The flagship real-time payment system in the U.S., The Clearing House’s RTP® network, reaches 65% of all demand deposit accounts in the country, according to The Clearing House, and any depository institution can connect to the RTP network through more than 20 technology providers. Experts predict that the U.S. real-time payments transaction volume will reach 8.9 billion by 2026, up from 1.8 billion last year.
The RTP network has dominated the real-time payments industry in the U.S. since its 2017 launch, but there is a new kid on the block in the form of the FedNow Service. Backed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the system is raising awareness about real-time payments in the United States and will start the long journey to build volume and attract banks and credit unions. It remains to be seen which businesses will stick with the RTP network, which will hop on board with FedNow as their first real-time rail, and which could potentially switch systems or use both in tandem. Whatever the case may be, payments in the U.S. will never be the same again.