Module 15 · Finance around the world
How the world pays: cash, cards and instant payments
How cash use is changing, how card networks differ from instant account-to-account systems like Pix and UPI, what the EU requires, and the trade-offs of fast payments.
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In this lesson
- Name the main everyday ways of paying in several countries
- Explain the difference between a card network and an instant account-to-account system
- Describe the EU rules on instant payments
- Name the trade-offs of fast payments, including fraud and irreversibility
Luka, 24, travels from Maribor to Brazil, India and Germany in one year. In São Paulo a street vendor asks, “Pix?” In Mumbai a tea seller points at a QR code. In Berlin a baker asks, “Cash or card?” Why do three countries pay in three different ways?
Cash is falling, at different speeds
In the euro area, cash was used in 52% of in-store payments by number in 2024, down from 59% in 2022 (European Central Bank survey). By value, cards were 45% and cash 39%, so cash is still common for small payments.
In Japan, the trade ministry reported that cashless payments were 58.0% of consumer payments in 2025, with credit cards making up 83% of them. The ministry changed its method, so this cannot be compared with its earlier figure of 42.8% for 2024.
Two kinds of payment rails
A , such as Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, RuPay or Elo, runs a network between the bank that issued your card and the shop’s bank. The shop pays fees on each payment.
An moves money from one bank account to another within seconds, at any hour, often using only a phone number or a QR code. Examples:
- Pix in Brazil, launched by the central bank on 16 November 2020 and free for individuals. In 2024 it handled about 63 billion payments worth R$26.4 trillion.
- UPI in India, which handled 24.5 billion payments worth ₹29.8 lakh crore in August 2026.
- Faster Payments in the UK since 2008, FedNow in the United States since 2023, and SEPA Instant in the euro area.
- Alipay and WeChat Pay in China: private wallets built on QR codes.
What the EU requires
Under the Instant Payments Regulation, euro-area banks had to be able to receive instant transfers from 9 January 2025. From 9 October 2025 they also had to send them. Charges for an instant transfer may not be higher than for an ordinary transfer. Providers must also offer verification of payee: a check of the name against the IBAN before you pay, free of charge. In Slovenia, every bank offers Instant. Flik allows transfers by phone number, and the UPN QR code speeds up bill payments.
The trade-offs
Speed brings convenience and risk. A payment that arrives in seconds cannot be recalled. This is why is a growing problem, in which a scammer persuades you to send money yourself. Checking the payee’s name helps with mistakes, but it cannot stop a scam where you willingly pay the right account. Outages and privacy are other concerns when everything runs through one system.
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