{"id":5419,"date":"2021-10-06T11:05:50","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T05:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/?p=5419"},"modified":"2025-04-25T10:48:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T05:18:05","slug":"real-time-settlements-features-and-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/real-time-settlements-features-and-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Real-time Settlements: Features and Impact on Business Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/economy\/finance\/digital-payments-up-30-2-in-fy21-rbi-data\/articleshow\/84828643.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reserve Bank of India<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, digital payments recorded a growth of 30.19% at the end of March 2021, reflecting the adoption and deepening of <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/cashless-payments\/\">cashless transactions<\/a> in India. Today, businesses of all scales and sizes are opting for digital or online modes of payment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ease of digital transactions and the immediacy of the process make digital payments a popular choice among business owners. However, digital transactions can take longer to reflect, sometimes taking up to 72 hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The time gap in receiving digital payments from customers and making payments to vendors can significantly affect a business&#8217;s cash reserves. This is true especially for SMEs that need constant cash flow to keep their operations running smoothly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e5e20546f5a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e5e20546f5a\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/real-time-settlements-features-and-impact\/#What-is-real-time-settlement\" >What is real-time settlement?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/real-time-settlements-features-and-impact\/#How-is-real-time-settlement-different-from-a-regular-payment-cycle\" >How is real-time settlement different from a regular payment cycle?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/real-time-settlements-features-and-impact\/#How-can-real-time-settlement-benefit-your-business\" >How can real-time settlement benefit your business?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/real-time-settlements-features-and-impact\/#How-is-Razorpay-helping-businesses-with-real-time-settlement-options\" >How is Razorpay helping businesses with real-time settlement options?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/real-time-settlements-features-and-impact\/#Summing-up%E2%80%A6\" >Summing up&#8230;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What-is-real-time-settlement\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is real-time settlement?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/instant-settlements-working-capital\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">real-time settlements<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can receive digital payments in your bank account within seconds at any time of the day. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/what-is-transfer-payments\/\">transfer payments<\/a> made on your site to your bank account instantly so you can immediately reinvest it in your business and use it to unlock growth opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Read: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/what-is-real-time-payments\/\">Real-Time Payments (RTP): What They Are &amp; How They Work<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius: 3px; background: #528ff0; padding: 15px; font-weight: 600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; color: white;\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/capital\/instant-settlements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Explore more<\/a><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-is-real-time-settlement-different-from-a-regular-payment-cycle\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How is real-time settlement different from a regular payment cycle?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once a customer makes online payments in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/pg-settlements-process\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">default settlement cycle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the amount is only credited to your bank account after the settlement cycle. This means it can be T+2 or T+3 days before you have access to funds, leading to a liquidity crunch when you need to make immediate payroll payments or order inventory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span>real-time settlements<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, when a payer initiates a payment to the beneficiary, the payer&#8217;s bank sends the payment to the real-time payments system. The system validates the request and forwards the payment to the beneficiary bank. The beneficiary bank, in turn, confirms acceptance of the amount and credits it to the beneficiary&#8217;s account.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The payment is irrevocable and gets credited to the beneficiary within seconds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, since the clearing takes place 24\/7 and 365 days, one can send and receive money using any payment method, even at 2:00 AM on a Sunday or a banking holiday!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-can-real-time-settlement-benefit-your-business\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can real-time settlement benefit your business?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are several ways in which opting for <\/span>real-time settlements<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be a game-changer for your business:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cheaper transaction costs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: In the case of card payments, you run the risk of paying a chargeback fee in case of a genuine complaint from the customer. You are also liable to pay the card-issuing bank a pre-fixed amount for every swipe to cover the bank&#8217;s credit risk in approving the payment. But <\/span>real-time settlements<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> significantly reduce the overall costs of accepting payments. You can resolve legitimate transaction disputes with customers without paying additional fees to card-issuing banks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Better cash flows<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Given the stiff competition in the market, having sufficient liquidity at all times is vital for the survival of your businesses. <\/span>Real-time settlement<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cuts down the waiting period before the money comes through and provides immediate access to cash. As a result, you are in a better position to explore more opportunities and respond to challenges.<br \/>\n<\/span>Carrying out daily operations of your business, making routine payments, meeting working capital needs and purchasing inventory\u2014with real-time settlements, you can ensure that your business won&#8217;t collapse due to the non-availability of liquid funds.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Improved efficiency: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having efficient processes and systems in place is important for small and medium businesses for smoother operations. Real-time settlements minimize the waste of time and resources. Unlike paper-based payments, there are no unnecessary steps involved in receiving your money.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Keeps you ahead of the curve: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real-time settlement gives you improved visibility on cash flow and greater control over the timing and certainty of payments. This simplifies complex and time-consuming planning, gives you more time to focus on business growth and keeps you ahead of the curve.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius: 3px; background: #528ff0; padding: 15px; font-weight: 600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; color: white;\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/capital\/instant-settlements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See how<\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-is-Razorpay-helping-businesses-with-real-time-settlement-options\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How is Razorpay helping businesses with real-time settlement options?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to break free from the default settlement cycle, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/capital\/instant-settlements\/\">Razorpay Instant Settlement<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be of great help. You can get instant access to your money, avoid cash flow challenges and make payouts 24\u00d77 even during non-banking hours, weekends and holidays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who is Razorpay Instant Settlement for?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every business onboarded on Razorpay that wants to be more cash-efficient and carry out various financial obligations easily can benefit from <\/span>Instant Settlements.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> But it is best suited for those businesses that want to reduce daily cash crunch and get early access to payments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On-demand Instant Settlement gives you the freedom to choose <em><strong>when<\/strong> <\/em>you want the customer payments to be transferred to your bank account. This is a great option for businesses with uncertain cash flows<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scheduled same-day settlements ensure that Razorpay automatically settles payments at specific times during the day. This is perfect if your business has consistent cash flows, but you want to settle customer payments on a T+0 cycle. You can enjoy unlimited settlement every day to make your entire sales process virtually cash-like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius: 3px; background: #528ff0; padding: 15px; font-weight: 600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; color: white;\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/capital\/instant-settlements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Get started today!<\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summing-up%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Summing up&#8230;<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Real-time settlement <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is now the new normal in the world of payments so that you never run out of cash. It is an excellent way for small businesses to keep their operations running even with low working capital and meet their unique liquidity needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Never run out of cash and never stop growing. With real-time settlements, you can receive money in your bank account within seconds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151156487,"featured_media":5420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3643],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-capital"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151156487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5419"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17041,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5419\/revisions\/17041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learn.razorpay.in\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}