructure from scratch, with multi-currency compatibility.
By connecting banks, wallets, and apps in an interoperable network, Inswitch addresses one of the region’s greatest barriers: financial system fragmentation. This empowers businesses of any size to operate in real time, accelerating financial inclusion and competitiveness.
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