The Growth of Instant Payments in 2025

Instant payments – electronic transfers that clear and settle in near-real-time (typically seconds) on a 24/7 basis – are dramatically reshaping the U.S. payment landscape. In the last few years, new payment networks (like The Clearing House’s RTP network and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service) have launched, enabling funds to move immediately rather than in multi-day batches.

This has led to surging interest and adoption by banks, businesses, and consumers nationwide. This article examines the latest data and expert insights on U.S. instant payments as of 2025, including usage statistics, growth drivers, and future projections.

What Are Instant Payments?

Instant payments are electronic account-to-account credit transfers that are settled individually and immediately, typically within seconds, any time of day or year. Unlike traditional Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers (which clear in batch windows and often take 1–3 business days) or checks (which clear very slowly), instant payments “provide immediate availability of funds” once initiated.

Key features include round-the-clock operation, immediate settlement and irrevocability of transactions, and rich data messaging. For example, The Clearing House’s RTP® network ensures 24/7/365 availability and instant final settlement. In short, instant payments let consumers and businesses send money anytime and have it available in the recipient’s account almost instantly.

The U.S. Instant Payments Landscape

The U.S. was relatively late to adopt instant payments. It launched The Clearing House’s RTP network in 2017 (the first new core payments rail in over 40 years) and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service in mid-2023. In contrast, many other countries (UK, India, Brazil, etc.) implemented real-time rails years earlier.

These domestic systems now underpin various instant payment services. In addition, large banks offer person-to-person (P2P) transfers via platforms like Zelle® and Venmo, and card networks have “push-to-card” services (e.g. Visa Direct) that clear within minutes. All these channels contribute to the growth of instant payments in the U.S.

According to industry sources, U.S. instant payments are still a small fraction of overall payments but are growing rapidly. One analysis notes that in 2023 instant transactions accounted for only ~1.5% of all U.S. payment transactions by volume. (By contrast, traditional non–real-time electronic transfers and paper-based methods still comprise the vast majority of transactions.)

However, this share is accelerating. The total number of instant payment transactions in the U.S. jumped roughly 25% in 2023, to about 3.5 billion annually. Those large year-over-year gains are expected to continue as awareness grows. For example, industry experts project an annual compounded growth of ~30% or more through 2028 in U.S. real-time transactions.

Major Instant Payment Networks

The two core instant-payment rails in the U.S. are The Clearing House’s RTP Network (since 2017) and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service (launched July 2023). Both operate around the clock and settle transactions individually in real time.

They interoperate with the existing banking system, allowing any participating bank or credit union to send or receive instant credits on behalf of customers. (By design, both networks use a “push” model – the sender instructs payment from its account, and recipients receive immediately with finality.)

RTP Network (The Clearing House). Operated by a consortium of large banks, TCH’s RTP network was the nation’s first major instant payment system. It has gradually expanded bank participation and transaction volumes. By early 2025 the RTP network reached over 950 participating financial institutions and could technically reach about 90% of U.S. demand deposit accounts.

In 2024, RTP saw 343 million transactions totaling $246 billion, a 38% increase in volume and 94% jump in value from 2023. (For perspective, 343 million annual transactions is roughly a million per weekday, compared to zero instant transactions ten years ago.) RTP usage is broadening beyond consumer P2P and wallet funding into B2B and payroll use cases.

Currently the network averages over 1 million payments per day, with late-night and weekend payments accounting for 42% of volume. The Clearing House reports that 285,000 businesses (via their banks) used RTP each month in 2024 for B2B purposes like bill payment, merchant settlement, and payroll.

FedNow Service (Federal Reserve). The Federal Reserve’s FedNow is a newer, centralized instant payment service. It enables any U.S. bank or credit union to offer real-time payments. Its rollout has been very rapid among smaller and regional banks.

As of late 2024, more than 1,000 institutions were live on FedNow (including over 95% of community banks/credit unions), and by Jan 2025 participation exceeded 1,200 banks. Volumes are still small compared to RTP but growing quickly. FedNow processed on the order of 1.5 million transactions in 2024 (after its July launch).

