‘Time waits for no one,’ and in today’s fast-paced world, neither should payments. Instant payments are becoming the driving force of transactions within the UAE and MENA region.
Real-time payments are changing how payments work in over 70 countries and are now coming to the Middle East. They’re available all day, every day, providing fast, convenient, and efficient ways to transfer money, meeting the needs of today’s consumers and businesses.
Global statistics show that the value of instant payments will reach $158 trillion by 2025, growing 12% per year from $100 trillion in 2021. This growth highlights the rising importance of real-time payments internationally, and the UAE is no exception.
Adopting instant payment solutions is not just a technological upgrade in the UAE; it is a shift that is changing how businesses operate, boost their competitiveness, and drive growth. Integrating real-time payment APIs is set to majorly impact various sectors, supporting business needs and, most importantly, improving customer experiences.
Instant payments are a win for both shoppers and businesses. For shoppers, payments that used to take days now happen almost instantly. For businesses, getting money faster means more cash to do more business.
Immediate payments can help address one of the biggest e-commerce challenges: cart abandonment. Often, customers leave their online shopping carts due to long or complicated checkout processes. Businesses can reduce this issue by offering a seamless, instant payment option, leading to better customer experience and increased sales. Instant payment APIs can also integrate with various digital wallets and payment platforms, giving customers multiple options to complete their transactions.
The Central Bank of the UAE’s newly launched Aani Instant Payments Platform (IPP) is designed to scale up to meet future demands, offering features like real-time direct debits and electronic cheques to make financial transactions even easier. It lets businesses transfer funds, make account-to-account (A2A) transactions, and handle bulk payments anytime, 24/7. This service will benefit businesses operating globally or those with high transaction volumes.
Another example is Mashreq’s partnership with PhonePe, which allows Indian expatriates in the UAE to use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make payments easily, catering to the 4.75 million Indians living in the UAE.
Also, instant payment solutions can empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By adopting such payment approaches, SMEs can receive payments faster, improving their liquidity and enabling them to focus on their other operations.
The UAE is committed to becoming a global digital payment hub, and instant payment services are a key part of this vision. One of the key initiatives supporting this transformation is the UAE Central Bank’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) program, which aims to improve the national payments system. These plans aim to introduce new payment features, improve the current systems, and ensure the infrastructure is ready for future changes. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are especially active, with many new and established payment service providers growing quickly.
A clear example of the UAE’s commitment to digital payments is the plan to integrate all licensed financial institutions with the Aani platform by the end of the year to ensure that instant payment solutions are available across the banking sectors. By adopting instant payment services, the UAE is enhancing its domestic payment infrastructure and positioning itself as a global financial hub.
The move towards immediate payments also has important social and environmental benefits. By reducing the reliance on physical cash and promoting instant, digital payments, the UAE is advancing its sustainability goals. Digital payments are more environmentally friendly, reducing the need for paper-based processes and lowering the carbon footprint of producing and transporting physical currency.
API-enabled payment solutions allow businesses to integrate real-time payment services into their existing systems. This integration streamlines operations, reduces errors, and offers a more reliable way to handle transactions, allowing companies to improve financial management, lower operational costs, and increase profits.
Brankas provides secure and scalable API infrastructure so businesses can both adopt and offer their own instant payment solutions. By offering real-time payment APIs, Brankas supports businesses in enhancing financial management, automating payment processes, and elevating customer experiences.
The UAE sees immense potential in instant payment solutions. National goals focus on using technology and innovation to make the economy less dependent on oil. The UAE’s approach to digital payments aligns with global trends as countries worldwide move towards faster, more efficient payment systems. Such solutions are set to transform the UAE’s economy by enhancing business efficiency, boosting e-commerce growth, and improving customer experience.
Payment systems are evolving, requiring cooperation between public and private sectors, supervisory authorities, banks, and other market players. The UAE’s proactive approach to integrating instant payment solutions into its financial system shows its commitment to creating a modern, inclusive, and efficient economy.
This forward-thinking approach will undoubtedly create new opportunities and ensure the UAE remains competitive in an increasingly digital world.
Learn more about how your business can make and receive payments by saving up to 50% in costs.
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