U.S. consumers have been adopting digital financial services at a rapid pace, especially millennials and Gen Zers. In spite of significant efficiency gains in financial services, critical legacy infrastructure, which many firms continue to rely on, limits firms’ ability to deliver true real-time service. Once accounts are opened, it can take four or more business days for funds to appear, especially following an interfirm account-to-account transfer. On top of the wait for funds to appear in a new account, U.S. consumers transferring funds to purchase securities have to wait another two business days to finalize the purchase of a security.
“The reality of real-time money movement for person-to-person and business-to-consumer payments is driving U.S. consumer demand for real-time interfirm A2A transfers,” explains Aite Group senior analyst Talie Baker.
This Impact Report, part three of a three-part series, delves deeper into the importance of digital services to U.S. consumers and the impact of legacy payments processes on financial services firms’ customer experience. It also looks at the potential adoption of real-time payments, payment technology preferences, and consumer willingness to pay for real-time payments. This report is based on a Q2 2020 Aite Group and Visa Inc. survey of 16,452 U.S. consumers ages 18 or older, of which 2,199 had a debit card and made at least one transfer between accounts at different financial institutions in the 12-month period prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