In Q4 2024 alone it handled about 0.92 million transactions (a quarterly growth rate over 2,000% year-on-year). The value of those payments leapt from essentially zero before July 2023 to just over $20 billion in Q4 2024. Although far behind RTP’s tens of millions of daily volumes, FedNow’s accelerated growth reflects its rapid adoption: the number of live FedNow participants roughly doubled in six months.

Adoption and Usage Trends

Adoption of instant payments in the U.S. has accelerated markedly, especially in 2024–2025. Businesses, consumers, and financial institutions are embracing these rails at unprecedented rates. Key trends include:

Broad Usage by Businesses and Consumers: Recent surveys show that usage of faster/instant payments is already widespread. For example, a late-2024 Federal Reserve survey found that 86% of U.S. businesses and 74% of consumers had used a faster or instant payment service in 2023.

That indicates most users are already familiar with real-time funds movement (via payroll transfers, digital wallets, P2P apps, etc.). Moreover, nearly 92% of businesses reported using some faster payment method (including same-day ACH and digital wallets). This underlines that instant payments are moving from novelty to mainstream for many users.
Rapid Growth in Network Volume: The underlying networks are experiencing steep growth. As noted above, RTP volumes soared 38% in 2024, and FedNow volumes (though smaller) grew even faster from their launch baseline. This reflects both more participants and heavier usage. At many banks, the number of corporate and consumer customers making an instant transfer has spiked.

For example, one industry survey found that roughly half of CFOs (51%) currently use instant rails for corporate payments, up from 38% the year before. And a remarkable 80% of surveyed companies expect to be using instant payments by 2026. This suggests a strong upward trajectory over the next few years.
Bank Adoption: Financial institutions themselves are moving swiftly to enable instant payments. By the end of 2024, virtually all large banks had plans or projects underway, and even smaller banks are joining. The ABA notes over 1,000 banks were live on FedNow by late 2024, with most being community institutions.

Similarly, TCH reports that participating banks on RTP grew 67% in 2024 as smaller banks joined. A 2025 industry barometer found 90% of U.S. banks plan to implement instant rail capabilities within two years, and 58% of those plan to connect to both RTP and FedNow. In short, by 2025 instant-payments capability is rapidly becoming standard in banking.
Key Use Cases Driving Adoption: Many enterprises are finding new ways to leverage instant payments. Early drivers have included payroll (especially “on-demand” or earned-wage-pay access), P2P payouts, supplier payments, and wallet funding.

A Federal Reserve study showed 66% of U.S. businesses say they are likely to use instant payments if offered by their bank, largely to address specific use cases. Among surveyed companies, the top desired uses were instant wallet funding (38% of firms), instant invoice payments (34%), and “just-in-time” B2B disbursements (29%).

Notably, companies report higher satisfaction when they can send instant payments – businesses using instant rails gave their banks 10% higher satisfaction scores than those who could not. Executives expect this to spur even more rapid adoption as banks and fintechs build targeted solutions.
Consumer Adoption: On the consumer side, the growth of instant capabilities has been driven by apps and changing expectations. Digital wallet and P2P usage (e.g. Zelle, Venmo) is almost ubiquitous among younger consumers, and billers and merchants are increasingly offering instant settlement options (e.g. instant rebates or buy-now-pay-later payouts).

One survey noted that 74% of consumers already use a fast or instant payment option and are looking for it from their banks. Younger and affluent consumers, in particular, expect instant transfers for everything from bill pay to peer transfers, pushing banks to add these features.

Despite this momentum, market research cautions that the U.S. still lags many peers. “Real-time payments are still in their infancy in the U.S., accounting for only about 1.5% of total payments volume in 2023,” observes payments analyst ACI Worldwide.

However, growth is projected to be strong – ACI forecasts U.S. real-time transactions reaching ~14 billion by 2028 (a CAGR ~32% from 2023). In practice, continued growth will depend on expanding use cases and on enabling more “send” capability. Currently most banks have enabled instant receiving first and plan to enable sending over the next year or two.

Benefits and Challenges

Instant payments promise several significant benefits:

Improved Cash Flow and Liquidity. Because funds arrive immediately, businesses can manage working capital more tightly. For example, payroll can be delivered instantly after work is completed, and vendors can get paid the moment an invoice is approved.

