The Global Payment Revolution: Alternative Methods Replacing Cash Everywhere

Alternative payment methods are helping people make transactions without cash and connecting world economies more than even before. The team at Paysecure illustrated just how impactive alternative payment methods are becoming with this report ranking the most used alternative payment methods by how many transactions are made with them per second. The results show us huge numbers of transactions that prove these alternative payment methods are a viable option for people around the world. The top three APMs on the list are so popular that they recorded thousands of transactions per second in 2023. Alternative payment options are becoming increasingly popular around the world and are fundamentally changing the way people pay.

Alternative payment methods are any option for making a purchase that isn’t via cash, a credit card, or a debit card. Alternative payment methods include digital wallets, buy now pay later plans, online banking, or mobile payments. One popular example of an APM is PayPal. PayPal and other methods are popular because they’re accessible. People all around the world can easily pay each other or pay businesses with nothing more than their cell phone. Thanks to alternative payment methods, there’s no need to physically visit a bank, making money management much easier for people living in remote areas or for people who have limited mobility. Transactions can be made outside typical bank hours, and they enable people to avoid carrying cash, or carry a wallet at all. These advantages are also convenient for travelers and help people keep themselves and their money safe.

The Top Alternative Payment Methods

The team at Paysecure determined which alternative payment methods are used the most worldwide. Here are their results:

1. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – India
2. Skrill – worldwide
3. Pix – Brazil
4. Alipay – China
5. PayPal – worldwide
6. Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) – China
7. Gcash – Philippines
8. MoMo – Vietnam
9. PayPay – Japan
10. Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) – India
11. Faster Payment Services (FPS) – United Kingdom
12. Boleto – Brazil
13. GrabPay – Asia
14. PromptPay – Thailand
15. ZENGIN – Japan
16. Zelle – USA
17. Vipps MobilePay – Norway, Finland, and Denmark
18. New Payments Platform (NPP) – Australia
19. iDEAL – Netherlands
20. KakaoPay – Korea

These are just the top 20 results on the list. The huge number of transactions and countries represented in their data show us just how widespread the use of alternative payment methods is. There are many reasons people prefer alternative payment methods. They have lower transactions fees, which is great for consumers and businesses. There are no ATM fees attached to the use of alternative payment methods. These methods are more secure than traditional banking methods with stronger encryption and fraud detection services, and there’s no need to share sensitive credit card information. Many people also find the check out process to be faster through the use of alternative payment methods and it’s more convenient for purchases made in foreign countries.

UPI Comes Out on Top

India and UPI lead the world in instant payment methods. Unified Payments Interface or UPI is an Indian instant payment system first introduced in 2016. The system uses a peer-to-peer or person-to-merchant style of transaction. This allows instant transfer of funds between bank accounts. We can see in the report that UPI had an astounding 3,729.1 transactions per second in 2023. UPI has only continued to grow in popularity as well. In January of 2024, over 12 billion transactions were processed with UPI.

UPI was thought up by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), which was formed in 2009 to make all Indian payment mechanisms uniform. They found that millions of families across India had no access to banking and had to deal entirely in cash, which fueled corruption and black money activity. NPCI was tasked with developing a system that would allow for more secure and simple transaction systems to help solve corruption issues and make banking more accessible to more Indian families, regardless of their financial situations. UPI was the result. Today, UPI is considered a huge success and is one of India’s most successful financial innovations of the modern age. Indian citizens can access UPI through a mobile app that generates QR codes for contactless payment.

Skrill’s Popularity is Worldwide

Skrill is a digital wallet style of alternative payment method. It was launched in 2001 as part of Paysafe Limited. This global platform is available in over 100 countries and processes over 40 different currencies. Skrill lets users access their money instantly and make transactions any time. The platform is also wonderfully versatile, on top of making payments and transferring money, the app gives users the ability to convert cryptocurrency, manage an investment portfolio, and even fund online gaming or gambling accounts. Skrill also boasts a strong support team who can be accessed through chat or by phone. Skrill is based out of London and is most popular in Europe.

Skrill used to be known as Moneybookers in the UK and was already one of the top three e-payment services in Europe at the time. Unfortunately, Moneybookers suffered a data breach in 2009 that wasn’t discovered until 2015. This led to the downfall and eventual sale of Moneybookers, which in turn, led directly to the creation of Skrill. Skrill has since enjoyed huge success as can be seen from the figures in this report. British football fans will recognize them from advertising deals they’ve made with professional sports teams like football clubs Leeds United and AC Milan.

Since their launch, the company has earned some prestigious awards like, “Best Digital Wallet” from the The Digital Banker’s Global Payments Innovation Awards, and the “Payment Innovation of the Year” in 2022 at the SBC Awards in North America.

Pix is a Brazilian Sensation

Pix is an online instant payment platform created by the Central Bank of Brazil, and it is wildly popular among Brazilians. It’s a relative newcomer compared to other APMs as it was created only four years ago in 2020 but has since made great strides make banking more accessible for Brazilians. In just these first 4 years, Pix has amassed an impressive userbase, growing to 153 million users, which is 75% of Brazil’s population. Brazilian companies can and do use Pix too, to the extent that data shows almost 40% of all Brazilian electronic payments are made with the platform. Overall, there were 42 billion Pix transactions in 2023 alone, changing the way Brazilians bank and use their money.

Pix works by creating a QR code allowing the consumer to pay with their bank app or an internet banking service. Many people expect that Pix will overtake the use of debit cards in the country and is well on its way to that goal. Pix is proving that many people are craving not only a cashless banking system but a cashless society as a whole. Pix is a state-sanctioned banking system that was created to give Brazilians better and more convenient options, and the inferno of popularity it drummed up in such a short time shows us that they succeeded. Will alternative payment methods like Pix revolutionize the way banking is conducted around the world? Only time will tell, but all signs seems to point in that direction.

Alternative Payment Methods are the Way of the Future

In 2024, alternative payment methods are used all around the world by people of every background you can imagine. In many countries, they are simply the most convenient and most secure payment methods available. Elsewhere, they are adopted because they offer strong benefits to both the businesses and consumers that use them. Alternative payment methods also offer speedier services and more accessible customer support than traditional banks. There’s no need for customers to hand over sensitive information, re-enter passwords, or risk losing cards or cash when making purchases. The cashless nature of these methods can also help prevent theft, black market dealings, and protect people from becoming victims of other crimes.

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