Fees On Real-Time Foreign Account Transfers Could Generate $1.1 Billion for Banks, Study Finds

New research from FIS shows that a number of consumers, particularly those that use foreign account transfers, would be willing to pay a fee to get their payments processed in real-time by their primary bank.

Many consumers who use foreign money transfers and P2P payments would be willing to pay fees for those payments to occur in real-time, according to the second release in a series of research studies on real-time payments by FIS.

The study, conducted by Ispsos Vantis, a market research provider, asked focus groups of consumers who use foreign account transfers, online bill pay, P2P payments and account-to-account transfers if real-time processing of their payments was important to them, and if they’d be willing to pay extra for the service.

The study found the most interest in real-time payments among foreign account transfers users, with 80% of them saying it was important to them that their funds be immediately available to the recipient. And 94% of foreign account transfers users surveyed indicated that they would be willing to pay a fee for real-time processing. The study estimated that fees for real-time foreign account transfers have the potential to generate $1.1 billion among large financial institutions, making it the biggest area of opportunity for revenue from real-time payments. The foreign money transfers users said that on average they would use real-time payments for 47% of those transactions.

Among P2P payments users, 59% said they’d be willing to pay an extra fee for real time processing, the research found. And 39% of account-to-account transfers users and 34% of those who use expedited bill payments said they’d be willing to pay for real-time, according to the study.

Real-time payments can also help build customer relationships, the survey indicated. In the first study in this real-time payments series, FIS noted that customers preferred to get real-time payments from their primary bank or credit union, rather than an alternative payments provider. This research further found that those who use foreign money transfers with their primary financial institution are twice as likely to have a money market account and an auto loan with that institution.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio