The new era of borderless payments

The economy of the future requires technology, innovation and continuous collaboration between the different players in the ecosystem to transform the payments industry.

When we transfer money to a friend using our cell phone, pay with a card for morning coffee or electricity bills at the nearest pharmacy, we rarely reflect on the technological infrastructure that exists behind it to facilitate these payments. In the financial world, this technology is known as rails and they are currently essential to carry out each of the transactions we make in our daily lives.

Until now, cards have played a central role as a payment method and transactional tool, however, given the new needs and expectations of consumers, this has evolved to offer more options and experiences that are digital, simple, secure and immediate.

Through the new payment rails, which in the last decade have been built thanks to the joint work of governments and different players in the financial ecosystem, today we can transfer money from one account to another through our banking applications and in real time. And as the digital world becomes increasingly present in the way we live and work, these options improve our convenience and increase the value of financial products and services.

The value of real-time payments is enormous; According to ACI Worldwide and GlobalData, it is expected that by 2026 this method will contribute 131 billion dollars to the Global Gross Domestic Product and will represent 25.6% of all digital payments made in the world.

In the case of Mexico, the Interbank Electronic Payment System (SPEI) is the infrastructure that allows ecosystem participants such as Banks, Sofipos and Fintechs, to send and receive money between themselves to offer consumers the service of electronic transactions in time. real.

By allowing the transfer of money between businesses and consumers in seconds instead of days, these payments improve liquidity in the financial system and therefore act as a catalyst for the economy in the country.

Another type of riel, which is also already part of our daily lives, is the payment for services that we provide in supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, among others, known in the financial world as banking correspondents. These businesses benefit as they attract more traffic to their stores, strengthen their relationship by incorporating a value-added solution for them, and at the same time contribute to the financial inclusion of thousands and thousands of Mexicans.

by Forbes Mexico.