South Africa’s scheme, Real-Time Clearing (RTC), is an interbank IP system founded by Absa and Capitec in 2006, with Bankserv Africa as its service operator. It enables users to make credit transfers instantly and in real time, with payments credited to the beneficiary’s account within 60 seconds.
RTC supports P2P, C2B, B2C and B2B payments, and is offered to both retail and corporate customers. Payments can be made online, via mobile and at bank branches. The system is offered by a majority of clearing banks and operates 24/7/365. There is a transaction limit of up to ZAR5m ($347,577) per transaction during regular banking hours, but this drops to ZAR250,000 ($17,379) during non-banking hours, including weekends and public holidays.
Despite its 15-year presence in South Africa, the RTC network has recently experienced a surge in transaction volumes, up nearly 74% YOY and growth is expected to continue over the next five years.