What is the difference between an instant payment and a card payment?

An instant payment moves money directly between bank accounts and settles in seconds. A card payment is authorized in seconds but settled later through the card network, carries interchange fees and offers chargeback rights to the cardholder.

Key differences

• Settlement: instant payments are final within seconds; card payments settle over the following days.
• Cost: card payments carry interchange and scheme fees; instant payment pricing depends on the bank or provider.
• Disputes: cardholders can file chargebacks; instant payments are final, and refunds are new transfers.
• Experience: cards are entered or tokenized; instant payments often use a QR code, a bank app redirect or a request to pay.
• Recurring use: cards support stored credentials and network tokens; recurring instant payments depend on mandates or schemes such as VRP.

Which one to offer

Both. Shoppers in many markets expect instant payments, especially where national systems are widely used, while cards remain the most universal option across borders.

What it means for payment operators

For your merchants, the choice is per market and per use case. On the platform, cards and instant payments are both payment methods activated through contracts, configured in the same checkout, and reported and reconciled together, so finance teams see one picture across rails.