Studies by ACI Worldwide show that real-time rails can boost GDP in adopting economies by streamlining liquidity. Similarly, individual consumers gain control over timing of bill payments and transfers (no more waiting for batch clearing).
Better Customer Experience. A major driver is simply customer demand. Companies cite speed and convenience as top benefits. Banks report that offering instant payments helps attract and retain customers. In surveys, customers using instant transfers enjoy the transparency and finality (no “pending” status).

Even businesses have noted that quicker vendor payments strengthen relationships. One Fed payments executive notes that customers want “the ease, speed, and convenience of instant payments” and once they experience it, they keep using it.
Competitive and Strategic Advantage. Many banks and fintechs see instant rails as a way to differentiate products (e.g. payables/receivables services, instant lending disbursements). Companies that adopt instant payroll or supply-chain payments report operational gains and talent attraction.

According to The Clearing House, 42% of RTP transactions happen during off-hours, indicating users greatly value around-the-clock funding. This flexibility can reduce the need for pricey overnight lines of credit and lower financing costs across the economy.

However, there are notable challenges and barriers:

Technology and Integration: Legacy payment systems and back-office workflows must be upgraded to send instant messages and clear in real time. Many banks have had to invest in new infrastructure (connectivity, fraud monitoring, treasury-system integration) to support RTP and FedNow.

Smaller institutions may find this especially challenging, which is why many initially joined as receive-only and plan to turn on sending later. Similarly, businesses need to adapt their billing and ERP systems to request or process instant payments.
Fraud and Risk Management: Real-time rails reduce “float” time, so fraud (especially authorized push-payment fraud) can be harder to intercept. Both networks build in safety measures (e.g. fraud filters, instant reversal messaging for mistakes), but banks must beef up monitoring.

In surveys, fraud risk (especially account takeover and payment fraud) is cited as a top concern for instant rails. Progress is being made (e.g. tools for instant fraud detection), but trust and security remain focus areas.
Network Effects and Adoption Hurdles. Instant payments are only useful if end-points exist on both sides. A bank cannot send an instant transfer to a payee unless the payee’s bank participates. Currently, a significant portion of U.S. banks still have no live instant-payment service.

This “chicken-and-egg” effect can slow uptake. Some banks expect to wait until enough critical mass of counterparties exist before investing heavily. Indeed, Deloitte notes that U.S. adoption has been slower than expected partly because ACH and checks remain entrenched, and the ecosystem is complex.
Cost and Fees. While instant transfers save time, they can be more expensive to process per transaction than a batch ACH. Thus banks and billers are working out pricing models. For now, many banks subsidize instant transfer costs to encourage use, but monetization strategies (per-transfer fees or premium services) are evolving.

Overall, industry experts emphasize that these challenges are surmountable. The consensus is that benefits – especially better cash management and customer loyalty – will drive continued growth.

Future Outlook

By 2025, instant payments in the U.S. are on an accelerated trajectory. All signs point to continued growth and expansion of real-time rails:

Bank Coverage Will Widen: Surveys of payments providers estimate that 70–80% of U.S. banks will be able to receive real-time payments by 2028, and up to 40% will be able to send by then. This is a sharp increase from roughly one-third of banks today. Federal Reserve and industry efforts aim to onboard thousands more banks onto FedNow and RTP. In practice, by mid-decade it is likely that most commercial banks and credit unions will offer instant transfers.
Volume Projections: ACI Worldwide predicts U.S. real-time transactions will grow at ~32% CAGR to about 14 billion transactions by 2028. That implies roughly 3–4 times today’s volumes.

In comparison, the global instant payment ecosystem is expected to reach ~575 billion annual transactions by 2028. Growth drivers include expanding merchant acceptance (e.g. digital wallet disbursements), new payroll and B2B platforms, and integration into corporate finance systems.
Interoperability and Innovation: The industry is moving toward better integration. For example, the Clearing House has expressed interest in linking FedNow and RTP in the future, potentially allowing payments to flow across rails. Standardization efforts (e.g. ISO 20022 messaging) will make data-rich instant payments easier to process and reconcile.

