What’s different now?

Fraud has long been a sensitive topic surrounding real-time payments given the lack of cushion to assess a transaction’s legitimacy and the irrevocable nature of payments.

Brown takes a clear-eyed view on this matter. “Fraud will happen regardless,” she says. “It’s more a matter of setting the right limits and adjusting when needed.”

Ganey adds that the ability to set different transaction thresholds by channel (and potentially for off hours and holidays) could offer further comfort.

Ganey also has a response for those who wonder why this will be different from so many other new payment models that failed to achieve scale. “The retailers and merchants have been at the table with us from day one—that’s never happened before. The parties may have different motivations, but we’re all better aligned.”

This also means retailers are already incorporating these capabilities into their technology plans.

“We’re now at the stage where financial institutions can build this into their plans for real-time posting, and so on,” Veeraghanta adds. “Everybody already has an app for everything. The onus is now on financial institutions to interact in whatever landscape the member is using, creating a stickier membership experience.”

GLEN SARVADY is managing principal at 154 Advisors.