The demand for real-time payments is soaring, with The Clearing House’s RTP® network, the flagship real-time payment system in the United States, now serving 65% of all demand deposit accounts in the country. Experts predict that the transaction volume for real-time payments in the U.S. will reach a staggering 8.9 billion by 2026, a huge increase from 1.8 billion last year.
The introduction of the FedNow® Service, backed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, has the potential to shake up the payments scene in the U.S. and is expected to bring healthy competition to the real-time payments industry. Since its launch in 2017, the RTP network has dominated the industry.
However, FedNow is raising awareness about real-time payments in the U.S. and is likely to attract banks and credit unions. Financial institutions will have the choice to stick with the RTP network, join the FedNow Service, or use both systems simultaneously, providing more options for consumers.