Fintechs and large tech companies are also incorporating instant capabilities into payment wallets and marketplaces. Over time, instant payments may become embedded into business software (ERPs, accounting systems) so that transactions are initiated automatically. In fact, the number of companies embedding payment capabilities into their platforms is expected to surge (up from ~37% today to over 80% within two years).
Market Penetration: Even with strong growth, instant rails will take time to displace legacy methods. As noted, instant payments were only 1–2% of total volume in 2023. It may be the end of the decade or beyond before they reach, say, 10–20% of transactions.

Nonetheless, their share of higher-value and commercial payments is rising quickly, and almost all new payment infrastructures (bank transfers, B2B payments, gig economy pay) will default to real-time rails eventually.
Economic Impact: Studies estimate real-time payment systems generate significant economic benefit. One analysis across 40 economies found instant rails boosted combined GDP by $164 billion in 2023 and could add $286 billion more by 2028.

In the U.S., such gains would come from reduced friction, lower transaction costs, and increased velocity of money. While precise U.S. impact is still being studied, the broad expectation is that faster payments will meaningfully improve efficiency for businesses and consumers alike.

In summary, by 2025 the U.S. instant payments market is poised for major expansion. Well over half of businesses and consumers now use faster rails, hundreds of banks are live, and volumes are doubling annually.

Going forward, continued innovation (new use cases like “request for payment”) and broadening adoption should make instant payments an integral part of the U.S. payment system. However, it remains crucial for banks and businesses to continue improving fraud controls, user interfaces, and education so that this new infrastructure is used safely and to its full potential.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What exactly qualifies as an “instant payment”?

A: An instant payment is a funds transfer that is initiated, cleared, and settled in real time (usually within seconds) on a continuous 24×7 basis. The funds must be immediately available to the recipient and the payment is irrevocably final. In the U.S., instant payments meet criteria such as immediate availability of funds, continuous operation, real-time settlement, and rich data messaging. They differ from ACH (which clears in batches and is slower) or checks.

Q: What networks provide instant payments in the U.S.?

A: The two main clearing networks are The Clearing House’s RTP® network (launched 2017) and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service (launched 2023). Both allow any participating bank or credit union to send and receive instant transfers 24/7/365.

In addition, many banks offer instant P2P transfers through apps (Zelle, Venmo) and instant push-to-card transfers via card networks (Visa Direct, Mastercard Send). These use the same or adjacent infrastructure but are often thought of separately by consumers.

Q: How widely are instant payments used today?

A: Usage is growing rapidly, but instant rails still represent a small share of total payments. By late 2024, about 86% of businesses and 74% of consumers had used a faster or instant payment at least once. On the bank side, surveys indicate roughly 51% of companies currently use corporate real-time networks (RTP/FedNow) for some payments, and 80% of businesses expect to be using instant payments in two years.

In 2023 only around 1.5% of U.S. payment volume (by count) was on real-time rails, reflecting how dominant ACH and card payments still are. But that is rising fast – year-over-year transaction volumes on RTP grew +38% in 2024, and FedNow likewise started from nearly zero to millions of transfers.

Q: What percentage of banks are on instant networks?

A: Bank participation is climbing. By end-2024 The Clearing House reported over 950 banks and credit unions on RTP, covering about 71% of U.S. demand deposit accounts (with technical reach to ~90%). FedNow had over 1,000 financial institutions by late 2024 and exceeded 1,200 by early 2025.

Industry surveys predict 70–80% of all U.S. banks will be connected (at least to receive payments) by 2028. Many banks choose to connect to both RTP and FedNow – one report found 58% of banks implementing instant-pay capabilities will use both networks, to maximize coverage and avoid splitting volume.

Q: Who uses instant payments and why?

A: Initially P2P and B2C use cases led to adoption. Consumers use instant transfers for things like splitting bills or immediate account top-ups. Businesses have begun using them for payroll (on-demand pay), bill payments, supplier invoices, and marketplace payouts.

Surveys indicate businesses particularly want instant funding of digital wallets (38% of firms interested), instant invoice/bill payment (34%), and just-in-time B2B payments (29%). Companies cite faster cash flow and customer satisfaction gains.

