Research & Analysis
Publication

Starting the Transaction: Payment Initiation and Customer Experience

Highlights

  • This technical note is framed to help policymakers and payment system operators understand recent trends in payment initiation and customer experience in making interoperable payments work better for low-income populations.
  • Key findings include:
    • Adoption of alias-based addressing offers an important opportunities but the trade-offs must be weighed.
      • Trends in QR standardization are improving but still vary significantly across markets. 
    • Third-party payment initiation is key to expanding instant payments but must be done with careful consideration. 
    • Fit-for-purpose design and implementation are critical to enable Request to Pay services reduce the financial literacy burden. 
  • Policymakers and system operators should balance competition and coordination—promoting a shared language for instant payments while also not limiting the private sector’s ability to stand out from peers.

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