NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Anders la Cour, co-founder and CEO of Banking Circle, explains why the lack of access to instant payments is holding businesses back in today’s fast-paced market, and how financial services providers can build solutions to better serve their clients.

SMEs and start-ups have been around since the first entrepreneur set up shop (or possibly farm). In contrast, instant payments are only just becoming a reality for businesses. But if companies have succeeded before instant payments, why are they such a hot topic and an apparent necessity today?

Some still believe instant payments are a luxury that businesses simply do not need. After all, payments have always taken days or weeks in the past. But if we look back over the past 15 years or so, we can see significant change in the market yet comparatively little change in the payment processes and timescales involved. If we look ahead 15 years, expecting the rate of change to continue or even accelerate, it is impossible to reconcile the opinion that current mainstream payment options will remain fit for purpose.

Photo courtesy of Helloquence.