For individuals, over half of consumers value having 24/7 instant payment options. Overall, nearly two-thirds of U.S. businesses (66%) say they would adopt instant payments if their bank offered it, highlighting strong interest.

Q: How fast are transaction speeds?

A: Both RTP and FedNow settle transactions in seconds. In practice, a customer’s bank sends the payment message and the receiving bank must make the funds available immediately. Experiments and live use show funds often appear in seconds to minutes.

Importantly, processing can occur weekends or overnight. In fact, RTP reports that 42% of its transactions occur during off-business hours (nights/weekends). So compared to ACH (which only settles on business days), instant payments can happen truly any time within seconds.

Q: Are there limits on transaction size?

A: Yes. Today the RTP network has a per-transaction limit of $1 million (with plans to raise it to $10 million in 2025). FedNow initially had a $500,000 limit (to curb risk) and is gradually increasing it (it moved to $1 million in 2024, and will go higher in 2025).

These limits are being lifted as confidence grows. So far, most everyday payments and payroll amounts are well below these limits. High-value use cases (real estate closings, large corporate transfers) are becoming feasible as limits rise.

Q: How secure are instant payments?

A: Instant rails incorporate strong security and fraud controls, but they also operate faster, so banks must be vigilant. Both RTP and FedNow require banks to implement transaction screening, identity verification, and anti-fraud tools. Because funds move quickly, unauthorized push-payment fraud (when a customer is tricked into approving a real-time wire) is a concern. Industry statistics rank authorized push-payment fraud as a leading risk for faster payments.

Banks counter this with measures like mandatory customer confirmations, velocity limits, and automated anomaly detection. Importantly, instant payment “must be accepted” transactions generally are final and cannot be reversed, which is different from some card or ACH disputes. Still, the industry is developing better real-time monitoring and consumer protections. The big advantage is that instant payments are irreversible once settled, providing payees certainty of payment (unlike a bounced check).

Q: Will instant payments replace ACH or checks?

A: Not immediately. ACH and paper checks will still handle many transactions for years due to inertia and cost factors. However, instant rail usage is expected to cannibalize some volume. Surveys from other countries suggest ACH use plateaus or declines as instant adoption grows. In the U.S., our payment system is very mature, so changes are incremental.

For now, many routine consumer bills (bills, mortgages) and payrolls still use ACH or direct deposit. But as businesses integrate instant rails into their systems, use of ACH is expected to slow. Deloitte analysts note that the momentum of FedNow and RTP is likely to slow ACH growth. Over the long term, as capabilities (limits, reach, security) improve, instant payments could handle a larger share of domestic transfers, especially in B2B.

Q: How soon will the Fed and RTP become fully ubiquitous?

A: The Fed and industry are aiming for near-total participation. By 2025–2026, it’s anticipated that virtually all consumer-facing banks will offer receiving (and often sending) of instant payments. However, the “long tail” of very small credit unions and specialized banks may take longer.

Project Nexus, a BIS initiative, even envisions eventual cross-border instant transfers linking domestic systems. In sum, within 2–3 years the U.S. is likely to have nearly nationwide coverage for receiving instant payments, and continued growth thereafter will come from enabling send on the long tail and from usage expansion.

Conclusion

Instant payments in the United States are no longer a far-off promise – they have arrived and are expanding rapidly. By 2025 a network of real-time payment rails (RTP and FedNow) is in place, hundreds of banks offer instant transfers, and most businesses and consumers have tried them. Volumes are rising 30–40% annually, and corporate use cases like payroll and B2B disbursements are accelerating.

Industry surveys show that customers overwhelmingly want speed and convenience, and banks view instant rails as a must-have product. While instant transactions still make up a small percentage of total payment volume (about 1–2% today), that share is growing fast. Experts project that in the coming years instant payments will handle a significant slice of everyday transactions, with broad economic benefits from faster cash flows.

In summary, 2025 stands as a pivotal year: instant payments have moved out of pilot mode into mainstream adoption in the U.S. The pace of change is intense, with Deloitte, Federal Reserve, and industry reports all highlighting an inflection point.

Over the next few years, as more institutions and businesses fully embrace real-time rails, instant payments are set to transform how Americans send and receive money – making immediacy the new normal in the payments system.